On Turkey
November 21st, 2008 by Tariq
Soner Cagaptay of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy has some suggestions for Obama’s Turkey policy. And the U.S., Iraq, and Turkey “have condemned the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) as a “terrorist organisation” and formed a joint committee to combat them, the US embassy said Thursday.”
Posted in Iraq, Multilateralism, Turkey, US foreign policy | Comment »
Gordon Brown on Democracy Promotion
November 11th, 2008 by Tariq
Michael Allen at Democracy Digest has some comments regarding UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s annual foreign policy speech to the Lord Mayor’s Banquet in London. Brown spoke of “the challenge to reassert our faith in the advance of democracy as the most effective weapon in our arsenal against terrorism and tyranny,” and, “A Middle East settlement has the potential to transform the future of the Middle East. In Iraq we continue to defend a new democracy and last summer we set out the remaining tasks to be achieved there to make possible a fundamental change of mission and the transition to a long-term bilateral partnership with Iraq…”
Posted in Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Mideast Peace Plan, Multilateralism | Comment »
POMED Notes: An American Strategy for the New Era
September 26th, 2008 by Jason
Yesterday afternoon the Wilson Center hosted Stephen Van Evera, Robert Kagan, Melvyn Leffler, and Jeffrey Legro to discuss the new anthology, To Lead the World: American Strategy After the Bush Doctrine. The event was moderated by Robert Litwak, Director of International Security Studies at the Wilson Center.
Melvyn Leffler stressed the importance of creating a hierarchy of national security threats and challenges, as the solutions all have wildly divergent resource and strategy implications.
Stephen Van Evera believes the traditional era of great-power competition is over due to the levelling effect of the nuclear threat. He calls for the formation of a global concert of great nations to contain the threat of terrorism and WMD proliferation, as well as to manage common challenges such as energy and climate change.
Robert Kagan disagreed, and said each power will look at each discrete world problem and calculate its best move, irrespective of any appeal to our common shared interests. He noted that national tactics are once again governed by revanchist ambition, pride, resentment, and jealousy, and the U.S. cannot convince other great powers that what is good for America is good for the world.
For full POMED notes on this event, click here.
Posted in DC Event Notes, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Military, Multilateralism, Terrorism, US foreign policy | Comment »
POMED Notes: U.S. Policy Toward Iran
July 9th, 2008 by Adam
On Wednesday, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing on the current status of America’s policy towards Iran, and the future of that relationship. Topics ranged from the on-going nuclear negotiations to Iraq to human rights and democratic reform. The only witness was The Honorable William J. Burns, Under Secretary for Political Affairs at the State Department. Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) delivered opening remarks.
For POMED’s complete notes on this hearing, click here.
Posted in Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Diplomacy, Iran, Multilateralism, US foreign policy | Comment »
Reform and Sanctions in Iran
June 26th, 2008 by Adam
In light of Monday’s decision by the British Parliament to remove the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran (MEK) from its list of banned terrorist organizations, Amir Taheri in the Wall Street Journal looks at the implications of the decision and its possible impact on reform in Iran.
On another Iran related note, Olivier Guitta skeptically examines the impact of international sanctions against Iran, given its ability to lessen their impact. Additionally, Richard Perle criticizes Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s “born-again multilateralism” and claims that multilateralism has failed to deter Iran significantly.
Posted in Iran, Multilateralism, Reform, US foreign policy | 1 Comment »
Using International Organizations to Stabilize the Region
May 29th, 2008 by Sarah
Kenneth Weisbrode of the Washington Times calls for the use of a robust multinational coalition such as NATO, to help stabilize the Middle East. According to Weisbrode, this will be a more effective tool to dissuade hostile parties from seeking nuclear weapons capabilities by stabilizing the region.
Mark Mazower in the Financial Times commented that in light of what he sees as the end of the “American Century,” the only way to effectively promote democracy and human rights is by working within a United Nations framework. Mazower suggests reforming the U.N. to accommodate its increased membership, and scaling down unilateral efforts of the U.S.
Posted in Democracy Promotion, Multilateralism, United Nations | 1 Comment »
A League of Their Own
May 29th, 2008 by Pasha
Thomas Carothers considers for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace whether a League of Democracies will work, arguing that it “rests on a false assumption that democracies share sufficient common interests to work effectively together on a wide range of global issues.” Instead, Carothers recommends partnerships for individual issues, a clear rebuke of military interventions to supplant sovereigns with democracies, a reversal of policies that abuse human rights, encouraging autocrats and “autocratic allies such as Pakistan and Egypt” to reform politically, and a stronger commitment to existing multilateral institutions “such as the United Nations, the Organization of American States, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.”
Posted in Multilateralism, Reform, US foreign policy | Comment »
Rice in Middle East Asking Iraq’s Neighbors for Support
April 22nd, 2008 by Sharlina
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called for greater financial and diplomatic support for Iraq during a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting with Arab foreign ministers in Bahrain on Monday while Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki rebuked neighboring states for not doing enough to strengthen ties with Baghdad, write off Iraq’s debts or stop militants from entering his country.
