Political Geography: United States of America

5101. The Columbian Exchange and the Reversal of Fortune

Author:: Thomas Grennes
Publication Date:: 01-2007
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: It is difficult to think about modern American food without including hamburgers and hotdogs. It is also difficult to think about popular American history without cowboys mounted on horseback tending herds of cattle. However, before the arrival of Columbus in 1492 there were no cattle or pigs in America to provide beef and pork for hamburgers and hotdogs. There was no wheat to make hamburger and hotdog buns. There were no horses for cowboys or Indians to ride. The European settlers brought with them cattle, pigs, horses, wheat, and many other plants and animals that became the foundation for modern food and agriculture in the Western Hemisphere. It is also difficult to think about modern Mexican food without including rice, tacos filled with meat, refried beans in animal fat, cheese in enchiladas, and sugar, cinnamon, and milk in chocolate. However, Mexico in 1492 had none of these ingredients. The massive transplantation of plants and animals across the Atlantic Ocean in both directions has been called the Columbian Exchange (Crosby 1972). It has been described as the “greatest human intervention in nature since the invention of agriculture (Fernandez-Armesto 2002: 165), and it has had an enormous effect on the Americas and the entire world. The Columbian Exchange altered the kind of food Americans and Mexicans eat, the kind of agricultural products produced in both countries, and the entire pattern of world economic growth. This article will concentrate on the effects of the Columbian Exchange, but the exchange of plants and animals was part of a broader process of trade, migration, investment, colonization, and exchange of ideas that followed the voyages of discovery by Columbus and others. The same Old World plants and animals were introduced to the two regions that would become the United States and Mexico, but the effects in the two countries were substantially different.1 The United States was the poorer neighbor in 1492, but it became relatively richer. The purpose of this article is to show how differences in institutional development affected responses to the same opportunities. I shall concentrate on developments in the United States and Mexico, but the Canadian experience was similar to the U.S. response, and the response in the rest of Latin America was similar to the Mexican response (Cole et al. 2005).
Topic:: Migration, History, Food, Investment, Trade, and Columbian Exchange
Political Geography:: North America, Mexico, and United States of America

5102. Remuneration vs. Reelection: A Senatorial Balancing Act

Author:: Jim F. Couch, Brett A. King, and Taylor P. Stevenson
Publication Date:: 01-2007
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: Unique events often give rise to other unique events. Such was the case of Hurricane Katrina—the costliest and most destructive natural disaster in U.S. history. The resulting casualties and staggering damage estimates from the savage storm in late August 2005, led the U.S. Senate to vote overwhelmingly (92 to 6) against a Senate pay raise. Most senators apparently felt that voters would not look kindly on a Senate pay raise given the devastation caused by Katrina. The Senate vote was largely symbolic because the House of Representatives was not going to take a vote on rescinding a pay raise for members of Congress. Thus, senators voting against the raise knew their votes would resonate well with voters but have no impact on the annual congressional pay raise sanctioned by law. Of the six senators who did vote for the pay raise, five—James Jeffords (I-Vt.), Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Richard Lugar (RInd.), and Kit Bond (R-Mo.)—were long-time incumbents whose seats were not threatened, and one—Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.)—was about to retire. Typically, votes cast by members of Congress are relatively easy to predict. The empirical analysis of congressional voting patterns suggests that measures of ideology and party affiliation play a decisive role in explaining overall voting behavior. A vote on congressional pay, however, is not typical. It creates a dilemma for lawmakers by pitting two margins of self-interest against each other: pecuniary gains and reelection. Senators are clearly made better off by not opposing annual pay raises—salaries have increased from $98,400 in 1990 to $165,200 in 2006. Yet, those increases are likely to irritate voters and could harm a senator’s chances for reelection. In this article, we examine those conflicts of interest and how they affect voting behavior in the case of senatorial pay raises. It is often reported that cooperation among politicians, or bipartisanship, is a thing of the past. However, our results suggest that at least in the case of the Senate, when it comes to an issue as controversial as a pay increase, senators are fully capable of cooperating. More vulnerable senators (in terms of their probability of reelection) are allowed to vote against a pay raise, knowing that those in a more secure position can vote for the increase. The more vulnerable senators likely compensate senators who take the unpopular position of voting in favor of the pay increase with favorable votes on future legislation.
Topic:: Elections, Domestic Politics, Ideology, and Voting Behavior
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5103. Global Imbalances: Do They Matter?

Author:: Miranda Xafa
Publication Date:: 01-2007
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: This article reviews the recent literature on global imbalances and discusses the policy implications of the various theories that have been advanced to explain their unprecedented increase. Most of these theories fit the stylized facts, namely, the steady increase in the U.S. current account deficit, the shift to a surplus position of the developing countries, and the low nominal and real interest rates globally. The “low U.S. savings” theory—reflecting the increase in the fiscal deficit and in housing wealth—views the current account deficit as the result of fiscal and monetary policy decisions in the United States that need to be urgently reversed to prevent a crash landing. Other theories however, focusing on developments outside the United States, portfolio balance effects, or previously neglected benign factors, do not yield such a doomsday scenario. It is relevant to note that there is no historical precedent of disorderly exchange rate adjustment in industrial countries that keep inflation under control (Croke, Kamin, and Leduc 2005). Concerns over a disorderly unwinding of global imbalances therefore appear exaggerated. This view, prevalent among market participants and several prominent academics, has not been widely embraced by policymakers.
Topic:: Monetary Policy, Economy, Wealth, and Savings
Political Geography:: Global Focus and United States of America

5104. Why the U.S. External Imbalance Matters

Author:: William R Cline
Publication Date:: 01-2007
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: Last year the U.S. current account deficit (mainly on trade but including capital income and transfers) reached almost 7 percent of GDP, or about twice as large a share as in 1987, the peak of the previous episode of large external imbalances and dollar overvaluation. A major reason is that from 1995 to 2002 the dollar rose by 28 percent against other currencies, after taking account of inflation and weighting by trade. A strong dollar made U.S. exports expensive and imports cheap, driving up the trade deficit after about a two-year reaction time. With large and persistent external deficits, the United States has swung from being the world’s largest creditor nation to its largest debtor, with net foreign liabilities now at about one-fourth of GDP. The dollar has corrected somewhat and is now about 13 percent lower on a trade-weighted basis than its average in 2002, based on the Federal Reserve’s broad real exchange rate index. Without that partial correction the trade deficit would now be even larger. It will likely require a decline of an additional 15 to 20 percent in the dollar to cut the current account deficit back to about 3 percent of GDP. That rate would be consistent with limiting net foreign liabilities to 50 percent of GDP in the long term. Exceeding that ceiling would seem imprudent for both the U.S. and global economies. It will be crucial that China, Japan, and much of the rest of Asia participate in realignment of their currencies against the dollar, because the decline of the dollar so far has been heavily concentrated against the euro and other industrial country currencies except for the Japanese yen. Dollar correction will also need to be accompanied by fiscal adjustment. Otherwise much of the competitive effect of the dollar adjustment would be offset by higher inflation and a dollar rebound from higher interest rates. Fundamentally the external deficit is the excess of resources used over resources produced, and with U.S. household saving near zero, the government cannot be a large net borrower without keeping the nation in large external deficit.
Topic:: Government, Finance, Economy, Currency, and Deficit
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5105. Stockholders and Stakeholders: The Battle for Control of the Corporation

Author:: Donna Card Charron
Publication Date:: 01-2007
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: The American corporation is in trouble not only because of various immoral executives, but also because it is a target of sustained attacks. For several decades, corporate revisionists have toiled to transform the corporation from private to public property. Were they to succeed, the tragedy of the commons would slowly sap the corporation of its vitality. My objective in exposing the battle for corporate control is to urge and encourage those committed to the preservation of this highly performing institution to place the issue more prominently on their agenda. To this end, I detail the evolution of the battle and assess the present state of affairs. In so doing, I describe and critique “stakeholder theory,” the revisionist’s chosen weapon for gaining control of the corporation. Stakeholder theory currently dominates textbooks and syllabi of courses in business management, human resource management, marketing, and public policy. It colors the decisions of many corporate executives. And it controls the thinking in the majority of business ethics centers. Aware of its reach, I adumbrate a strategy for reversing the destructive inroads of stakeholder theory.
Topic:: Business, Management, Corporations, and Stakeholders
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5106. The Politics of Iran's Assembly of Experts after Meshkini

Author:: Mahjoob Zweiri and Ramzy Mardini
Publication Date:: 09-2007
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center for Strategic Studies (CSS)
Abstract:: The recent death of Ayatollah Ali Meshkini effectively created a vacuum that was bound to lead to an ideological and political clash among Iran’s power players. Meshkini was the first and only chairman of the Assembly of Experts, objectively Iran’s most powerful institution. He has kept its inherent powers at bay to the desires of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But now that has changed and Meshkini’s passing, with the recent victory of Hashemi Rafsanjani as his successor, has come at a time when the Islamic Republic is witnessing a socio-political redefinition in its conservative establishment. The ambitions of Iran’s old and new elitists have led to a political confrontation in filling Meshkini’s vacuity, a struggle that may have changed Iranian discourse, as we know it. Though this event is little known and hardly emphasized in media circles in the West, the politics leading up to Rafsanjani’s victory over the ultra-conservatives should be of great interest to those in discussion with Iran over its nuclear program and involvement in Iraq, particularly the United States. This article analyzes the Assembly’s role and significance within the Iranian institutional realm as well as depicts the candidates and politics that shaped this historic dilemma.
Topic:: Nuclear Weapons, Politics, Nuclear Power, and Domestic Politics
Political Geography:: Iran, Middle East, and United States of America

5107. Is Port Security Funding Making Us Safer?

Author:: Veronique de Rugy
Publication Date:: 11-2007
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:: The most terrifying security threat to security experts and the public alike is nuclear proliferation. Once the figment of Hollywood imagination, the ultimate nightmare scenario that is dis- cussed by some as inevitable is the detonation of a nuclear device on American soil. The majority of experts believe that the most likely way weapons of mass destruction (WMD) would enter the United States is by sea, hence a focus on port security.1 Ports offer terrorists vast opportunities to inflict damages. As the primary mode of transpor- tation for world trade goods, maritime commerce is essential to America’s economic vital- ity.2 Every year approximately nine million cargo containers—26,000 a day—arrive at U.S. ports from all over the world.3 The U.S. maritime system includes more than 361 sea and river ports with more than 3,700 cargo and passenger terminals and more than 1,000 harbor channels along thousands of miles of coastline.4 In FY 2007, President Bush requested $2.3 billion for port security out of a $57 billion government-wide budget for homeland security.5 However, the important question is not how much money is spent but rather whether the money is allocated toward the most cost- effective programs. In other words, is America getting the maximum level of protection in exchange for our tax dollars? A close look at port security allocation decisions indicates that spending occurs without regard for risk analysis let alone cost-benefit analysis, leading to a large array of misallocated spending. For instance, what should be the highest priorities—preventing terrorists from acquiring nuclear devices and material—receive less money than much less cost-effective policies such as nuclear detection in the ports or post-disaster response activities.
Topic:: Security, Maritime, Trade, and Port
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5108. Russia and America: Is Another Arms Race Afoot?

