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57161. Illuminating Tomorrow's War

Author:
Martin C. Libicki
Publication Date:
11-1999
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
The United States is midway through what may be called a revolution in military affairs (RMA). 9 This revolution opened in the 1970s with the development and refinement of precision-guided munitions 1° (PGMs), which can hit anything that can be located. It is likely to culminate with the multiplication and integration of the DOD C41SR assets, thereby creating a well-populated Grid. In the process, the physical battlespace will become illuminated better than ever. As this occurs, conventional warfare will change from force on force to hide-and-seek. Hence the need for a Grid capable of illuminating the battlespace, a case that rests on five tenets: With precision weaponry, seeing a target is tantamount to being able to kill it. The guidance for such weaponry is potentially shifting from shooters or internal sensors to externally provided information. Defenses exist against PGMs, but the link between seeing and hitting is likely to strengthen over time.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, and International Law
Political Geography:
United States

57162. The Revolution in Military Affairs: Allied Perspectives

Author:
Robbin F. Laird and Holger H. Mey
Publication Date:
04-1999
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
The revolution in military affairs (RMA) is an American concept that frames a debate about the restructuring of American military forces in the period of globalization of the American economy. A core task for U.S. allies is to seek to understand the American debate and to identify opportunities for and the risks to themselves in variant patterns of development of the American military in the years ahead.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, and International Law
Political Geography:
United States and America

57163. Protecting Human Rights: The Challenge to Humanitarian Organizations

Author:
Diane Paul, Larry Minear, and Mark Frohardt
Publication Date:
01-1999
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University
Abstract:
This occasional paper highlights the practical challenges faced by humanitarian organizations in protecting civilians in today's armed conflicts. It understands the concept of protection to involve ensuring respect for the full range of human rights, which, enumerated in the United Nations Charter, are the birthright of every human being.
Topic:
Human Rights and International Law
Political Geography:
United Nations

57164. A Humanitarian Practitioner's Guide to International Human Right Law

Author:
William G. O'Neill
Publication Date:
01-1999
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University
Abstract:
The term “human rights” evokes a wide variety of reactions. Many of those working in international development, commercial lending, and diplomatic institutions regard human rights as highly political and confrontational intrusions on their activities. Many in the international assistance community and the military view human rights as a threat to “neutrality” that may undermine access to populations needing assistance or the success of peacekeeping operations. Some governments in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa dismiss the concept of human rights as a western creation that fails to respect local culture and traditions and undermines state sovereignty. Perhaps the most favorable views of human rights are held by the international public, which is appalled by flagrant onslaughts against fundamental human decency and dignity represented by such practices as genocide, ethnic cleansing, and the use of starvation of civilian populations as a weapon of war.
Topic:
Human Rights and War
Political Geography:
Africa, Middle East, and Asia

57165. OECD Short Term Indicators Databank: March 1999

Publication Date:
03-1999
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
There is a considerable range in OECD national tax levels, as tax revenues as a percentage of GDP show. The tax bur- den in 1996 exceeded 45% of GDP in five countries, all in Europe – Den- mark, Sweden, Finland, Belgium and France. In contrast, five countries had tax levels below 30%: Mexico, Korea, Turkey, Japan and the United States. Mexico's total tax revenues were nearly 22 percentage points below the OECD average of 37.7%.
Political Geography:
United States, Japan, Europe, Turkey, Korea, and Mexico

57166. OECD Short Term Indicators: March 1999

Publication Date:
03-1999
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Gross Domestic product: Volume series, seasonally adjusted except for Czech Republic and Portugal; Leading indicator: A composite indicator, based on other indicators of economic activity (employment, sales, income, etc.), which signals cyclical movements in industrial production from six to nine months in advance; Consumer price index: Measures changes in average retail prices of a fixed basket of goods and services; Current balance: $ billion; not seasonally adjusted except for Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States; Unemployment rate: % of civilian labour force – standardised unemployment rate; national definitions for Czech Republic, Iceland, Korea, Mexico, Poland, Switzerland and Turkey; seasonally adjusted apart from Turkey; Interest rate: Three months, except for Greece (twelve months) and Turkey (overnight interbank rate); .. not available Sources: Main Economic Indicators, OECD Publications, Paris, December 1998. For Hungary, PIB*: CSO and current balance*: Central Bank.
Political Geography:
United States, United Kingdom, Turkey, Poland, Australia, Switzerland, and Mexico

57167. OECD Short Term Indicators Databank: January 1999

Publication Date:
01-1999
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Health care spending In the United States public spending on health care came to 3.9% of GDP in 1980, and rose to 6.3% by 1995. Most countries saw some increase too, but a few countries saw their ratios fall, notably Sweden (8.7% to 7.1%) and Ireland (7.1% to 5.2%). The country with the highest ratio of public health care spending to GDP in 1995 was Germany, with 8.1%. US public spending on health care was about average for the 21 countries in the table, but the United States spends as much again on private healthcare. As a result US total spending on health care stood at 13.6% of GDP in 1995, significantly higher than any other OECD country.
Political Geography:
United States, Germany, and Sweden