Marc Lynch over at Abu Aardvark comments on the “muted” Gulf response to Rice’s pleas, arguing that the Arab leaders don’t seem to be responding to Rice’s pitch for supporting Iraq against Iran.
Meanwhile, Rice said today, while in the Gulf, that the Bush administration explicitly warned former President Jimmy Carter against meeting with members of Hamas.
Posted in Bahrain, Gulf, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Multilateralism, US foreign policy | Comment »
The Future of Participation by Iraqi Sunni
April 3rd, 2008 by Amanda
Matt Sherman comments in an op-ed in the New York Times about the ramifications of the American-paid Sunni tribesmen hired “to protect critical government properties,” noting that these groups may be “hard-line Sunnis intent on restoring their sect’s domination over Shiites.”
Sherman argues that this can be averted, saying that policymakers must “shift the debate inside Iraq so that it doesn’t rest on how one sect relates to another but how individual Iraqis relate to their government.” He continues that this change in dialog may encourage Sunni inclusion in government “who have no real voice in the political system, in the new nation.”
Posted in Iraq, Multilateralism, Sectarianism | Comment »
Gathering Support for Afghanistan
February 28th, 2008 by Sharlina
Roger Cohen argues at The New York Times that it is time for Europe to step up their support for Afghanistan, stating, “hauling Afghanistan from the Middle Ages and the Taliban’s vestigial clutches will involve every lever of power — economic, social, diplomatic and military.” Cohen continues that while if NATO does increase its forces, President Hamid Karzai should increase his part as well.
Posted in Afghanistan, Military, Multilateralism, Taliban, US foreign policy | Comment »
Hariri’s Lingering Effects on Lebanese Politics
January 11th, 2008 by Kent
Michael Young of The Daily Star suggests that the Arab League’s efforts in resolving Lebanon’s presidential crisis will be closely linked to the continuing investigation into Rafik Hariri’s assassination. He argues that states who contribute to funding the tribunal will acquire leverage over Syria and limit the country’s ability to meddle with Lebanon. “At some stage, expect the Hariri tribunal to enter into the toxic bargaining that spawns inter-Arab political settlements.”
Posted in Lebanon, Multilateralism | Comment »
Debating Unilateralism & Multilateralism - The Need for a Middle Ground
December 12th, 2007 by Amanda
Anne-Marie Slaughter in the Los Angeles Times offers a counter-arguement to an Op-Ed written by Matt Yglesias, in which she defends her earlier comments about the need for a middle ground between unilateralism and multilateralism. Slaughter maintains that unilateralism should be “avoided at all costs,” but she says “at the same time the existing rules for multilateral authorization of options of the use of force…” are “inadequate to meet the kinds of threats we face in the 21st century.”
Moreover, Slaughter says, “The unilateralism espoused by the first Bush administration…has created a false choice between adhering to a collective decision-making system created for a different world in 1945 and going to war without any collective authorization whatsoever. Our article was a sharp rejection of the Bush Doctrine. But it was nevertheless an attempt to chart a different path, a path of reform that recognized both the existence of new threats and the vital importance of a rules-based response.”
Posted in Multilateralism, US foreign policy | Comment »
What Rice Must Do to Pave the Way for Peace
October 17th, 2007 by Amanda
Dennis Ross in USA Today outlines three important steps Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice must take in advance of the international peace conference taking place in November.
Ross responds to a recent poll which concludes that 57% of Palestinians expect the November meeting to fail and says “this should set off an alarm bell for Rice because it signals that an agreement appearing too abstract and having vague commitments is likely to produce a cynical response.”
Posted in Israel, Multilateralism, Palestine | Comment »
New Multilateral Democracy Initiative
October 3rd, 2007 by Amanda
Evan B. Smith in The Democratic Piece writes about the launch of a new multilateral democracy initiative called the “Partnership for Democratic Governance.” (PDG)
The PDG is a joint venture aimed at supporting new or fragile democracies, as well as states emerging from conflict, by building governance capacity and especially at improving service delivery to the countries’ citizens.
The United States is one of the founding members of the PDG, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Turkey, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Organization of American States (OAS), and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Posted in Democracy Promotion, Multilateralism | Comment »
UN Back in Iraq
August 20th, 2007 by Audrey
Last week, the UN Security Council acquiesced to US pressures, updating its mandate within Iraq to help control sectarian violence. Observers comment on the symbolism of multilateral legitimacy bestowed by this effort to “internationalize” recovery efforts. Greg Bruno at Council of Foreign Relations writes that it represents “an about-face for the United States, and some worry, a life boat shot through with holes,” noting that politicians like Rudy Giuliani have recently said that the UN has “proved irrelevant.”
At CSIS, Johanna Mendelson Forman says that the UN’s new involvement “should remind all of us of the importance that diplomatic engagement plays in the broader efforts to rebuild the country.”
Posted in Iraq, Multilateralism, United Nations | Comment »