Author:: Jane M.O. Sharp
Publication Date:: 11-2007
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:: During the Cold War years we learned that successful arms con- trol agreements with the Soviet Union were those that codified parity, or at least a mutually acceptable status quo. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Treaty Organization (WTO) in 1991, a much diminished Russia saw all its WTO allies and three former Soviet republics join NATO, making parity harder to achieve. But there are still compelling reasons to shape agreements that satisfy all parties. During the 1990s, under Boris Yeltsin, Russia strove to be represented as an equal to the United States in arms control diplomacy and in negotiations concerning the future of former Yugoslavia. President Bill Clinton tried to meet Yeltsin’s concerns, but there has been little constructive cooperation on arms control between George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin. Indeed, since 2000, Bush has been hostile to any kind of multilateral diplomacy. He began his presidency with a new generation of ballistic missile defenses (BMD) and withdrew from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty, an agreement that had stabilized U.S.-Soviet relations for two decades. In Russia, an increasingly belligerent Putin, flush with oil money, is now determined to be accorded great power status in his dealings with the West. He is asserting himself in many areas: trying to block independence for Kosovo; countering U.S. sanctions against Iran; and renegotiating arms control agreements concluded when Russia was weak. While Putin is viewed with increasing wariness in the West, on arms control he has some points that need to be taken seriously.
Topic:: Defense Policy, Diplomacy, Military Strategy, and Arms Race
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, North America, and United States of America

5109. The U.S. and Iran After the NIE

Author:: Farideh Farhi
Publication Date:: 12-2007
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:: The release of the National Intelligence Estimate regarding Iran’s nuclear capabilities, intentions, and policies created shock waves as well as sighs of relief in Washington and elsewhere. The assessment that Iran stopped its weapons program in 2003, and that its declared enrichment program cannot be converted as easily or as quickly as assumed for use in a military program, immediately brought into question the notion that Iran’s nuclear program needs to be dealt with immediately and only through coercive mechanisms. Amid a notable amount of “spinning” the NIE’s conclusions, a slew of questions are in play regarding if and how the U.S. should alter its hard-edged policies toward the Islamic Republic. A consensus seems to have developed that the report has taken the military option off the table and made the sanctions process at play in the U.N. Security Council more difficult to pursue effectively. These dynamics gave longstanding proponents of direct and unconditional dialogue with Iran new opportunity to re-state their case.1 Calls for such negotiations also came from surprising new corners. In the words of Robert Kagan, co-founder of the hawkish Project for the New American Century, “it is hard to see what other policy options are available. This is the hand that has been dealt. The Bush administration needs to be smart and creative enough to play it well.”2
Topic:: Security, Intelligence, Nuclear Weapons, United Nations, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:: Iran, Middle East, North America, and United States of America

5110. The Annapolis Meeting: Too Little Too Late!

Author:: Hassan Barari
Publication Date:: 11-2007
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Strategic Studies (CSS)
Abstract:: As of writing this piece, no final date has yet been set for the Annapolis meeting, but most likely it will be the last week of November. Amid the premature optimism, the concerned parties need to realize that the meeting is likely to fail. Indeed, rejectionists on both sides are already rubbing their hands gleefully in anticipation of a colossal failure. Therefore, many observers have warned that this summit requires careful planning and, more importantly, a day-to-day strategy, should the meeting fail. They argue that US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has backtracked from her original plans and has changed the agenda of the conference in such a way that it will have a limited purpose. The new thinking is that the Annapolis meeting should be seen as a process and not as an event. This article sheds light on the dynamics that will determine the degree of success.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Conflict, Negotiation, and Peace
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and United States of America

5111. The UN Security Council’s Response to Terrorism: Before and After September 11, 2001

Author:: Hilde Haaland Kramer and Steve A. Yetiv
Publication Date:: 09-2007
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: HILDE HAALAND KRAMER and STEVE A. YETIV argue that the UN Security Council’s response to global terrorism has been more forceful and comprehensive since September 11 and that it has broken some new ground. The authors posit that although the UN remains controversial in the United States, Washington benefited from its response to September 11, as imperfect as it was.
Topic:: Terrorism, United Nations, 9/11, and UN Security Council
Political Geography:: Global Focus and United States of America

5112. Iran’s Nuclear Challenge

Author:: Colin Dueck and Ray Takeyh
Publication Date:: 07-2007
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: COLIN DUECK and RAY TAKEYH describe the political, ideological and security motivations behind Iran’s nuclear program and examine various strategic alternatives available to the United States. They conclude that the United States should pursue comprehensive, direct negotiations with Tehran on the nuclear issue, within an overarching framework of containment.
Topic:: Security, Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Power, Negotiation, and Containment
Political Geography:: Iran, Middle East, and United States of America

5113. Referendum: The 2006 Midterm Congressional Elections

Author:: Gary C. Jacobson
Publication Date:: 03-2007
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: GARY C. JACOBSON analyzes the 2006 midterm election as a referendum on the performance of President Bush, the war in Iraq, and the Republican Congress. He argues that the Democrats won control of Congress by nationalizing the election and exploiting widespread public discontent with the Republican regime to overcome the Republicans’ formidable structural advantage in present-day electoral politics.
Topic:: Elections, Domestic Politics, Iraq War, Republican Party, and Democratic Party
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5114. What Are Nuclear Weapons For? Recommendations For Restructuring U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces

Author:: Sidney D. Drell and James E. Goodby
Publication Date:: 10-2007
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Arms Control Association
Abstract:: The U.S. and Russia have agreed to cooperatively reduce their large nuclear stockpiles. The report recommends that the U.S. reduce its arsenal to 500 operational deployed warheads, with 500 warheads in a responsive force, by 2012. These reductions would be made in concert with Russian warhead reductions. The authors specifically outline where and how the remaining warheads should be deployed.
Topic:: Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, and Armed Forces
Political Geography:: Russia and United States of America

5115. An Unconventional Perspective on the Greenspan Record

Author:: William A. Niskanen
Publication Date:: 07-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: On his nomination as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, Ben Bernanke stated, “My first priority will be to maintain continuity with the policies and policy strategies established during the Greenspan years.” For that statement to provide much information, however, it is useful to understand the record of the Greenspan years.
Topic:: Financial Crisis, Federal Reserve, and Fiscal Policy
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5116. The U.S. Dollar and Prosperity: Accidents Waiting to Happen

Author:: Reuver Brenner
Publication Date:: 07-2006
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: Development in the rest of the world depends on the United States because America continues to be the engine of the world economy and the U.S. dollar is the main reserve currency. In this article, I examine the prospects of America remaining an economic superpower and the dollar maintaining its status as a reserve currency. I also show that unless the United States succeeds financial markets and development around the world will suffer. During the last decade, the U.S. dollar has experienced wide fluctuations. The dollar’s real effective exchange rate relative to the seven major currencies varied from about 80 in 1995 to 120 in 2001, and back to 90 in 2005 (BIS 2005: 91). The dollar was up roughly 30 percent relative to commodity prices between 1997 and 2001. Then, between 2002 and the end of 2004, the dollar fell by about 30 percent relative to gold and commodities. During the first 10 months of 2005, all hard currencies (except the Canadian and Australian dollar) were down by another 15 percent relative to gold. Nevertheless, the bond market still expects a stable dollar over the long haul, as reflected in long-term interest rates. The relative stability of the long-term interest rates offers comfort because the world depends on a predictable value of the dollar. The havoc its demise as reserve currency would provoke is hardly imaginable. The significant upward movement in the U.S. dollar during the late 1990s brought financial, political, and social havoc in countries that either pegged their currencies to the dollar or had currency boards, Argentina’s case being the most prominent. Later, the decline in the dollar between 2002 and 2004 has brought about much antagonism in trade relations around the world and cries for protectionism. Even with the dollar’s volatility around a downward trend since 2002, the euro did not displace the U.S. dollar as the world’s main reserve currency—and will not do so unless drastic events happen, which I do not foresee.1 One such drastic event would be an utter mismanagement of the U.S. dollar. Another would be the European Central Bank (ECB) announcing that it was moving toward targeting the price of gold to manage the euro. The ECB would then become a supranational monetary institution independent of all political pressures. Anchoring the euro to the price of gold would reflect changes in global demands for euro liquidity, functioning as a reserve currency. The reason I do not expect the euro to replace the U.S. dollar as the main reserve currency, unless either of these two events happens, is that the euro is the very first paper currency not backed either by a strong government or by gold. It is a unique experiment. For the euro to become a reserve currency, the eurozone would have to run persistent trade deficits, allowing surplus countries to build up their euro reserves. To achieve that outcome, however, the eurozone countries would have to radically reform their fiscal and regulatory policies, to encourage far more domestic entrepreneurship and consumption than they presently do. This scenario does not seem to be in the cards. Indeed, as Europe’s population gets older, meaningful reform becomes less likely, and I do not see any chance for a strong European government to emerge and tackle the situation. Aging baby boomers, who dominate Europe’s voters, prefer the status quo. In sum, the chances of the euro becoming a serious alternative to the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency are slim, or nonexistent. The Federal Reserve would have to seriously mishandle monetary affairs for this to happen.
Topic:: Currency, Economic Development, and Dollar
Political Geography:: Global Focus and United States of America

5117. Global Imbalances and Financial Reform with Examples from China

Author:: Raghuram G. Rajan
Publication Date:: 07-2006
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: I will focus on a familiar issue, the problem of global current account imbalances, and will describe how financial sector reform can help narrow them, using examples from China. The United States is running a current account deficit approaching 6.25 percent of its GDP and over 1.5 percent of world GDP. To help finance it, the United States pulls in 70 percent of all global capital flows. Clearly, such a large deficit is unsustainable in the long run. The current situation has its roots in a series of crises over the last decade that were caused by excessive investment, such as the Japanese asset bubble, the crises in emerging markets in Asia and Latin America, and most recently, the IT bubble. Investment has fallen off sharply since, with only very cautious recovery. This is particularly true of emerging Asia and Japan. The policy response to the slowdown in investment has differed across countries. In the industrial countries, accommodative policies such as expansionary budgets and low interest rates have led to consumption- or credit-fueled growth, particularly in Anglo-Saxon countries. Government savings have fallen, especially in the United States and Japan, and household savings have virtually disappeared in some countries with housing booms. By contrast, the crises were a wake-up call in a number of emerging market countries. Historically lax policies have been tightened, with some countries running primary fiscal surpluses for the first time, and most bringing down inflation through tight monetary policy. With corporations cautious, and governments abandoning the grandiose projects of the past, investment has fallen off. Instead, exports have led growth. Many emerging markets have run current account surpluses for the first time. In emerging Asia, a corollary has been a buildup of international reserves.
Topic:: Financial Crisis, Reform, Finance, Economy, and Deficit
Political Geography:: China, Asia, North America, and United States of America

