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142. What Do the French Think of Us? The Deteriorating Image of the United States, 2000-2004
- Author:
- Richard Kuisel
- Publication Date:
- 09-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- What do the French think of Americans and the United States? This is a grand question whose answer reveals a crucial dimension of the current tension in Franco-American relations. It is also a question that can be answered reasonably well. Transatlantic troubles have stirred interest in ascertaining the state of public opinion. The result is an extraordinary number of comprehensive surveys conducted over the last five years. The US Department of State, for example, has systematically monitored French attitudes. So have many French and American polling agencies like SOFRES, CSA, and the Pew Center. Foundations like the French-American Foundation and the German Marshall Fund of the US have also sponsored research. Between fifteen and twenty thousand Frenchmen and women have recorded their opinion in such surveys. This evidence provides a unique opportunity for research into how the man- or woman-in-the-street views the United States.
- Topic:
- International Relations
- Political Geography:
- United States, America, and France
143. How Terrorism Affects American Diplomacy
- Author:
- Thomas O. Melia
- Publication Date:
- 03-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
- Abstract:
- Interviews with several dozen senior American diplomats-including ambassadors and others currently serving abroad-indicate that the daily conduct of U.S. diplomacy has recently been altered in significant ways by the elevated threat of terrorism against American interests made manifest on September 11, 2001; the worldwide War on Terror declared by President George W. Bush in consequence; and the prosecution of the war in Iraq, on which diplomats are as divided as other Americans regarding whether it is or is not part of the global War on Terror.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Diplomacy, and Government
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, and America
144. Abusing History: A Critical Analysis of Mainstream International Relations Theory Misconduct
- Author:
- Anne Marie D'Aoust
- Publication Date:
- 12-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Raoul Dandurand Chair of Strategic and Diplomatic Studies, Université du Québec à Montréal
- Abstract:
- In Political Science, the discipline of IR has been widely regarded as an “American Science” ever since Stanley Hoffman published his renowned essay in 1977. This “American Science” is mainly dominated by a single theoretical approach – that of Neorealism – which relies primarily on the concept of historical recurrence to ground its arguments. Other “new” theoretical approaches which challenge this parochialism, namely feminism, constructivism and Critical Theory, remain outside the “official boundaries” of the field. These boundaries are largely set by the Neorealist agenda and its variations, which rarely diverge from an unquestioned central rationalist-empiricist theme. Thus, with respect to its methodological and epistemological stance, Neorealist theory implicitly views History as a vast field of objective data and primary sources ready to reveal their truth to the social scientist. To test and/or prove the validity of Neorealist theory in the field of International Relations, one must refer to historical data and confront theory with “straight facts”. What I propose to do here is to analyze the ways in which the Neorealist approach to International Relations makes use of history, and subsequently to consider some crucial epistomological and theoretical debates in the field of History that are ignored by Neorealists like Waltz.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Development, Government, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- America
145. Are We Headed for a "Cyber-9/11?": The American Failure in Cyberstrategy
- Author:
- Benoit Gagnon
- Publication Date:
- 12-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Raoul Dandurand Chair of Strategic and Diplomatic Studies, Université du Québec à Montréal
- Abstract:
- In the wake of September 11, the U.S. Superpower once again became a target. This time, the attack was carried out by means of the Internet. How effective is American cyberstrategy? Examining the hacking scene in the last couple of years, it is clear that it is not an adequate response to present – and future – cyberthreats. Therefore, it is fair to say that the United States has a national security problem rather than a cybersecurity problem and to conclude that as things stand at present the American government is steering the United States toward a cyber-9/11.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Science and Technology, and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- United States and America
146. China Brief,Beijing's Reaction to East Asia's Changing Alliance
- Author:
- Christine Loh, Willy Lam, Eric Teo, and Steven Sun
- Publication Date:
- 07-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Jamestown Foundation
- Abstract:
- If China had sufficient economic and military prowess, there seems little doubt the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership would “go teach the U.S. a lesson” for the wrongs it had allegedly inflicted upon on the country. Previous CCP administrations had used similar clauses of indignation – and the assertion of a moral high ground based on self-defense and the preservation of sovereign rights – when they went to war with nations including India, Russia and Vietnam. And while the Chinese party and military leadership may for the time being be deterred by America's superpower status from trying out something rash, tension between China on the one hand, and the U.S. and many Asian countries on the other, is expected to rise in the foreseeable future.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Government, and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, America, Asia, and Vietnam