57168. OECD Short Term Indicators: January 1999

Publication Date:
01-1999
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Gross Domestic product: Volume series, seasonally adjusted except for Czech Republic and Portugal; Leading indicator: A composite indicator, based on other indicators of economic activity (employment, sales, income, etc.), which signals cyclical movements in industrial production from six to nine months in advance; Consumer price index: Measures changes in average retail prices of a fixed basket of goods and services; Current balance: $ billion; not seasonally adjusted except for Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States; Unemployment rate: % of civilian labour force – standardised unemployment rate; national definitions for Czech Republic, Iceland, Korea, Mexico, Poland, Switzerland and Turkey; seasonally adjusted apart from Turkey; Interest rate: Three months, except for Greece (twelve months) and Turkey (overnight interbank rate). not available Sources: Main Economic Indicators, OECD Publications, Paris, December 1998. For Hungary, PIB*: CSO and current balance*: Central Bank.
Political Geography:
United Kingdom, Turkey, Poland, Australia, Switzerland, Korea, and Mexico

57169. OECD Short Term Indicators: November 1998

Publication Date:
11-1999
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
Gross Domestic Product: Volume series, seasonally adjusted except for Czech Republic and Portugal Leading Indicator: A composite indicator, based on other indicators of economic activity (employment, sales, income, etc.), which signals cyclical movements in industrial production from six to nine months in advance Consumer Price Index: Measures changes in average retail prices of a fixed basket of goods and services Current Balance: $ billion; not seasonally adjusted except for Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States Unemployment Rate: % of civilian labour force – standardised unemployment rate; national definitions for Czech Republic, Iceland, Korea, Mexico, Poland, Switzerland and Turkey; seasonally adjusted apart from Turkey Interest Rate: Three months, except for Greece (twelve months) and Turkey (overnight interbank rate) ..
Political Geography:
United States, United Kingdom, Turkey, Poland, Australia, Switzerland, Korea, Mexico, Iceland, and Czech Republic

57170. The European Union and the Middle East Peace Process

Author:
Gerald M. Steinberg
Publication Date:
11-1999
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:
Europe, both in terms of the individual states and collectively through the 15-member European Union, seeks to play an active role in the Middle East peace process. There are many reasons for this - substantive, political, and symbolic.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, International Relations, Security, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:
Europe and Middle East

57171. The Role of Politics in Contemporary Russian Antisemitism

Author:
Betsy Gidwitz
Publication Date:
09-1999
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:
In recent months, since shortly after the collapse of the Russian ruble in August 1998, an upsurge of antisemitism in Russia has generated a startling increase in emigration of Russian Jewry. Among Jews in Israel and many diaspora countries, concern has grown about the fate of those Jews remaining in Russia, the largest of the post-Soviet states.
Topic:
Politics and Religion
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Asia

57172. Barak's Complex Foreign Policy Agenda

Author:
Gerald M. Steinberg
Publication Date:
07-1999
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:
Prime Minister Ehud Barak will not get a period of grace or a post-election honeymoon. Immediately upon taking office, he faces a number of pressing issues. Many of these are domestic - including religious-secular relations and economic concerns.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Middle East, and Asia

57173. Netanyahu's Economic Record

Author:
Eliyahu Kanovsky
Publication Date:
05-1999
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:
Blaming "the other guy" for current problems is a human frailty, but there are cases where there is substance to the allegation. I believe that the widespread criticism of Netanyahu's economic record lacks, at the very least, a sense of fairness and balance. On the economic front, the Netanyahu administration is faulted for the slow rate of economic growth since 1997, and, as a consequence, the rising rate of unemployment. The opposition contends that in 1996, Netanyahu inherited from the previous administration (Rabin-Peres) a thriving, prosperous, and stable economy, and then proceeded to "mess things up." What are the facts and figures? What is the larger picture?
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Economics, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Middle East

57174. Israel's Relations with the Vatican

Author:
Aharon Lopez
Publication Date:
03-1999
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:
During the ceremony of the presentation of my credentials as the Ambassador of Israel to the Holy See on April 10, 1997, I told His Holiness that, actually, this was not my first connection with the Vatican. In fact, when I served as Ambassador of Israel to the Republic of Cyprus, in one of the ceremonies there, I was approached by the non-resident Ambassador of Outer Mongolia, who asked me whether I represented the Holy See in Cyprus. Of course I answered that I represented the State of Israel. Then, looking at my head, he remarked: "Oh, you are right, sir; now I can see the difference in the color!" Of course, he was referring to my skullcap.
Topic:
International Relations, Diplomacy, and Religion
Political Geography:
Europe, Middle East, Israel, and Vatican city

