Nuclear
U.S. Spent Over $52 Billion on Nuclear Weapons in 2008
The United States spent over $52 billion on nuclear weapons and related programs in 2008, but only 10 percent of that will have gone toward preventing a nuclear attack and slowing the proliferation of nuclear weapons and technology. Stephen Schwartz and Deepti Choubey explain that these misplaced budget priorities signal to the world that the United States is more interested in preserving and upgrading its nuclear arsenal than in reducing and eliminating the growing threats of nuclear proliferation and limited nuclear or radiological attack.Gaza
Crisis in Gaza
The continuing violence in Gaza between Israel and Hamas is reverberating across the entire region. Carnegie experts in the Middle East and Washington explain regional perspectives on the conflict, its impact on neighboring nations, and its possible outcome.Russia
Instability in Russia
The falling price of oil and global economic instability are taking a heavy toll on Russia. For the first time since Vladmir Putin's rise to power, Moscow confronts the prospect of serious domestic turmoil, economic, social, and political. Carnegie experts in Moscow and Washington explain the implications of Russia's economic uncertainty for its embattled leaders, regional energy security, and relations with the West.- Russia's Future:
- For Russia, A Dark Horizon (Washington Post)
- Experts Discuss Russia-Ukraine Gas Dispute
Democracy
Improving Democracy Assistance
Newly confident authoritarian regimes in Russia and China, semi-authoritarian governments, and weak democracies have complicated democracy assistance efforts. Thomas Carothers explains in the Journal of Democracy that the West can more effectively address these challenges by crafting policies that embrace both political reform and socioeconomic development as paths toward increased political freedom.- Democracy Promotion:
- Is a League of Democracies a Good Idea? (Carnegie Brief)
- A Quarter-Century of Promoting Democracy (Journal of Democracy)
- Experts Discuss Political Party Development in Conflict-Prone Societies
U.S. Policy
U.S. Foreign Policy
President-elect Obama will inherit a number of foreign policy challenges from the Bush administration when he takes office next week. Jessica T. Mathews outlines priorities ranging from Afghanistan and Iraq to reversing policies that reject diplomacy as a means to resolve disputes and embrace unilateralism.- The Future of U.S. Foreign Policy:
- Experts Discuss Obama Foreign Policy (BBC)
- Obama's National Security Challenges (Diane Rehm)
- Foreign Policy for the Next President (Carnegie Briefs)
What to do with Guantánamo's Detainees
Closing Guantánamo, as President-elect Barack Obama has signaled he will do, will not be the end of extremist detention. As long as the United States and its allies continue to arrest and hold individuals around the world in the struggle against Islamist violence, they will need a comprehensive and international approach on how to hold and process extremists. Christopher Boucek explains in the International Herald Tribune that the ultimate goal should be to send these prisoners back to their home countries to be charged, housed and reintegrated.
Guantánamo Resources:
A Way Out of Guantánamo (Common Ground News Service)
The Dilemma of the Yemeni Detainees (CTC Sentinel)
Debate Rages Over Those Still At Guantanámo (NPR)
China and the West
U.S.-China cooperation is critical to a host of foreign policy issues likely to be high on the agenda for both nations in the coming years, including climate change, energy security, economic recovery, and regional proliferation concerns. Carnegie experts explain that China may be warming to international rules as a responsible global citizen—so long as any reforms serve its interest—and what the last eight years of bilateral relations tells us about future prospects for collaboration.
China's Future:
Out Into the World (Newsweek)
U.S.-China Relationship After Bush (CCTV)
U.S.-China Climate Cooperation (Carnegie Paper)
Foreign Policy for the Next President
President-elect Obama will inherit a tougher foreign policy inbox than any president has faced since Harry Truman; establishing priorities among dozens of conflicts and crises requires new understanding of the most critical regions, the most salient issues within them, and the issues ripest for new direction. In its new series, "Foreign Policy for the Next President", the Carnegie Endowment’s experts endeavor to do just that. They separate good ideas from dead ends and go beyond widely agreed goals to describe how to achieve them.