5118. Treaty Compliance: Lessons from the Softwood Lumber Case

Author:: Jeff Colgan
Publication Date:: 05-2006
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:: School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:: The Canada-U.S. dispute over softwood lumber imports provides an important case in understanding issues of international bargaining and treaty compliance. Recent events in the dispute suggest that one of the leading theoretical accounts of treaty compliance does not offer an adequate explanation of state behavior. Policy makers should recognize the importance of cross-border ownership and industry interdependence for the implementation of, and compliance with, international trade agreements. The softwood lumber dispute adds credence to the perspective, often advocated by realists, that treaty compliance will only occur when it is in a nation’s material interests to do so.
Topic:: Treaties and Agreements, Trade, Imports, and Disputes
Political Geography:: Canada, North America, and United States of America

5119. Do Mentoring and Induction Programs Have Greater Benefits for Teachers Who Lack Preservice Training?

Author:: Laura Duke, Adam Karson, and Justin Wheeler
Publication Date:: 05-2006
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:: School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:: The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of mentoring and induction programs on teacher retention, as measured by teachers’ commitment to their profession. Using data from the 1999-2000 Schools and Staffi ng Survey, we perform logistic regression analyses to model the effect of induction and its different components on teacher commitment, and compare the marginal impact of induction programs on teachers with and without degrees in education. Our results show that teachers who have had mentors or gone through induction programs in their fi rst year of teaching are more likely to be committed to the teaching profession. Moreover, mentoring and induction programs have a greater marginal benefi t for teachers without education degrees than for those with education degrees. Based on our results, we recommend that districts (1) provide mentoring and induction programs for all teachers, and (2) allow school-level fl exibility in tailoring induction and mentoring programs.
Topic:: Education, Training, Teachers, and Mentorship
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5120. Uniting a City: Facilitating Interracial Interactions and Cultural Exchange in Urban Public Spaces, with Applications to Washington D.C.

Author:: Ginger M. Moored
Publication Date:: 05-2006
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:: School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:: Racial segregation in American cities exacerbates racial tensions and spatially concentrates poverty. While government entities and other organizations use a number of techniques to mollify these problems such as mixed-income housing and school busing programs, these techniques often do not overcome everyday geographic separation, and, in turn, fail to promote physical interracial interactions or cultural exchange. One way to foster interracial interactions that lead to cultural exchange is to hold organized events in public spaces that are natural meeting-areas for cities’ residents. Studies about interracial interactions, though, suggest that to be successful these events should: (1) produce high levels of interaction, (2) provide opportunities for cultural exchange, (3) use engaging programming with broad appeal, (4) maximize accessibility of events, (5) minimize cultural intimidation, and (6) equally value all cultures. This paper devises strategies for creating events that have these six characteristics and illustrates these strategies using examples from U.S. cities. The latter part of this paper describes how these strategies can be specifi cally applied to Washington, D.C., a city sharply divided by race.
Topic:: Race, Culture, Urban, Cities, and Public Space
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5121. Independent Central Banks: New and Old

Author:: John H. Wood
Publication Date:: 10-2006
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: In the 1990s, several governments gave their central banks operational independence to pursue low inflation, and steps were taken to make the new monetary policy more credible by making it more transparent (Bernanke et al. 1999). The governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand is subject to dismissal if inflation is outside the assigned range. In the United Kingdom, if inflation misses the target by more than 1 percentage point, the governor must explain publicly why the divergence occurred and what steps the Bank of England is taking to deal with it. The new transparency “facilitates public understanding of monetary policy and increases the incentives for the central bank to pursue the announced goals of monetary policy” (Svensson 1999: 631–32). Accountability is increased, indeed made possible, by the choice of a unique objective, which implies “a stronger commitment to a systematic and rational optimizing monetary policy than other monetary policy regimes” (p. 608).
Topic:: Monetary Policy, Inflation, and Central Bank
Political Geography:: England and United States of America

5122. Tobacco Control Programs and Tobacco Consumption

Author:: Michael L. Marlow
Publication Date:: 10-2006
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) believe that adequate funding of tobacco control programs by all 50 states would reduce the number of adults who smoke by promoting quitting, preventing young people from ever starting, reducing exposure to secondhand smoke, and eliminating disparities in tobacco use among population groups. CDC has established guidelines for comprehensive tobacco control programs, including recommended funding levels, in Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs (CDC 1999; hereafter called Best Practices). Recommendations are based on best practices in nine program elements: community programs to reduce tobacco use, chronic disease programs to reduce the burden of tobacco-related diseases, school programs, enforcement, statewide programs, countermarketing, cessation programs, surveillance and evaluation, and administration and management. CDC recommends annual funding per capita to range from $7 to $20 in smaller states (population less than 3 million), $6–$17 in medium-sized states (population 3–7 million), and $5–$16 in larger states (population more than 7 million).
Topic:: Tobacco, Public Health, and Public Spending
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5123. Does “Starve the Beast” Work?

Author:: Jerry H. Tempelman
Publication Date:: 10-2006
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: Starve-the-beast proponents believe that in order to tame the beast, one needs to starve it, with the beast being an obvious reference to Thomas Hobbes’s Leviathan depiction of an out-of-control state apparatus. The idea of tax reductions as a way to enforce discipline in government spending holds regardless of whether the nation is in the midst of an economic expansion or a recession. Following the recurrence of federal budget deficits that coincided with the enactment of federal tax cuts during 2001–2003, the starvethe-beast approach to fiscal policy that once was one of the underpinnings of the Reagan Revolution has become increasingly controversial. It is no longer mainly the political left that criticizes the starve-the-beast approach. Even some Republicans who once participated in the move to a smaller government during the Reagan presidency now criticize starve-the-beast thinking. Recently, William Niskanen (2005) has used statistical evidence to demonstrate that a decrease in taxes in a given year is followed by an increase in spending the next. Bruce Bartlett (2005) has proposed raising taxes, namely by introducing a value-added tax, presumably to prevent having to increase less efficient income taxes later.
Topic:: Budget, Economy, Tax Systems, and Fiscal Policy
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5124. Limiting Government: The Failure of “Starve the Beast”

Author:: William A. Niskanen
Publication Date:: 10-2006
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: For nearly 30 years, many Republicans have argued that the most effective way to control federal government spending is to “starve the beast” by reducing federal tax revenues. Moreover, two Nobel laureate economists, Milton Friedman and Gary Becker, have endorsed this argument. Friedman (2003) summarized this perspective as follows: How can we ever cut government down to size? I believe there is one and only one way: the way parents control spendthrift children, cutting their allowance. For governments, this means cutting taxes. Resulting deficits will be an effective—I would go so far as to say, the only effective—restraint on the spending propensities of the executive branch and the legislature. The public reaction will make that restraint effective. Becker and his colleagues Ed Lazear and Kevin Murphy (2003) described this effect as “the double benefit of tax cuts.” (Lazear is the recently appointed chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers.) This argument has been effective in unifying the Republican Party in favor of reducing federal taxes, but at the cost of undermining the more traditional Republican concern about fiscal responsibility.
Topic:: Government, Economy, Tax Systems, Fiscal Policy, and Public Spending
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5125. U.S.-China Relations: The Case for Economic Liberalism

Author:: James A. Dorn
Publication Date:: 10-2006
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: In its 2005 Report to Congress, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission—also known as the U.S.-China Commission (USCC)—recommended that China appreciate its currency, the renminbi (RMB), “by at least 25 percent against the U.S. dollar” or face “an immediate, across-the-board tariff on Chinese imports.” The commission argued that such an action could be justified under Article XXI of the World Trade Organization (WTO), “which allows members to take necessary actions to protect their national security.” The key idea behind the commission’s protectionist policy stance is that “China’s undervalued currency has contributed to a loss of U.S. manufacturing, which is a national security concern” (USCC 2005: 14).
Topic:: Bilateral Relations, Economy, Trade, and Liberalism
Political Geography:: China, Asia, North America, and United States of America

5126. Strong Civil Society as a Double-Edged Sword: Siting Trailers in Post-Katrina New Orleans

Author:: David P. Aldrich and Kevin Crook
Publication Date:: 12-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:: To meet the dire need for housing created by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans and the staff of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) worked to create lists of potential sites for trailer parks. This procedure took place within an environment of Not In My Back Yard-ism, or NIMBYism, where a number of communities and individuals expressed their opposition to hosting such trailer sites both publicly and privately. We analyze the final list of city-approved sites to track which factors were correlated with larger (or smaller) numbers of trailers and trailer sites per zip code bloc. Our data show that areas which displayed greater levels of social capital, as evidenced by voluntaristic activities such as turning out to vote, were slated for fewer trailers, controlling for race, income, flood damage, area, population density, and other relevant factors. Despite theories uncritically connecting denser social capital with more rapid rebuilding, areas of strong civil society weakened the city’s ability to recover quickly by forcing it to invest more effort in locating amenable sites for temporary housing.
Topic:: Civil Society, Natural Disasters, Social Capital, Hurricane Katrina, Trailer Parks, and Spatial Location
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5127. Latinos and U.S. Foreign Policy

Author:: Jorge I. Domínguez
Publication Date:: 05-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:: U.S. Latinos—Puerto Ricans and Cuban-Americans excepted in specific instances—have had limited impact on U.S. policy toward Latin America because they lack the interest and the resources to do so, and the capacity to act in concert for foreign policy purposes. Moreover, Latinos as a category do not have a shared Latin American foreign policy agenda. To the extent that they engage at all in the foreign policy arena, they typically do so in relation to their countries of origin. In many cases, however, they dislike the government of their homeland. In those relatively rare cases when U.S. Latino elites have sought to influence U.S. foreign policy, they have characteristically followed the lead of the U.S. government instead of seeking to change the main features of U.S. policy toward Latin America. This paper considers several case studies: the Puerto Rican influence on the Alliance for Progress; the Cuban-American influence on U.S. policy toward Cuba; the Mexican-American behavior relative to the enactment of NAFTA and U.S.-Mexican migration negotiations in 2001; and the Central American impact on U.S. immigration policies in the mid-1990s.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Immigration, Negotiation, and Latinos
Political Geography:: Cuba, North America, United States of America, and Puerto Rico