57175. American Policy Toward Iraq and Iran in Clinton's Second Term

Author:
Robert O. Freedman
Publication Date:
03-1999
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:
During U.S. President Bill Clinton's second term in office, the U.S. "dual containment" policy toward Iran and Iraq, which he inherited from the Bush administration and then intensified during his first term, had come close to collapse.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Foreign Policy, and Politics
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, Iran, and Middle East

57176. Defining Limits on Religious Expression in Public Institutions: The Turkish Crisis Over Headscarves

Author:
George E. Gruen
Publication Date:
02-1999
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Abstract:
On June 10, 1998, Turkish police and Islamist students scuffled at Istanbul University after authorities refused to allow eleven women wearing Muslim headscarves to take final exams. The students attempted to force their way into the examination hall past police who were helping college authorities enforce a long-standing ban on Islamist attire in places of education, government ministries, and other public institutions. Istanbul University, like nearly all educational institutions in Turkey, receives public funding. Similar scuffles had occurred the previous day when police forcibly removed headscarves from some girls' heads, the pro-Islamist newspaper Zaman said. The paper printed photographs of what it said were female students who fainted in distress after their headscarves had been torn off.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Government, Human Rights, Islam, and Religion
Political Geography:
Turkey and Middle East

57177. The Dynamics of the North Korean Threat: Is The Erosion of North Korean Military Capabilities Real or Imagined?

Author:
Bruce William Bennett
Publication Date:
03-1999
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Journal of Korean Studies
Institution:
International Council on Korean Studies
Abstract:
It is an all-too-familiar pattern for military forces. Lacking sufficient funds to finance across-the-board military modernization, the country appears to pursue only selective modernization and some force evolution. The majority of military equipment is therefore allowed to slip into an antiquated state. The same financial constraints limit force readiness, especially reducing the combat training essential for the force should it be suddenly thrust into wartime operations. This reduction is then exacerbated by a diversion of the force into peacetime assignments that bear little resemblance to its wartime missions. Commentators wonder whether these military forces have become hollow, with significantly reduced combat capabilities.
Political Geography:
North Korea

57178. Prospects for Northeast Asian Multilateral Security Cooperation

Author:
Ralph A. Cossa
Publication Date:
03-1999
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Journal of Korean Studies
Institution:
International Council on Korean Studies
Abstract:
A broad variety of multilateral security dialogue mechanisms has emerged in the Asia-Pacific region in recent years. These efforts at building trust and confidence, both at the official and at the nongovernmental or so-called "track two" level, have the potential for enhancing Northeast Asian regional security. All Northeast Asian nations express support for such efforts. The current trend toward multilateralism is also generally consistent with U.S. foreign policy objectives in Asia, albeit as an important complement to America's bilateral security arrangements (which remain the foundation of U.S. security policy in Asia).
Political Geography:
United States, Asia, and Northeast Asia

57179. Old Wine in New Bottles: The Pentagon's East Asia Security Strategy Report

Author:
Doug Bandow
Publication Date:
03-1999
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Journal of Korean Studies
Institution:
International Council on Korean Studies
Abstract:
To contain Soviet-led communism and, secondarily, to prevent a militarily resurgent Japan, Washington established a network of alliances, bases, and deployments throughout East Asia after World War II. By the 1990s the Soviet Union had imploded, China had become a reasonably restrained international player, and other communist states had lost their ideological edge. At the same time, the noncommunist nations had leaped ahead economically. Despite such momentous developments, however, U.S. policy remains fundamentally the same.
Political Geography:
United States, China, East Asia, and Soviet Union

57180. Korea and Japanese Security

Author:
C.S. Eliot Kang
Publication Date:
03-1999
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Journal of Korean Studies
Institution:
International Council on Korean Studies
Abstract:
The Korean peninsula is crucial to Japanese security. Currently, the Japan-United States alliance is being reinvigorated to meet the continuing threat posed by North Korea as well as new challenges in the post-cold war era. The recently announced new defense cooperation guidelines outline the support the Japanese will extend to U.S. forces during peacetime, during an armed attack on Japan, and in emergencies "in areas surrounding Japan." In order to avoid unduly alarming China and to win public acceptance of the reformulation of the alliance in the absence of the kind of mortal threat once posed by the Soviet Union, the continuing danger posed by North Korea has been underlined. Yet, should the North Korean threat disappear, justifying the Japan-U.S. alliance will be that much more difficult. To forestall any danger of unraveling of the alliance, Japan must work with South Korea to formulate a new vision of the security relationship between Seoul and Tokyo that more closely integrates their common interests with those of their mutual ally, the United States.
Political Geography:
United States, Japan, Soviet Union, Tokyo, and Korea