147. China Brief,China's Reaction to America's Iraq Imbroglio
- Author:
- You Ji, Igor Rotar, Willy Lam, and Eric Teo
- Publication Date:
- 04-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Jamestown Foundation
- Abstract:
- The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership has been at pains not to appear to be gloating over the American quagmire in Iraq. Yet in terms of geopolitical calculus, there is little doubt Beijing sees America's worsening problems in Iraq as beneficial to China's global standing, diplomatically and militarily. Capitalizing on fissures in the international community over Iraq and America's war on terror, China has strengthened ties with key members of the European Union and the United Nations in an effort to counterbalance U.S. hegemony. Meanwhile, Chinese experts' scrutiny of the exploits as well as challenges of American and Allied Forces in Iraq will have a big impact on the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) ambitious modernization drive.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Government, and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- China, Iraq, America, Europe, Israel, and Beijing
148. Bush and Kerry: Questions About Governing Styles
- Author:
- Charles O. Jones
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Brookings Institution
- Abstract:
- Political campaigns are about governing. Candidates offer themselves to the public and endure a grueling process of nomination and election. Campaigns generate a lot of headlines, but it's what comes afterward that counts. Voters usually are left guessing about how each of the candidates would govern. In 2000, the Brookings Institution, the American Enterprise Institute, and the Hoover Institution jointly conducted several forums with journalists and the presidential candidates' close associates that explored how each of the candidates would govern based on their backgrounds, experience, and leadership styles.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, Government, and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- America
149. "Offshoring" Service Jobs: Bane or Boon and What to Do?
- Author:
- Lael Brainard and Robert E. Litan
- Publication Date:
- 04-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Brookings Institution
- Abstract:
- Americans worry the economy is permanently shedding jobs and compressing wages, not only in manufacturing but also now in services once assumed immune to foreign competition. The digitization of information and expanded bandwidth abroad are enabling companies to outsource to low-wage countries services ranging from routine call center work to higher-value software programming, medical diagnosis, and research and analytical activities.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, Government, and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- America
150. The Insurance Industry in America
- Author:
- Robert E. Litan and Richard J. Herring
- Publication Date:
- 03-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Brookings Institution
- Abstract:
- Economists and insurance experts have studied the industry for many years and have developed a series of theoretical concepts to explain how insurance markets function. The prevailing view of the demand for insurance was summed up by one conference participant who noted that an economically rational consumer would understand that apart from certain tax benefits, when you buy insurance, you're making a bet with an insurance company, which the insurance comp any wins on average because it must cover administrative costs and earn a competitive return for its shareholders. From this perspective it makes sense to insure only against potential losses so large as to affect your standard of living. But that is not always how consumers behave.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, Government, and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- America
151. European Union Defense Policy: An American Perspective
- Author:
- Leslie S. Lebl
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- For almost 50 years, proposals by the European Union to develop a common foreign and security policy for all member states failed. Since the late 1990s, however, the situation has changed. Despite, or perhaps because of, member states' disagreements over Iraq, the EU probably will continue to develop common foreign and security policies, and the European Commission may begin to play a role in developing new European military capabilities.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- Iraq, America, Europe, and Middle East
152. Finding America's Voice: A Strategy for Reinvigorating U.S. Public Diplomacy
- Author:
- Peter G. Peterson, Kathy Bloomgarden, Henry Grunwald, David E. Morey, Shibley Telhami, Jennifer Sieg, and Sharon Herbstman
- Publication Date:
- 09-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- The United States has a growing problem. Public opinion polls echo what is seen in foreign editorials and headlines, legislative debate, and reports of personal and professional meetings. Anti- Americanism is a regular feature of both mass and elite opinion around the world. A poll by the Times of London, taken just before the Iraq war, found respondents split evenly over who posed a greater threat to world peace, U.S. President George W. Bush or then Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. At the same time, European antiwar protests drew millions, and several national leaders ran successfully on anti- American platforms. Americans at home and abroad face an increased risk of direct attack from individuals and small groups that now wield more destructive power. The amount of discontent in the world bears a direct relationship to the amount of danger Americans face.