5128. Technology and Labor Regulations

Author:: Joseph Zeira and Alberto Alesina
Publication Date:: 12-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:: Many low skilled jobs have been substituted away for machines in Europe, or eliminated, much more so than in the US, while technological progress at the “top”, i.e. at the hightech sector, is faster in the US than in Europe. This paper suggests that the main difference between Europe and the US in this respect is their different labor market policies. European countries reduce wage flexibility and inequality through a host of labor market regulations, like binding minimum wage laws, permanent unemployment subsidies, firing costs, etc. Such policies create incentives to develop and adopt labor saving capital intensive technologies at the low end of the skill distribution. At the same time technical progress in the US is more skill biased than in Europe, since American skilled wages are higher.
Topic:: Science and Technology, Labor Issues, Inequality, Wages, Mechanization, and Jobs
Political Geography:: Europe and United States of America

5129. Dismantling the DPRK’s Nuclear Weapons Program: A Practicable, Verifiable Plan of Action

Author:: David Albright and Corey Hinderstein
Publication Date:: 01-2006
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Institute for Science and International Security
Abstract:: Verified dismantlement of the nuclear weapons program of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) can be accomplished successfully. Although difficulties abound in reaching an agreement with the DPRK to achieve this goal, the methods and steps involved in the dismantlement process are well understood. Because this goal remains vital to U.S. and international security, the United States has joined with China, Japan, Russia, and South Korea in working toward verified denuclearization of the Korean peninsula with the cooperation of the DPRK. These six nations have launched a series of negotiations, called the Six-Party Talks, aimed at resolving the crisis over the DPRK’s nuclear program. These nations are also attempting to create a plan to dismantle the DPRK’s program in a manner with which all the nations can feel secure.
Topic:: Nuclear Weapons, International Security, and Disarmament
Political Geography:: Russia, Japan, China, Asia, South Korea, North Korea, and United States of America

5130. Public-Private Partnerships for Development: A Handbook for Business

Author:: Suezan C. Lee
Publication Date:: 07-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Conference Board
Abstract:: CED partnered with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on this handbook, published in 2006, which is designed to help businesses operating in developing countries understand how to build public-private partnerships that will benefit their host country populations and the participating firms.
Topic:: International Trade and Finance, Partnerships, Business, Public Sector, Economic Development, and Private Sector
Political Geography:: Global Focus and United States of America

5131. The Geneva Conventions and New Wars

Author:: Renee De Nevers
Publication Date:: 09-2006
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: RENÉE DE NEVERS explores how ‘‘new’’ wars—ranging from civil wars to asymmetric war—and new warriors, including warlords, private security companies, and children, fit within the Geneva Conventions. Although the nature of warfare and warriors has changed from the time the Conventions were adopted in 1949, she challenges the view that the Conventions should be abandoned. Rather, she argues, the Conventions should be revitalized to address a broader spectrum of war, because this will generate greater international support for U.S. efforts to combat terrorism.
Topic:: Terrorism, War, and Geneva Convention
Political Geography:: Global Focus and United States of America

5132. Tragic Choices in the War on Terrorism: Should We Try to Regulate and Control Torture?

Author:: Jerome Slater
Publication Date:: 07-2006
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: JEROME SLATER argues that in certain circumstances in the war on terrorism, the coercion or perhaps even the torture of captured terrorists may be both necessary for national security and morally a lesser evil than the preventable mass murder of innocents.
Topic:: Human Rights, National Security, Torture, and War on Terror
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5133. An Empirical Analysis of Failed Intelligence Reforms Before September 11

Author:: Amy B. Zegart
Publication Date:: 03-2006
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: AMY B. ZEGART examines the failures to reform U.S. intelligence agencies before the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. She finds that during the 1990s, intelligence officials and policy makers understood the rising terrorist threat and the urgent need for reform, but failed to address critical organizational deficiencies.
Topic:: Intelligence, National Security, Terrorism, Reform, and 9/11
Political Geography:: United States of America

5134. A Case for Government-Sponsored Monitoring of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis in the United States

Author:: Aaron D. Levine
Publication Date:: 05-2005
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:: School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:: Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), a modified version of in vitro fertilization in which individual embryos are screened for specific genetic characteristics prior to implantation, provides a powerful way for parents suffering from infertility to increase their chances of having healthy children. In its various forms, PGD allows parents to screen for gender, providing a means for avoiding X-linked diseases, chromosomal abnormalities, such as translocations and aneuploidies, and single-gene disorders. Beyond these standard uses, PGD could potentially be used to select for any genetic trait, and this aspect of the technology has raised concerns that it may be used either intentionally or unintentionally for eugenic purposes. At present, reproductive medicine is only loosely regulated in the United States and new technologies, such as PGD, are almost entirely unregulated. This paper argues that given the lack of consensus regarding the ethical acceptability of PGD and embryo selection techniques, the government has an interest in gathering and reporting data on the use of PGD in the United States. Taking a proactive role now, rather than allowing the use of PGD to continue growing unscrutinized, will give society the chance to make thoughtful and deliberate decisions about its use.
Topic:: Government, Science and Technology, Medicine, Reproductive Health, and Genetics
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5135. Revisiting Goldwarter v. Carter: The Executive’s Right to Rescind Treaties in Light of President Bush’s 2002 Termination of the ABM Treaty

Author:: Howard A. Wachtel
Publication Date:: 05-2005
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:: School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:: This paper examines the constitutional power of the President to terminate treaty obligations. It centers on President Bush’s recent renunciation of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the Soviet Union. It focuses on the balance of power between the legislative and executive branches in light of the Goldwater v. Carter and Kucinich v. Bush decisions. The paper is divided into six sections: (1) the international legal ramifications of unilateral executive treaty rescission; (2) the role of standing; (3) the impact of the political question doctrine; (4) arguments for and against permitting the President to terminate treaties; (5) a discussion of the process that should be used to terminate treaties, as between the President and Congress; and, finally, (6) an examination of alternative strategies that Congress may employ when the President chooses to rescind a treaty. The paper concludes that the decision to terminate a treaty should not be one-sided, and that joint action from both branches should be required whenever the United States wishes to relieve itself of treaty obligations.
Topic:: Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, and Nonproliferation
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5136. Decision-Making in Endangered Species Management

Author:: Jonathan C. Borck
Publication Date:: 05-2005
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:: School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:: This paper examines decisions made by the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, to protect species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and to fund their recovery. Using a data set that includes scientific, economic, and political variables on vertebrates from 1989 to 1997, this paper estimates a variety of regression models of the listing and funding decisions. Although required by law to consider only scientific factors such as species’ vulnerability in its decision-making, FWS appears instead to favor visceral characteristics, such as species’ taxonomic class and size. Both criteria are defensible. Nonetheless, the paper recommends that FWS and its partner agencies acknowledge and try to resolve the inconsistencies between their legal obligations and their actual behavior to ensure more effective implementation of this important piece of environmental legislation.
Topic:: Environment, Legislation, Animals, Decision-Making, Biodiversity, and Endangered Species
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5137. Taxing Business-to-Consumer Interstate Remote Retail Sales: Economics v. Jurisprudence in the Battle Over Tax Jurisdiction

Author:: Jeptha Nafziger
Publication Date:: 05-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:: Retail sales and use taxes constitute a major component of state and local tax bases, providing critical funds for many public programs. The continued and increasing significance of nontaxed remote retail sales—interstate sales of goods by firms without sufficient presence in the destination jurisdiction—has put the long-term solvency of these tax bases and the public programs they fund in jeopardy. To a considerable extent, this problem is attributable to the oft-criticized “nexus” standard, a legal concept that limits a jurisdiction’s ability to tax remote transactions based on constitutional and stare decisis grounds. This paper offers a summary of the jurisprudence that has yielded the current nexus interpretation, an economic critique of its underlying principles, and several recommendations that could serve as policy alternatives to the status quo.
Topic:: Economics, Business, Tax Systems, Jurisdiction, Retail, Consumer Behavior, and Jurisprudence
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5138. Combating Proliferation: Addressing the Russian Nuclear Threat

Author:: Amy M. Seward
Publication Date:: 05-2005
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:: School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:: Fifteen years after the initiation of U.S. threat reduction programs in the former Soviet Union and some four years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, more than half of Russia’s vast stockpile of weapons-usable fissile materials remains to be secured, and is thus vulnerable to diversion by terrorists for use in a nuclear device. This paper assesses the state of fissile material security in Russia today, taking as a case study the security of nuclear materials involved in the operations of the Russian Navy’s Northern Fleet. Recommendations are made drawing on the successes and shortcomings of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Material Protection Control and Accounting Program at the Fleet’s naval facilities. This analysis leads into a broader examination of the effectiveness and adequacy of U.S. nonproliferation efforts in keeping weapons of mass destruction out of the hands of terrorists.
Topic:: Security, Foreign Policy, Nuclear Weapons, Nonproliferation, and Threat Assessment
Political Geography:: Russia, Eurasia, North America, and United States of America

5139. Reforming the Cotton Trade Order? An Analysis of Cotton Subsidies and Implications for Sustainable Development

Author:: Christine M. Makori
Publication Date:: 05-2005
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:: School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:: Cotton is the most widely produced cash crop in the developing world. It supports the livelihoods of numerous households in these countries and occupies a significant position both economically and politically. However, in the recent past, this sector has experienced a pricing crisis mainly attributed to subsidies of developed nations. This article analyzes the effects of cotton subsidies (the most controversial agricultural commodity in the ongoing trade negotiations) on sustainable development, focusing on the impacts of U.S. subsidies on four West African countries. Given that these support systems have political motivations, the article briefly surveys political challenges to subsidy reforms. In conclusion, the article makes specific recommendations to the WTO and national governments to promote free trade, enhance economic efficiency, and support the global fight against poverty.
Topic:: Sustainable Development Goals, Trade, WTO, Subsidies, and Cotton
Political Geography:: Africa, West Africa, and United States of America

5140. ‘Why Is There No NATO in Asia?’ The Normative Origins of Asian Multilateralism