More on this series ►-
Sharing the Burden in the Middle East
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Thinking Strategically About Russia
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Syrian–Israeli Peace: A Possible Key to Regional Change
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Stabilizing Afghanistan: Threats and Challenges
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Nuclear Renaissance: Is It Coming? Should It?
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Russian–American Security Relations After Georgia
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Iran Says “No”—Now What?
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Engaging Pakistan—Getting the Balance Right
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Asia—Shaping the Future
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Is a League of Democracies a Good Idea?
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Sunset for the Two-State Solution?
Thinking Strategically About Russia
Successive U.S. administrations have forfeited the chance to integrate Russia into the West first afforded by the collapse of Communism and again by 9/11. Instead, the United States has either neglected Russia or openly disregarded its overtures and warnings on a range of regional concerns. Dmitri Trenin explains that President-elect Obama needs a comprehensive approach to Russia based on a shared vision of European security.
Engaging Russia:
Russian–American Security Relations After Georgia (Carnegie Brief)
U.S.-Russian Relations: The Longer View (Ambassadors' Statement)
More on the U.S.-Russia Relations
U.S. Policy on Iran
Iran continues to be a critical national security challenge for the United States, despite decades of effort to change Tehran's behavior. George Perkovich recommends the United States give Iran one last, time-limited chance to negotiate the suspension of its fuel-cycle-related activities. Karim Sadjadpour prioritizes U.S. engagement with Iran on six critical issues: Iraq, Afghanistan, nuclear proliferation, the Arab—Israeli conflict, energy, and terrorism.
Engaging Iran:
Experts Explain How to Talk With Iran
Iran Says "No"—Now What?
More on Iran
Islamist Movements at the Crossroads
Despite limited electoral success, Islamist movements in the Middle East have failed to influence policy and are criticized by their base for abandoning their religious commitments. Marina Ottaway and Amr Hamzawy explain that Islamist movements must convince their supporters that political participation is the best long term means to affect government despite seemingly poor short term gains.
Islamist Politics:
Arab Reform Bulletin
Democracy Promotion in the Middle East
Party for Justice and Development in Morocco
Stabilizing Afghanistan: Threats and Challenges
Stability in Afghanistan and the future of its government depend on the United States and its Afghan and other allies providing security for the Afghan people. William Maley warns that calls for an Iraq-style "troop surge" ignore the immediate need for a comprehensive political strategy to fix Afghanistan's fragile security structure, dysfunctional system of government, and unstable borders.Challenges in Afghanistan:
NATO and Afghanistan: Saving the State-Building Enterprise
Afghanistan: UN Special Representative Addresses Priorities
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Highlights from our centers
Chinese Regional Inequalities
Comparison of China’s major regions shows large disparities in GDP per capita over the last twenty years, which became more pronounced during the first half of this decade.
Afghanistan and the Transatlantic Community
The conflict in Afghanistan is likely to be one of the first issues of contention between Europe and the U.S. during the next U.S. administration. U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Kurt Volker,
discussed the future of transatlantic engagement in Afghanistan and the region.
The Social Consequences of Russia’s Economic Crisis
The stability of Russia’s political system over
the past decade has been predicated on
two factors, neither of which looks likely to
persist much longer: rapid, resource-driven economic growth and the bureaucracy elite’s ability to leave government quickly and easily thanks to the significant assets accumulated over the
course of their service
Obama and the Middle East: Palestine First
If the Obama administration wants to serve U.S. interests in the Middle East it has to avoid mimicking previous administrations by dispelling the myth that the Israeli–Palestinian conflict is too complicated and impossible to resolve.
30 Years of Rural Land Use Rights Reform
The proposed land reform legislation before the CCP's Central Committee would give farmers more control to rent and sell their land. It represents a significant effort by the government to curb local corruption, increase food security, as well as reduce the inequality between urban and rural China.
