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53781. After Victory Toward a New Military Posture in the Persian Gulf

Author:
Christopher Preble
Publication Date:
06-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Donald Rumsfeld's announcement that U.S. troops will be removed from Saudi Arabia represents a significant and welcome change in U.S. policy toward the Persian Gulf. This wise decision to shift U.S. forces out of the kingdom should be only the first of several steps to substantially reduce the American military presence in the region. In addition to the removal of troops from Saudi Arabia, U.S. forces should be withdrawn from other Gulf states, including Qatar, Kuwait, and Iraq, and the U.S. Navy should terminate its long-standing policy of deploying a carrier battle group in the Persian Gulf.
Topic:
Defense Policy
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, Middle East, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia

53782. A Grand Façade: How the Grand Jury Was Captured by Government

Author:
W. Thomas Dillard, Stephen R. Johnson, and Timothy Lynch
Publication Date:
06-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The grand jury is perhaps the most mysterious institution in the American criminal justice system. While most people are generally familiar with the function of the police officer, the prosecutor, the defense lawyer, the judge, and the trial jury, few have any idea about what the grand jury is supposed to do and its day-to-day operation. That ignorance largely explains how some over-reaching prosecutors have been able to pervert the grand jury, whose original purpose was to check prosecutorial power, into an inquisitorial bulldozer that enhances the power of government and now runs roughshod over the constitutional rights of citizens.
Topic:
Defense Policy
Political Geography:
United States, America, and Middle East

53783. Demonizing Drugmakers: The Political Assault on the Pharmaceutical Industry

Author:
Doug Bandow
Publication Date:
05-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Few sectors of the economy have provided more benefits to consumers than the pharmaceutical industry. Drugmakers have been vilified by patients and politicians alike, however, because of what they see as unreasonably high drug costs.
Topic:
Human Welfare, Industrial Policy, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
United States

53784. Bring the Troops Home: Ending the Obsolete Korean Commitment

Author:
Doug Bandow
Publication Date:
05-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The U.S. alliance with the Republic of Korea has been America's most consistently dangerous commitment since the end of World War II. Yet South Korea is beginning to look away from the United States for its defense. Newly elected President Roh Moo-hyun campaigned on a plat-form of revisiting the security relationship, and he has attempted to adopt the role of mediator between America and North Korea.
Topic:
Security and Defense Policy
Political Geography:
United States, America, Israel, East Asia, and Korea

53785. Is America Exporting Misguided Telecommunications Policy?

Author:
Motohiro Tsuchiya and Adam Thierer
Publication Date:
01-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Global telecommunications markets have traditionally been closed to foreign trade and investment. Recent World Trade Organization negotiations resulted in a Basic Telecommunications agreement that sought to construct a multilateral framework to reverse that trend and begin opening telecom markets worldwide. Regrettably, this new WTO framework is quite ambiguous and open to pro-regulatory interpretations by member states.
Topic:
International Trade and Finance, Science and Technology, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
United States, America, and South Asia

53786. Options for Dealing with North Korea

Author:
Ted Galen Carpenter
Publication Date:
01-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
North Korea's recent actions in violation of the clear intent of the agreement it signed in 1994 to freeze its nuclear program have ignited a crisis in northeast Asia. Unfortunately, all of the frequently discussed options for dealing with this crisis have major drawbacks.
Topic:
International Political Economy, Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
Asia and North Korea

53787. Retirement Finance Reform Issues Facing the European Union

Author:
William G. Shipman
Publication Date:
01-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Changing demographics are forcing countries around the world to reexamine their public pension systems. The member states of the European Union are no exception. Indeed, the EU nations are among those facing the greatest social, budgetary, and economic challenges as a result of their aging populations. Therefore, EU members will be forced to rethink their public pension programs and move away from traditional pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) pension models to new systems based on savings and investment.
Topic:
Human Welfare
Political Geography:
Europe

53788. Europe between Brussels and Byzantium: Some Thoughts on European Integration

Author:
Niall Ferguson
Publication Date:
11-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute of European Studies (IES), UC Berkeley
Abstract:
There is, in theory, a plausible role for the European Union as the partner of a militarily assertive United States: the peacekeeper that follows in the wake of the peacemaker. The war in Iraq, however, has raised the possibility of a diametrically different role for Europe: as a potential imperial rival to the United States. There is no need to invoke the memory of either Rome or Byzantium to make the case that Europe is capable of spoiling America's unipolar party. The successful conclusion of accession agreements with ten new member countries – not to mention the sustained appreciation of the euro against the dollar since Kennedy's article appeared – have seemingly vindicated this analysis. So too, in the eyes of some commentators, has the vociferous and not wholly ineffectual opposition of at least some E.U. member states to American policy in Iraq. If the U.S. has an imperial rival today, then the E.U. appears to be it.
Topic:
International Relations and War
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, Europe, Rome, and Brussels

53789. From Alliances to Ambivalence: The Search for a Transatlantic Agenda In the 21st Century

Author:
Jackson Janes
Publication Date:
11-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute of European Studies (IES), UC Berkeley
Abstract:
During the Cold War, European-American relations were often marked by differences over tactics, but we did share for the most part a strategic goal that was to be achieved on the basis of the twin principles of deterrence and détente. Yet there are some that would argue that this past year has been different; that the transatlantic rift goes deeper and will last longer. If the Americans and Europeans cannot find common ground in certain regulatory areas, it may be that we will agree to disagree on the use of GMO's, technological standards, or Anti-trust legislation. This could lead to more competition but also to duplication in an increasingly interwoven global market. Yet, because we face a vastly more complicated environment today than during previous years — full of threats and opportunities — it will remain a challenge for the coming decade to strategize as to how transatlantic political policy problems can best be dealt with.
Topic:
International Relations, Cold War, and Politics
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

53790. Europe's Identity and Islams

Author:
Renate Holub
Publication Date:
08-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute of European Studies (IES), UC Berkeley
Abstract:
Until the break-up of the Soviet Union, dominant intellectual and educational cultures in Europe worked primarily with national concepts. In the twentieth century, nationalist ideologies have, of course, lost some of their glamour due to the impact of two disastrous world wars. But while leading European intellectuals over the past 50 years developed a research program that transcended the national spirit, they nonetheless remained bound by the concept of “modernity,” which comprises the concept of the modern nation state and the modern nation state system. Steeped in this cultural unconscious, Europe has neglected the systematic study of alternative modernities and alternative systems of governmentality -- including systems of democratic governmentality in the internet age -- especially as these alternative modernities relate to the influx of Muslim populations.
Topic:
International Relations, Ethnic Conflict, Islam, and Population
Political Geography:
Europe, Soviet Union, and Arabia