Author:: Amitav Acharya
Publication Date:: 07-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:: The absence of a regional military alliance in Asia, and the related tendency of Asian regional institutions to avoid multilateral defence cooperation constitute a key puzzle of Asian regional order. Available theoretical explanations of this puzzle tend to focus heavily on the US role, both the nature and extent of US power, or its perceptions of collective identity. Challenging this, this paper offers a normative explanation. The absence of a “NATO in Asia” argues this paper, is explained by a norm against collective defence which emerged and evolved through early post-war regional interactions. These interactions, which have been ignored in the theoretical literature on international organization, were shaped by the interplay of the ideas of key local agents, and the evolving global norm of non-intervention. The paper’s investigation into the normative origins Asian multilateralism contributes to the theoretical literature on the diffusion of sovereignty norms in the international system. International relations scholars generally assume that the “history of sovereignty is largely the history of Westphalia’s geographic extension,” but ignore the crucial agency of local actors in the developing world in translating the idea of sovereignty into norms of conduct in a regional setting. This article shows how regional interactions in early post-War Asia that led to a regional norm against collective defence, also helped to strengthen the global norm of non-intervention, and shaped subsequent regional institutions in Asia. In this process, Asian interactions made a distinctive contribution to the evolution of post-war international order, which has been seldom acknowledged, much less analyzed, by scholars of international relations.
Topic:: International Relations, NATO, Sovereignty, Alliance, Multilateralism, Regional Politics, and Defense Cooperation
Political Geography:: Asia and United States of America

5141. Trends in Competitive Balance: Is there Evidence for Growing Imbalance in Professional Sport Leagues?

Author:: Arne Feddersen and Wolfgang Maennig
Publication Date:: 01-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Chair for Economic Policy, University of Hamburg
Abstract:: The concept of competitive balance is a central aspect in the literature of sports economics. A popular argumentation of sport functionaries is that dominance of one or a few teams could lead to unequal incomes for the clubs, restrictions in the clubs’ ability to improve sporting performance and ultimately to a loss of attractiveness and loss of income for the league. Following this line of reasoning and alleging a negative trend in competitive sports functionaries often try to implement regulations in team sport leagues. The aim of this paper is to analyze for eight different leagues if there is such a trend existing. For an empirical test for trends in competitive balance of four European soccer leagues (ENG, ESP, GER, ITA) and four US Major Leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL), OLS regressions with a constant were carried out. For the entire observation period from 1969/70 to 2003/2004, of 48 trends ascertained, only 12 could be observed as being significantly positive (i.e. growing imbalance) with 19 significantly negative (i.e. growing balance). The remaining 17 trends were insignificantly different from zero.
Topic:: Economics, Sports, Soccer, Competitive Balance, and Sports Leagues
Political Geography:: Europe, Global Focus, and United States of America

5142. Complications of American Democracy: Elections Are Not Enough

Author:: Demetrios James Caraley
Publication Date:: 09-2005
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: DEMETRIOS JAMES CARALEY discusses the major features critical to the working of our democratic institutions: free elections, separation of powers with checks and balances, and government limited by constitutional guarantees. He looks at some evidence that suggests our democracy may be shifting to an “elective despotism” of the majority—something that Jefferson declared “was not the government we fought for.”
Topic:: Elections, Democracy, and Institutions
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5143. Why the Bush Doctrine Cannot Be Sustained

Author:: Robert Jervis
Publication Date:: 09-2005
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: ROBERT JERVIS argues that despite some successes, the Bush Doctrine cannot be sustained because it has many internal contradictions, requires more sustained domestic support than is possible, makes excessive demands on intelligence, places too much faith in democracy, and is overly ambitious. It will, however, be difficult to construct a replacement foreign policy.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Intelligence, Democracy, and George W. Bush
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5144. What Political Institutions Does Large-Scale Democracy Require?

Author:: Robert A. Dahl
Publication Date:: 07-2005
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: ROBERT A. DAHL examines the political institutions necessary for a democratic country. He argues that a large-scale democracy requires the following political institutions: elected officials; free, fair, and frequent elections; freedom of expression; alternative sources of information; associational autonomy; and inclusive citizenship.
Topic:: Elections, Democracy, Citizenship, Freedom of Expression, and Institutions
Political Geography:: Global Focus and United States of America

5145. The Implications of Leadership Change in the Arab World

Author:: Daniel Byman
Publication Date:: 03-2005
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: DANIEL L. BYMAN addresses how changes in leadership in the Arab world will affect the region’s politics and relationship to the United States. He pays particular attention to identifying which factors hinge upon individual leaders, which are related to particular regimes, and which are inherent to the interests of the state in question.
Topic:: Politics, Leadership, and Regionalism
Political Geography:: Arab Countries and United States of America

5146. What Was the Cold War about? Evidence from Its Ending

Author:: John Mueller
Publication Date:: 01-2005
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: JOHN MUELLER assesses the rhetoric and actions of important international actors and concludes that the Cold War essentially ended in the spring of 1989. This suggests that the Cold War was principally about an ideological conflict and not about the military, nuclear, or economic balance or about Communism as a form of government -issues that would be resolved later.
Topic:: Cold War, History, Conflict, and Ideology
Political Geography:: Soviet Union and United States of America

5147. What Are Nuclear Weapons For? Recommendations for Restructuring U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces

Author:: Sidney D. Drell and James E. Goodby
Publication Date:: 04-2005
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Arms Control Association
Abstract:: This report is aimed at revising the current US defense strategy towards Russia to more closely represent the recent policy shift towards cooperation. It advocates the reduction of the U.S. strategic arsenal to 500 operationally deployed nuclear warheads and 500 responsive forces. Such a force would be composed of existing warheads and require no new nuclear weapons while maintaining the diversity of force that protects against common failure modes. The report concludes that the United States can enhance its national security by strengthening the nonproliferation regime.
Topic:: Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, National Security, and Nuclear Weapons
Political Geography:: Russia and United States of America

5148. Outsourcing Post-Conflict Operations: Designing a System for Contract Management and Oversight

Author:: Blake W. Mobley
Publication Date:: 05-2004
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:: School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:: Over the past ten years the United States has relied on private contractors to support military forces and rehabilitate national infrastructures in Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Though contractors are essential to such post-conflict operations, the U.S. government’s management and oversight of outsourced support remains critically deficient. As the United States builds its institutional capacity for long-term post-conflict reconstruction, it will need to outsource tasks to specialized private firms and non-profit organizations more strategically, efficiently, and transparently. This paper assesses the ramifications of post-conflict outsourcing in four sections. The first section provides a brief history of outsourcing in military and reconstruction operations. The second analyzes the benefits of private contracting arrangements. The third considers pitfalls of the current U.S. outsourcing system, which include inefficiencies as well as more serious security threats. The final section concludes with policy recommendations to improve management systems in the context of post-conflict operations.
Topic:: Security, Management, Outsourcing, Military Contractors, and Post-Conflict
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5149. Too Good to be Legal? Network Centric Warfare and International Law

Author:: Erik Dahl
Publication Date:: 05-2004
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:: School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:: America’s military today faces new challenges that appear resistant to conventional solutions. The concept known as Network Centric Warfare (NCW) promises to use speed, precision, and information technology to win conflicts more quickly with minimal force. But many of the advantages that look beguiling to a commander can create problems for a military that focuses too much on speed and effects, at the expense of deliberation and law. This article argues that both the U.S. military and the American public will lose if new tools and technologies make war seem too easy. It calls for a reassessment of NCW in light of international law and offers recommendations to help guide that effort.
Topic:: International Law, Science and Technology, War, and Military
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5150. Targeting the Leadership of Terrorist and Insurgents Movements: Historical Lessons for Contemporary Policy Makers

Author:: Lisa Langdon, Alexander J. Sarapu, and Matthews Wells
Publication Date:: 05-2004
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:: School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:: In a world where the struggle against terrorism and insurgent movements has become the top priority for many policy makers, there is a growing need for research that examines what happens to militant movements after the death or arrest of a leader. Do groups tend to disband, schism, or become more radical? What characteristics of a group make it more susceptible to certain changes after the loss of a leader? Using thirty-five case studies drawn from more than forty countries, this paper analyzes the effect that the death or arrest of a leader has on social, political, and religious movements. Its conclusions are drawn from an analysis of the groups’ characteristics and an assessment of the effects the loss of a leader had on the survivability and evolution of the movement. The analysis provides some guidance for policy makers focused on incapacitating leadership as part of a broader effort to combat terrorist and insurgent movements.
Topic:: Terrorism, History, Insurgency, and Leadership
Political Geography:: United States of America

5151. Eastward Bound: The Strategy and Politics of Repositioning U.S. Military Bases in Europe

Author:: Todd W. Fields
Publication Date:: 05-2004
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:: School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:: This article examines the strategic rationale and political implications of the U.S. Department of Defense’s proposal to reposition U.S. military bases in Europe. The Pentagon’s plans call for a withdrawal of U.S. bases and personnel from Germany and the creation of various smaller, more flexible bases in Central and Eastern Europe. While the removal of U.S. forces from Germany is appropriate given the absence of an imminent security threat to Europe, revamping the European basing structure in the midst of current trans-Atlantic tensions presents formidable political challenges. Given the impact that base realignment is likely to have on U.S. relations with Germany, Russia, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the United States must exercise a deft diplomatic touch—balancing the pursuit of its strategic interests with the preservation of its regional relationships and alliances.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Politics, Military Strategy, and Military Bases
Political Geography:: Europe, North America, and United States of America

5152. Negotiating Survival: The Problem of Commitment in U.S.-North Korean Relations

Author:: Steven Grunau
Publication Date:: 05-2004
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:: School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:: Rational accounts of the causes of conflict provide an important framework to examine the dispute between the United States and North Korea over the latter’s nuclear weapons programs. Because North Korea depends on these weapons to ensure its survival, it is unwilling to irrevocably surrender its nuclear potential—and associated bargaining leverage—in exchange for U.S. security guarantees that could be withdrawn at any time. Arguing that neither confrontation nor engagement is likely to succeed in eliminating the North Korean threat, this paper advocates a longer-term strategy of integration as having the potential to alleviate some of the tensions in the bilateral relationship. By establishing alternative sources of economic and political power while simultaneously exposing Pyongyang to the pacifying influences of international interdependence, integration policies could gradually reduce North Korea’s threat, and perhaps eventually create the necessary conditions to negotiate the elimination of its nuclear weapons and missile programs.
Topic:: International Relations, Security, Nuclear Weapons, and Conflict
Political Geography:: Asia, North Korea, North America, and United States of America