- Topic:
- International Relations and Diplomacy
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, America, and Europe
153. Toward a More Secure America: Grounding U.S. Policies in Global Realities
- Author:
- David Cortright, Alistair Millar, George A. Lopez, and Linda M. Gerber
- Publication Date:
- 10-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Fourth Freedom Forum
- Abstract:
- This policy brief grew out of discussions with a team of former national security and foreign policy officials held at the Washington office of the Fourth Freedom Forum in the summer of 2003. The brief was written by the staff of the Fourth Freedom Forum and the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, who are solely responsible for the report's specific content. The authors incorporated numerous comments and suggestions from the policy advisers. The policy advisers listed below endorse the general thrust of this report and generally agree with the findings presented. Each participant may not, however, be in full agreement with every specific point and detail. The policy advisers listed extend their endorsement as individuals, not as representatives of any organization.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, Peace Studies, and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- United States, America, and Washington
154. Strategic Reactions to American Preeminence: Great Power Politics in the Age of Unipolarity
- Author:
- John G. Ikenberry
- Publication Date:
- 07-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
- Abstract:
- American global power – military, economic, technological, cultural, and political – is one of the great realities of our age. Never before has one country been so powerful and unrivaled. The United States began the 1990s as the world's only superpower and its advantages continued to grow through the decade. After the Cold War, the United States reduced its military spending at a slower rate than other countries and its economy grew at a faster pace. The globalization of the world economy has reinforced American economic and political dominance. No ideological challengers are in site. More recently, in response to terrorist attacks, the United States has embarked on a massive military buildup. In the recent National Security Strategy, the Bush administration has articulated an ambitious and provocative global military role for the United States in confronting new-age threats. Overall, American power advantages are multidimensional, unprecedented, and unlikely to disappear any time soon. The world has taken notice of these developments. Indeed, the post-Cold War rise of American power -- what might be called the rise of American "unipolarity" -- has unsettled world politics. Governments everywhere are worried about the uncertainties and insecurities that appear to flow from such extreme and unprecedented disparities of power. The shifting global security environment – triggered by the terrorist attacks of September 11th –also has conspired to upset old relationships and expectations. The American invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq have put American power on display and raised far-reaching questions about the use of force, alliances, weapons of mass destruction, sovereignty and interventionism. The world is in the midst of a great geopolitical adjustment process. Governments are trying to figure out how an American-centered unipolar order will operate. How will the United States use its power? Will a unipolar world be built around rules and institutions or the unilateral exercise of American power? This global worry about how a unipolar world will operate – in which the most basic questions about the character of world politics are at stake, namely, who benefits and who commands – is the not-so-hidden subtext of all the recent controversies in America's relations with the rest of the world. The question posed in this report is: how are the major countries around the world responding to American global preeminence? Overall, strategies and policies are mostly still in flux around the world. Responses up to now have been mostly ad hoc. Governments are learning, adapting, negotiating, and reacting – thus it is not possible to identify fixed "strategies of response." This report seeks to help us understand these evolving responses in two ways: first, it will provide conceptual tools to identify and track strategic responses by major states to American preeminence, and second, it will offer some preliminary characterizations of the patterns of response, particularly by Western Europe, Russia, and China. This report might be seen as a sort of "field guide" to global reactions rather than a definitive theoretical and empirical statement on the subject. I begin by offering a summary of the findings. After this, I look at the rise of American unipolar power and the variety of ways that American power is "experienced" around the world. In the next section, I survey the deeper sources and multifaceted character of American unipolar power. Next I explore the limits of the basic strategies of response to concentrated power – balancing, bandwagoning and binding. In the next section, I explore some of the emerging strategies that are appearing among the major countries. Finally, in the conclusion I return to the issue of unipolar power and rule-based order.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Politics, and Sovereignty
- Political Geography:
- United States and America
155. The ROK—U.S. Alliance: Where Is It Headed?
- Author:
- Kim Dong Shin
- Publication Date:
- 04-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Abstract:
- The National Security Strategy of the United States of America (September 2002) provides an important framework from which to examine the current crisis on the Korean Peninsula and other challenges in Northeast Asia. With its focus on terrorism and weapons of mass destruction (WMD), this strategy is concerned with North Korea as much as, if not more than, any other state. In particular, North Korea poses a unique set of challenges in regard to WMD. North Korea stands in sharp contrast to the Republic of Korea (ROK) on issues such as human rights, democracy, and market economies. The National Security Strategy suggests that the United States should revitalize its alliance with South Korea, while encouraging North Korea to transform its political and economic system. Yet South Korea and the United States are currently having some difficulties in developing a consensus on how to approach Pyongyang, and appear to have no clear plan to operationalize the strategy to deal with North Korea.
- Topic:
- International Relations and Security
- Political Geography:
- United States, America, Asia, and North Korea
156. China Brief, Beijing studies the U.S. war in Iraq
- Author:
- Willy Lam, Gordon G. Chang, Richard D. Fisher, and Wangchuk Meston
- Publication Date:
- 04-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Jamestown Foundation
- Abstract:
- Chinese strategic and military experts are scrutinizing the U.S. war in Iraq, and for several reasons. First, if American and British forces become bogged down in their effort to liquidate the regime of Saddam Hussein, then it is much less likely that Washington will soon target other rogue regimes with weapons of mass destruction, such as North Korea, a Chinese ally.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Government, and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- China, Iraq, America, Washington, Israel, and North Korea
157. China Brief, Xu Wenli, into American exile
- Author:
- Robyn Lim, Willy Lam, Jonathan Mirsky, and Thomas Woodrow
- Publication Date:
- 01-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Jamestown Foundation
- Abstract:
- On Christmas Eve the Chinese government released Xu Wenli, the founder of the country's tiny Democratic Party, into American exile. Xu has spent sixteen of the last twenty-one years behind bars. The most interesting comments on this event came from John Kamm, who for years has had no equal for occasionally persuading the Chinese government to free its political “enemies”.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Government, and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- China, America, and Israel
158. How the Axis of Evil Metaphor Changes Iranian Images of the USA
- Author:
- Daniel Heradstveit and G. Matthew Bonham
- Publication Date:
- 06-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- The respondents feared an American attack, and regarded their membership in «the Axis of Evil» as a stab in the back after Iranian help in Afghanistan. This demonisation was seen overwhelmingly in terms of American geopolitical designs, ignorance and downright irrationality – an expansionist superpower that is dangerously out of control. The WTC attack initially caused a strengthening of Iranian national unity and a more coherent foreign policy, but most of the respondents regard «the Axis of Evil» as killing the nascent dialogue with the USA stone dead and coming as a godsend to the conservatives and the ultras.
- Topic:
- International Relations and Foreign Policy
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, America, Iran, and Middle East
159. To Give or Not to Give: The Crisis of Confidence in Charities
- Author:
- Paul C. Light
- Publication Date:
- 12-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Brookings Institution
- Abstract:
- Public confidence is essential to America's 1.5 million charitable organizations and the 11 million Americans they employ. Confidence clearly affects the public's willingness to donate time and money, shapes the political and regulatory environment that governs charitable organizations, and has at least some influence on morale within the charitable workforce.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, Government, and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- America
160. Casualties of War: Transatlantic Relations and the Future of NATO in the Wake of the Second Gulf War
- Author:
- Christopher Layne
- Publication Date:
- 08-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The Iraq War represents a turning point in transatlantic relations. Euro-American ties have been ruptured, and never again will be the same. But the growing estrangement between the European powers and the United States is tied primarily to the nature of power in the international system and to America's dominant role in the world today.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, NATO, and War
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, and America