Between Accident and Intention: Revisiting State Failure
The labeling of failed states as “intentional” clouds the actual lack of control governments in such states often have.
On the Newsstand:Pakistan
Senator McCain’s Mythic Reagan
Would the Gipper really be disappointed in the absence of hawkish tendencies in this Republican field?
Retroactive Diary of Qureshi Forum
Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, foreign minister of Pakistan, at the Institute of Politics
Hypocritical Mediocrity
Why did Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad get a student visa and U.S. citizenship? Marty Peretz argued yesterday that he shouldn’t have because he was mediocre. But I don’t think that Peretz’ reasoning is much better than mediocre itself. The evidence of Shahzad’s mediocrity begins with a Spring 1998 transcript which, quoting the New York Times, “showed that he earned ... Read More
Cops and Drugs
The militarizing of Mexico’s police forces adds a new facet to the war against drugs In Mexico, the war against drug cartels has become more than a question of eradicating illicit substances or capturing criminals; with over 13,000 dead in the last three years, the fight now concerns the future of the country. Earlier this year, a U.S. Joint Forces ... Read More
How Iran Stopped Worrying & Learned to Love the Bomb
So unsurprisingly, the Iranians now have enough uranium to make a nuclear bomb. I say unsurprising because, well, the U.S. has been wringing its hands over it for years now. While apparently the 2007 intelligence assessment that they aren’t actively designing a bomb was accurate, it’s now within their physical capacity to build one if they get that design work started ... Read More
Nukes for Non-State Actors
How globalization is a game-changer for nuclear security “Unless the world community acts decisively and with great urgency, it is more likely than not that a weapon of mass destruction will be used in a terrorist attack somewhere in the world by the end of 2013,” the Commission on Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism reported in December 2008. ... Read More
Natural Law
Managing the global resource of water “The next world war will be over water,” the former Vice President of the World Bank, Ismail Serageldin, once proclaimed. The very nature of water as a natural resource lends itself to conflict — it is a universal necessity, and often flows from sovereignty to sovereignty, defying ownership. Considering these circumstances, combined with increasing ... Read More
Nuclear Instability Watch
So it seems matters are coming to a head in Pakistan. Today, anti-government protests in Lahore were confronted by riot police. After violent confrontations, something truly surprising happened: the police broke. They started to defy orders at every level, from the city magistrate on down. The demonstrators are now filling Lahore, and the head of the opposition, Nawaz Sharif, is ... Read More
Succeeding in Succession
The stability of authoritarianism in China The recent U.S. presidential election demonstrated that the democratic process can be brutal and exhausting as candidates vie for positions of executive power. This scramble in times of succession does not exist in China, where election season is not about campaigning. China has, through its control of the election process, managed to avoid the ... Read More
Bush Doctrine No More
The impracticality of preventive war By Eric Paternot ‘09 and Richard Coffin ‘11 George W. Bush is still in office, but discussions of his legacy have already captured the attention of the country. Surprisingly, it isn’t so much the countless scandals that plagued his presidency that provoke debates or general unease; it is rather what many know as the Bush ... Read More
Eternal War?
I don’t think most Obama supporters realize that Obama is running on a platform promising unending war in the Middle East. I don’t mean Iraq; I think he’s still committed to leaving Iraq as soon as possible. He has, however, committed to winning Afghanistan, and I don’t think voters realize just how much of a challenge that would be. The ... Read More