5153. Litigation as a Tool for Development: The Environment, Human Rights, and the Case of Texaco in Ecuador.

Author:: Elizabeth C. Black
Publication Date:: 05-2004
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:: School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:: As the process of globalization continues into the twenty-first century, ensuring that transnational corporations are held accountable for their work abroad will be one of the greatest challenges faced by development specialists. In the current context, litigation in U.S. courts is an increasingly important tool in assuring that the people of underdeveloped nations do not suffer from the exploitation, pollution, and cultural degradation that has marked such countries’ “progress” in the past. This paper examines the case of María Aguinda et al. v. Texaco Inc., in which a group of indigenous Ecuadorans have sued the U.S.-based petroleum giant in response to environmental and human health damages resulting from its work in Ecuador in the 1970s and 1980s, in order to provide an example of one way in which litigation can foster development. In the context of the Aguinda case, this paper presents several specific recommendations for developing the legal means by which corporations can be held accountable on an international level beyond the U.S. court system.
Topic:: Development, Environment, Globalization, Human Rights, Business, Accountability, Corporations, and Litigation
Political Geography:: South America, North America, Ecuador, and United States of America

5154. American Nationalism and U.S. Foreign Policy from September 11 to the Iraq War

Author:: Paul T. McCartney
Publication Date:: 09-2004
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: PAUL T. MCCARTNEY examines how the Bush administration drew upon nationalist imagery first to interpret the terrorists attacks of 11 September 2001 and then to frame the war against Iraq. He demonstrates how President Bush drew on both enduring elements of American identity and security concerns following September 11 to provide normative justification for the Iraq invasion. He concludes that the exceptionalist dimension of American nationalism that underpins the Bush doctrine is outdated and dangerous to current foreign policy interests.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Nationalism, 9/11, and Iraq War
Political Geography:: Iraq and United States of America

5155. The Debate over North Korea

Author:: Victor D. Cha and David C. Kang
Publication Date:: 07-2004
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: VICTOR D. CHA AND DAVID C. KANG debate the strengths and weaknesses of an engagement policy to rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons program. From different perspectives, the two authors analyze common misconceptions about North Korean intentions and strategies as well as debate the merits of a harder-line approach taken by the United States toward the reclusive regime. Whether one views Pyongyang’s intentions with greater skepticism (Cha) or greater flexibility (Kang), the authors argue that some form of engagement, not military preemption, is advisable.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Nuclear Weapons, Weapons, and Engagement
Political Geography:: Asia, North Korea, and United States of America

5156. Presidential Selection: Complex Problems and Simple Solutions

Author:: Judith A. Best
Publication Date:: 03-2004
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: JUDITH A. BEST analyzes the electoral vote system in terms of six complex and interdependent goals for presidential elections and concludes that the current system, although not perfect, meets them all. She then examines six alternative plans for presidential selection and concludes that they would deform, rather than reform, our presidential elections.
Topic:: Politics, Domestic Politics, and Presidential Elections
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5157. Presidential Selection: Electoral Fallacies

Author:: Jack N. Rakove
Publication Date:: 03-2004
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: JACK N. RAKOVE examines the conventional arguments made on behalf of preserving the state-based system of presidential elections and concludes that the familiar defenses of the electoral college are fallacious. If one person-one vote is the fundamental norm of modern democracy, there is no persuasive rationale that can legitimate the leveraging effect of the “senatorial bump” on the voting weights of differently sized states.
Topic:: Elections, Democracy, Presidential Elections, and Electoral College
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5158. Misperceptions, the Media, and the Iraq War

Author:: Steven Kull, Clay Ramsay, and Evan Lewis
Publication Date:: 01-2004
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: STEVEN KULL, CLAY RAMSAY, and EVAN LEWIS examine the prevalence of misperceptions related to the Iraq war among the American public: that weapons of mass destruction and evidence of close links between Iraq and al Qaeda had been found and that world public opinion approved of the United States going to war with Iraq. Such misperceptions were powerful predictors of support for the war, and their prevalence varied dramatically according to respondents’ primary source of news.
Topic:: Weapons of Mass Destruction, Public Opinion, Media, and Iraq War
Political Geography:: Iraq and United States of America

5159. The Fiscal Impact of High Skilled Emigration: Flows of Indians to the U.S.

Author:: Mihir A. Desai, Devesh Kapur, and John McHale
Publication Date:: 01-2003
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:: Easing immigration restrictions for the highly skilled in developed countries portend a future of increased human capital outflows from developing countries. The myriad consequences of these developments for developing countries include the direct loss of the fiscal contributions of these highly skilled individuals. This paper analyzes the fiscal impact of this loss of talent for a developing country by examining human capital flows from India to the U.S. The escalation of the emigration of highly skilled professionals from India to the U.S is examined by surveying evidence on the changing nature of the Indian-born in the U.S. during the 1990s. The loss of talent to India during the 1990s was dramatic and highly concentrated amongst the prime-age work force, the highly educated and high earners. In order to estimate the fiscal losses associated with these emigrants, this paper first estimates what these emigrants would have earned in India, and then integrates the resulting counterfactual distributions with details of the Indian fiscal system to estimate fiscal impacts. Two distinct methods to estimate the counterfactual earnings distributions are implemented: a translation of actual U.S. incomes in purchasing power parity terms and an income simulation based on a jointly estimated model of Indian earnings and participation in the workforce. The PPP methods indicate that the foregone income tax revenues associated with the Indian-born residents of the U.S. comprise one-third of current Indian individual income tax receipts. Depending on the method for estimating expenditures saved by the absence of these emigrants, the net fiscal loss associated with the U.S. Indian-born resident population ranges from 0.24% to 0.58% of Indian GDP in 2001.
Topic:: Immigration, Tax Systems, Capital Flows, Human Capital, Economic Development, Skilled Labor, and Emigration
Political Geography:: South Asia, India, North America, and United States of America

5160. Promoting U.S. Economic Growth and Security Through Expanding World Trade: A Call for Bold American Leadership

Author:: Research and Policy Committee of the Committee for Economic Development
Publication Date:: 06-2003
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: The Conference Board
Abstract:: This report presents a leadership vision of a strong and open global trading system, and urges the United States and its trading partners to adopt vital policy reforms, including delinking agricultural subsidies from prices and production while opening agricultural markets everywhere, and eliminating all tariffs and non-tariff barriers in both manufacturing and services.
Topic:: Security, International Trade and Finance, Leadership, Economy, and Economic Growth
Political Geography:: North America, Global Focus, and United States of America

5161. Understanding the Bush Doctrine

Author:: Robert Jervis
Publication Date:: 09-2003
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: ROBERT JERVIS argues that the Bush doctrine presents a highly ambitious conception of U.S. foreign policy. Based on the premise that this is a period of great threat and great opportunity, the doctrine calls for the assertion and expansion of American power in service of hegemony. He concludes that this assertion and expansion is not likely to succeed.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Hegemony, Iraq War, and George W. Bush
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5162. Shoring up the Right to Vote for President: A Modest Proposal [with Panel Discussion]

Author:: Alexander Keyssar
Publication Date:: 07-2003
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: ALEXANDER KEYSSAR argues that the 2000 presidential election has made clear the desirability of a constitutional amendment guaranteeing to all American citizens the right to vote for president and to have those votes determine each state’s vote in the electoral college. Tracing certain features of the history of suffrage in the United States, he maintains that such an amendment would make the Constitution consistent with the now broadly based consensus (not present at the nation’s founding) that voting is a right that inheres in all citizens. THE PANELISTS (D. Caraley, L. Greenhouse, S. Issacharoff, R. Pildes, G. Pomper, J. Rakove, R. Shapiro, R. Smith) discuss the points raised by the Keyssar article. They end up with consensus on the need for a constitutional right to vote for president, but have some differences on additional aspects of reforming the system.
Topic:: Constitution, Domestic Politics, Voting Rights, Presidential Elections, and Electoral College
Political Geography:: United States of America

5163. Terror, Terrain, and Turnout: Explaining the 2002 Midterm Elections

Author:: Gary C. Jacobson
Publication Date:: 03-2003
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: GARY C. JACOBSON argues that the results of the 2002 congressional election were consistent with past midterm elections as referenda on the administration and the economy, although the terrorist attacks of September 11 profoundly affected the referendum's substance. The modest Republican victory was a consequence of the post- September 11 rally in support for President George W. Bush, redistricting (in the House), and higher turnout among Republican loyalists. There was no evidence of any national shift in public sentiment toward the Republican party.
Topic:: Elections, Domestic Politics, 9/11, Political Parties, and George W. Bush
Political Geography:: United States of America

5164. Limits of American Power

Author:: Joseph S. Nye Jr.
Publication Date:: 01-2003
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: JOSEPH S. NYE, JR. discusses the paradox of the United States having unparalleled military power, yet being unable to impose its will unilaterally on either its allies or its antagonists. He explains clearly why America must adopt a more cooperative engagement with the rest of the world.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Military Affairs, and Engagement
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5165. The Contested Governance of GM Foods: Implications for U.S.-EU Trade and the Developing World

Author:: Robert L. Paarlberg
Publication Date:: 07-2002
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:: Genetically modified (GM) foods are widely produced in the United States and in two other Western Hemisphere countries (Argentina and Canada) but almost nowhere else. In most other wealthy industrial countries, including Europe and Japan, it is legal for farmers to plant these crops, but they voluntarily refrain from doing so because consumers are averse to eating GM. In most developing countries it is not yet legal for farmers to grow GM foods, on biological safety grounds. Yet biosafety is not the real issue. Poor countries are now trying to stay “GM-free” so as to retain the option of exporting food to Europe and Japan. New regulations in the EU on the labeling and traceability of imported GM foods and feeds will only increase the potential cost to exporters of planting GM seeds. The United States has considered challenging EU regulations as illegal under the WTO, and a serious trade conflict now looms. The EU, not the United States, is better positioned to prevail in this conflict. In international food markets, safety and labeling standards tend to be set by big importers rather than big exporters.
Topic:: Agriculture, Markets, Food, European Union, Farming, and Genetic Modification (GM)
Political Geography:: Canada, Argentina, United States of America, and North America

5166. Sharing The Spoils: Taxing International Human Capital Flows

Author:: Mihir A. Desai, Devesh Kapur, and John McHale
Publication Date:: 09-2002
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:: This paper argues that cross-border human capital flows from developing countries to developed countries over the next half-century will demand a new set of policy responses from developing countries. The paper examines the forces that are making immigration policies more skill-focused, the effect of both flows (emigration) and stocks (diasporas) on the source countries, and the range of taxation instruments available to source countries to manage the consequences of those flows. This paper emphasizes the example of India, a large source country for human capital flows, and the United States, an important destination for these human capital flows and an example of how a country can tax its citizens abroad. In combination, these examples point to the significant advantage to developing countries of potential tax schemes for managing the flows and stocks of citizens who reside abroad. Finally, this paper concludes with a research agenda for the many questions raised by the prospect of large flows of skilled workers and the policy alternatives, including tax instruments, available to source countries.
Topic:: Immigration, Tax Systems, Capital Flows, Human Capital, Economic Development, and Skilled Labor
Political Geography:: Global Focus and United States of America

5167. Impact of Patents on Access to HIV/AIDS Drugs in Developing Countries

Author:: Joan-Ramon Borrell and Jayashree Watal
Publication Date:: 05-2002
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:: This paper uses sales data on HIV/AIDS drugs in a sample of 34 low and middle income countries between 1995 and 1999 to assess empirically the impact of patents on unsubsidized access to a new drug therapy. There can be two possible effects of patents on access to new drugs in developing countries. On the one hand, patents may constrain access to new drugs through less competition and higher prices. On the other hand, patents may promote access to new therapy by encouraging innovators to launch new drugs in low and middle-income countries soon after introducing them in high-income countries. The net effect is theoretically ambiguous and, therefore, it is an empirical matter to evaluate. Our main finding is that patent rights do have a negative effect on unsubsidized access to HIV/AIDS drugs. Between 1995 and 1999, switching all HIV/AIDS drugs from a patent regime to a no patent regime would have actually increased access to therapy at least by 30%. However, we also find that the negative impact of patents on access differs strongly over time, and across countries with different income levels. Patents hurt access most in the early period from the date the drug is launched in the US, and in the countries of our sample with the relatively higher per capita income levels.
Topic:: HIV/AIDS, Health, Developing World, Drugs, and Patents
Political Geography:: Global Focus and United States of America

5168. Strange Victory: A critical appraisal of Operation Enduring Freedom and the Afghanistan war

Author:: Carl Conetta
Publication Date:: 01-2002
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Project on Defense Alternatives
Abstract:: Why the inadvertent effects of the war are now overtaking the intended ones. Includes appendices addressing: the war’s impact on the humanitarian crisis; the missing political framework for American action; the source of power and the strategy of the Taliban; and the limits of the Bonn agreement and the challenges facing the interim government.
Topic:: Government, Treaties and Agreements, War, Taliban, Conflict, Humanitarian Crisis, and Operation Enduring Freedom
Political Geography:: Afghanistan, South Asia, North America, and United States of America

5169. Al Qaeda, Military Commissions, and American Self-Defense

Author:: Ruth Wedgwood
Publication Date:: 09-2002
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: RUTH WEDGWOOD critically examines the U.S. detainment of al Qaeda prisoners and others accused of visa violations or of being enemy combatants. She explains that “In a world where terrorist action flirts with catastrophic weapons, the competing paradigms of crime and war may provide no more than analogies. Fitting the law to this unwanted new world thus will require tact, judgment, and the weight of a heavy heart.”
Topic:: Defense Policy, Military Affairs, Al Qaeda, and Detention
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5170. CIA's Strategic Intelligence in Iraq

Author:: Richard L. Russell
Publication Date:: 07-2002
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: RICHARD L. RUSSELL examines the strengths and weaknesses of American intelligence during the Gulf War in gauging Iraqi political intentions and military capabilities. He finds that overall strategic intelligence served policy makers well, but that some shortcomings, particularly in human intelligence collection, need to be corrected if the United States is to successfully deal with Iraq in the post-September 11 world. The role of the CIA was diminished after the war, even though he finds that the CIA’s estimates were more accurate than those of the Defense establishment.
Topic:: Defense Policy, Intelligence, 9/11, Gulf War, and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Political Geography:: Iraq, Middle East, and United States of America

5171. An Interim Assessment of September 11: What Has Changed and What Has Not?

Author:: Robert Jervis
Publication Date:: 03-2002
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: ROBERT JERVIS argues that contrary to much conventional wisdom, terrorism has not weakened most states, understanding the “root causes” of terrorism is not a firm foundation for policy, the concept of a war on terrorism is flawed, and American policy is likely to be more unilateral than multilateral.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Terrorism, and 9/11
Political Geography:: United States of America

5172. The Soft Underbelly of American Primacy: Tactical Advantages of Terror

Author:: Richard Betts
Publication Date:: 03-2002
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: RICHARD BETTS argues that the September 11 attacks were a response to American primacy and then applies offense-defense theory to explain the intense advantages that terrorist groups have in launching offensive strikes and in exploiting the defenses that a nation can put up in this era of globalization and asymmetric warfare.
Topic:: Globalization, Terrorism, 9/11, and Asymmetric Relations
Political Geography:: United States of America

5173. Ending Welfare As We Know It: A Reform Still in Progress

Author:: Demetrios James Caraley
Publication Date:: 01-2002
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: DEMETRIOS JAMES CARALEY summarizes the political and social dynamics that brought about the repeal of Aid to Families of Dependent Children (AFDC) and analyzes the effects of the new Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program over its first four years. He considers possibilities for further changes in cash assistance for poor families during the program’s necessary reauthorization in 2002.
Topic:: Reform, Domestic Politics, Public Policy, Welfare, and Social Services
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5174. Hegemon on the Offensive: Chinese Perspectives on U. S. Global Strategy

Author:: Yong Deng
Publication Date:: 09-2001
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: YONG DENG examines Chinese perceptions of and reactions to the U.S. global power status and grand security strategy after the cold war. He shows that conflict between the United States and China is structural and has been on the rise. The author believes there is a real danger of an escalation of balancing and counterbalancing unless a mechanism of peaceful change is devised.
Topic:: International Relations, Foreign Policy, National Security, and Hegemony
Political Geography:: China and United States of America

5175. A House and Senate Divided: The Clinton Legacy and the Congressional Elections of 2000

Author:: Gary C. Jacobson
Publication Date:: 03-2001
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: GARY C. JACOBSON asserts the 2000 election and its bizarre aftermath in Florida accurately reflected the configuration of partisan politics that crystallized during the Clinton administration: close partisan balance in Congress and in the electorate; distinct regional, cultural, and ideological divisions between the parties' respective electoral coalitions; and a sharp partisan polarization among political elites, echoed, though more faintly, in the broader public. The trends that produced this political configuration predated the 1990s, but they accelerated during the Clinton years, and Clinton himself was a catalyst in their development.
Topic:: Elections, Domestic Politics, Political Parties, Polarization, and Bill Clinton
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5176. Why Americans Deserve a Constitutional Right to Vote for Presidential Electors

Author:: Demetrios James Caraley
Publication Date:: 03-2001
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: DEMETRIOS JAMES CARALEY argues that the Constitution needs to be amended to give Americans the constitutional right they believed they had but the Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore denied--the right to vote for and select the president.
Topic:: Elections, Constitution, and Domestic Politics
Political Geography:: United States of America

5177. After the Storm: U.S. Policy toward Iraq since 1991

Author:: Daniel Byman
Publication Date:: 01-2001
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: DANIEL BYMAN argues that criticism of U.S. policy toward Iraq is often overstated and fails to appreciate the accomplishments of the Bush and Clinton administrations. The author discusses which mechanisms have proven particularly effective but also analyzes the room for improvement in U.S. policy.
Topic:: International Relations, Foreign Policy, National Security, Politics, Clinton Administration, and George H. W. Bush
Political Geography:: Iraq, Middle East, North America, and United States of America

5178. Making the Grade 2000: Second Annual Review of Fissile Material Control Efforts

Author:: Kevin O'Neill
Publication Date:: 04-2000
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Institute for Science and International Security
Abstract:: A little over a year ago, ISIS initiated an annual review of fissile material controls covering a broad spectrum of initiatives. To do so, 19 separate initiatives were identified and assessed. Based on this assessment, grades were awarded on a scale of A, B, C, D, and F, where an “A” is excellent and an “F” is failing. Numerically, an “A” corresponds to a numerical grade of four, and an “F” to zero. The results of the first review were disappointing. Only 12 of the 19 initiatives received a passing grade of “C” or higher. The average grade of the initiatives was a “C”-showing an unfortunate level of mediocrity across the fissile material control agenda. In ISIS’s 2000 review, we found that the outlook is worse today than it was a year ago. Rather than make progress during the past 12 months, the overall fissile material control agenda fared poorly. The average grade of the identified initiatives fell from a “C” to a “C-minus.” This overall finding is borne out if one looks at the individual grades assigned to each of the 19 identified initiatives. ISIS judged that five initiatives remained essentially static, nine received lower grades, and five initiatives received higher grades.
Topic:: Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, Weapons, and Fissile Material
Political Geography:: Russia and United States of America

5179. Effective National Security Advising: A Most Dubious Precedent

Author:: Arthur Schlesinger Jr.
Publication Date:: 09-2000
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: ARTHUR SCHLESINGER, JR. argues that the Eisenhower heavily-layered national security apparatus did not produce a coherent foreign policy and did not save the administration from gross errors. He believes that future presidents would benefit from a more flexible approach--such as those of FDR and JFK--to the conduct of foreign affairs.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, National Security, and American Presidency
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5180. Effective National Security Advising: Recovering the Eisenhower Legacy

Author:: Fred I. Greenstein and Richard H. Immerman
Publication Date:: 09-2000
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: FRED I. GREENSTEIN and RICHARD H. IMMERMAN provide an account of the impressively rigorous process of national security policy planning in the Eisenhower presidency. They commend it as a model for the next administration.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, National Security, History, and American Presidency
Political Geography:: United States of America

5181. Economic Insecurity, Prejudicial Stereotypes, and Public Opinion on Immigration Policy

Author:: Peter Burns and James G. Gimpel
Publication Date:: 07-2000
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: PETER BURNS and JAMES G. GIMPEL examine mass attitudes toward immigration policy in the United States, asking whether widespread restrictionist sentiment is stirred more by economic insecurity, by negative ethnic stereotypes, or by some combination of the two. For some, prejudice is rooted in economic insecurity, but prejudice also has roots that are quite independent of economic fears. Anti-immigrant sentiment will not disappear simply because economic conditions improve.
Topic:: Immigration, Public Opinion, Economic Security, and Stereotypes
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5182. Getting into the Black: Race, Wealth, and Public Policy

Author:: Dalton Conley
Publication Date:: 01-2000
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: DALTON CONLEY examines the causes and consequences of the black-white asset gap in the United States. He argues that it is wealth, more than any other measure of socio-economic well being, that captures the nature of racial inequality in the post-civil rights era. Conley discusses policy implications that may be used to address such "equity inequity."
Topic:: Race, Inequality, Public Policy, and Wealth
Political Geography:: United States of America

5183. Evaluating the Post-Cold War Policy of the United States

Author:: Jonathan Dean
Publication Date:: 11-1999
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Project on Defense Alternatives
Abstract:: Ambassador Jonathan Dean, Adviser on International Security Issues, Union of Concerned Scientists, presentation to the PDA symposium Ten Years After the Wall: Trends in post-Cold War U.S. Security Policy held at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 11 November 1999.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, and Cold War
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5184. The United States and South Korean Democratization

Author:: James Fowler
Publication Date:: 07-1999
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: JAMES FOWLER draws on interviews with State Department officials and recently declassified documents to analyze the role of the United States in South Korea's democratization, concluding that U.S. public pressure on the Korean government played a critical role in determining the timing of the transition.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Democratization, and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:: South Korea and United States of America

5185. Defining Moment: The Threat and Use of Force in American Foreign Policy

Author:: Barry M. Blechman and Tamara Coffman Wittes
Publication Date:: 03-1999
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: BARRY M. BLECHMAN and TAMARA COFMAN WITTES examine the uses of military threats and military interventions in the Bush and first Clinton administrations. Based on case studies and interviews with U.S. decision makers, they conclude that domestic and international political constraints are preventing U.S. leaders from making threats decisive enough to persuade foreign leaders to comply with U.S. demands.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Politics, Military Intervention, Bill Clinton, and George H. W. Bush
Political Geography:: United States of America

5186. The Escalation of U.S. Immigration Control in the Post-NAFTA Era

Author:: Peter Andreas
Publication Date:: 01-1999
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: PETER ANDREAS examines the rapid escalation of U.S. immigration control efforts along our southwest border in recent years. He argues that enhanced border policing has less to do with actual deterrence and more to do with projecting an image of order and coping with the deepening contradictions of economic integration.
Topic:: Immigration, NAFTA, Borders, and Economic Integration
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5187. The Politics of Reforming Social Security

Author:: R. Douglas Arnold
Publication Date:: 07-1998
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: R. DOUGLAS ARNOLD analyzes the political difficulties in reforming Social Security in the absence of a short-term crisis. He argues that the chief political problem is to find a way to impose short-term costs on current taxpayers when the benefits of advance funding are exclusively long-term for future retires.
Topic:: Politics, Reform, and Social Security
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5188. From Our Archives: A New Look at the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

Author:: Michael Les Benedict
Publication Date:: 09-1998
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: MICHAEL LES BENEDICT's interpretation of the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson destroys the conventional textbook wisdom which portrays Johnson as a martyred president unjustifiably pilloried by a vindictive Congress. Benedict shows that the decision to impeach was made reluctantly after a series of presidential actions over the years convinced even the most conservative members of Congress that impeachment was the only means left for defending their constitutional prerogatives.
Topic:: History, Impeachment, and Andrew Johnson
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5189. Creating a Disaster: NATO’s Open Door Policy

Author:: Robert J. Art
Publication Date:: 09-1998
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: ROBERT J. ART argues that an open door membership policy will destroy NATO and that there is a better alternative to create a security structure for Europe.
Topic:: Security, NATO, Alliance, and Regional Security
Political Geography:: Europe, North America, and United States of America

5190. Dueling with Uncertainty: The New Logic of American Military Planning

Author:: Carl Conetta and Charles Knight
Publication Date:: 02-1998
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Project on Defense Alternatives
Abstract:: Examines how the new planning concepts and methods adopted by the Pentagon since 1992 have led to military requirements disproportionate to real threats and have supported overweening ambitions for the application of military power. A version appeared in the March/April 1998 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists as “Inventing Threats.”
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, and Military Affairs
Political Geography:: United States of America

5191. Teenage Childbearing and Personal Responsibility: An Alternative View

Author:: Arline T. Geronimus
Publication Date:: 09-1997
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: ARLINE T. GERONIMUS examines widely-shared assumptions about teen childbearing that informed the welfare reform debate. She argues that the scientific basis for these assumptions is equivocal and questions the belief that teen childbearing always represents irrationality and the abdication of personal responsibility.
Topic:: Reform, Youth, Welfare, Social Responsibility, and Parenthood
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5192. Full Faith and Credit for Same-Sex Marriages?

Author:: Ken I. Kersch
Publication Date:: 03-1997
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: KEN I. KERSCH addresses federalism questions involving the obligations of states to recognize same-sex marriages under the full faith and credit clause. He argues that a consideration of traditional norms of comity among states along with the nation's experience with analogous disputes concerning slavery and antimiscegnation statutes would be useful to policy makers grappling with the issue.
Topic:: Domestic Politics, LGBT+, Federalism, and Marriage
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5193. America's New Deal with Europe: NATO Primacy and Double Expansion

Author:: Carl Conetta
Publication Date:: 10-1997
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Project on Defense Alternatives
Abstract:: Including analysis relevant to the 2022 Ukraine crisis, this article addresses NATO expansion, burdensharing, the Balkans crisis, and relations with Russia and Germany. The American debate and public opinion regarding NATO enlargement is reviewed as well.
Topic:: Defense Policy, NATO, Conflict, and Regional Power
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, Ukraine, Germany, Balkans, North America, and United States of America

5194. Latin America and the Second Clinton Administration

Author:: Mark Falcoff
Publication Date:: 02-1997
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:: Presidents of the United States are elected to govern the American people, not the Latin American republics. Consequently, one should be neither surprised nor particularly troubled by the fact that many of our chief executives have failed to elicit much enthusiasm south of the border. Indeed, given the genuine differences of national self-interest, we would have ample reason to worry were it otherwise. Even so, one cannot help noticing how very unpopular the first Clinton administration has been in Latin America and with what trepidation most of the republics face the prospects of a second four years.
Topic:: International Relations, Foreign Policy, Economics, Trade, and Bill Clinton
Political Geography:: Latin America and United States of America

5195. Time to End the Certification Circus

Author:: Mark Falcoff
Publication Date:: 04-1997
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:: More than a decade ago, the U.S. Congress established a procedure whereby each year the president must “certify” that a given country is cooperating with us in the eradication of drug production and trafficking. Governments that lag behind, show little enthusiasm for our crusade, or are found colluding with narco-lords are subject to sanctions. Those “decertified” are denied foreign assistance, as well as U.S. votes for loans at the international financial institutions. Such countries–or, rather, our investors in their countries–also become ineligible for premiums from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, Narcotics Trafficking, and Drugs
Political Geography:: Latin America and United States of America

5196. Brazil: The Twisted Path to Reform

Author:: Mark Falcoff
Publication Date:: 05-1997
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:: Although Mexico is, without doubt, the most important Latin American country for the United States, by any standard Brazil should rank close behind. It represents our second largest export market in the region and has become the second largest venue of U.S. investment there. More to the point, in many ways, Brazil is South America, in the sense that its economy is larger than that of all its neighbors combined. In many ways, it is a trendsetter for an entire continent. The success or failure of President Fernando Henrique Cardoso’s reform program will decisively shape the future of Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay and influence strongly developments in Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Economics, Government, and Reform
Political Geography:: Brazil, Latin America, and United States of America

5197. Who’s Afraid of Big Bad Brazil?

Author:: Mark Falcoff
Publication Date:: 11-1997
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:: On his trip to South America last month, President Clinton made quite a splash in Brazil. After starting off badly–dodging a torrent of manure thrown at his motorcade–he ended the week with the local media singing his praises. The secret of his success? The president (a quick study if there ever was one) immediately grasped that the best way to get along with Brazilians was to repeat back to them–with redoubled enthusiasm–what they told him about themselves. Thus, by the time Clinton had been in the country for thirty-six hours, he was expressing his conviction that Brazil, together with the United States, would lead the hemisphere in the twenty-first century. He also went out of his way to insist on his support for Mercosur, a subregional trade agreement-cum-political alliance of whose existence Clinton was probably only peripherally aware before his trip. In so doing, he seemed to be writing off an entire continent to the Brazilian sphere of influence.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, Economics, Politics, and Reform
Political Geography:: Brazil, South America, and United States of America

5198. The Political Economy of Distributional Equity in Comparative Perspective

Author:: Kwan S. Kim
Publication Date:: 03-1996
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:: Growing income inequality within a country is caused by socioeconomic factors and inadequate government policies and ultimately leads to social and political instabilities. The ideology of supply-side economics in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 1980s, for instance, induced policies of inequality which were then perceived as a way to stimulate economic growth. The demise of East European socialism since the late 1980s also led many developing countries to pursue market reforms as a way to resuscitate their moribund economies. There is evidence, however, to indicate that the distribution of income in these countries is becoming more unequal with attendant and frequently grave social and political consequences.
Topic:: Development, Political Economy, Poverty, Inequality, and Economic Growth
Political Geography:: United Kingdom, Global Focus, and United States of America

5199. The Development of America’s post-Cold War Military Posture: A Critical Appraisal

Author:: Carl Conetta
Publication Date:: 11-1996
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Project on Defense Alternatives
Abstract:: This article outlines the factors influencing and distorting military planning (with special attention to the 1992-1996 period.) In the early years of the post-Cold War era, the US defense establishment set out to formulate a new military posture. This was supposed to reflect the new strategic environment and pursue the opportunities afforded by advances in information technology. The result, however, was a “new” posture closely resembling the old, writ somewhat smaller. It was to be progressively bolstered by cutting-edge technology inputs. However, while remarkably expensive, these inputs would only partially fulfill their promise, while exhibiting varying degrees of reliability and sustainability. Soon the USA would be spending as much and more inflation-adjusted dollars on its armed forces as during the Cold War. Also driving requirements and budgets upward would be the adoption of new strategic goals, roles, and missions exceeding those of the Cold War period. Over subsequent decades, the tension between purported military requirements and resources constraints would grow acute, while the armed forces found themselves over-extended worldwide and mired in seemingly endless wars, despite their presumed (and costly) advantages. How did US defense policy come to this point? The Development of America’s post-Cold War Military Posture shows how dysfunctional planning assumptions and processes can easily lead to dysfunctional policy.
Topic:: Defense Policy, Cold War, Science and Technology, and Military Affairs
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

5200. Economic Integration in the Asian Pacific: Issues and Prospects

Author:: Kwan S. Kim
Publication Date:: 05-1994
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:: This paper examines the scope, broad principles, and characteristics of Pacific Asia's economic relationships and cooperation at the regional level. The author addresses the broad issue of whether Asian efforts for regional cooperation and integration have been compatible with similar arrangements elsewhere or with an open multilateral trading system at the global level. The paper also assesses the changing dynamics of regional integration and its future prospects and explores the possibilities and implications of Asian integration for the United States and the rest of the world.
Topic:: Development, Regional Cooperation, Regional Integration, and Economic Integration
Political Geography:: Asia-Pacific and United States of America

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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS