Foreign Policy: All Articles and Books

Europe's Promise

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 08:16:00 -0500

A quiet revolution has been occurring in post-World War II Europe. A world power has emerged across the Atlantic that is recrafting the rules for how a modern society should provide economic security, environmental sustainability, and global stability. In Europe's Promise, Steven Hill explains Europe's bold new vision. For a decade Hill traveled widely to understand this uniquely European way of life. He shatters myths and shows how Europe's leadership manifests in five major areas: economic strength, with Europe now the world's wealthiest

Shadow Elite

Erin Drankoski — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:51:00 -0500

Governments and administrations come and go, but not so a new breed of power brokers, who always seem to pop up just where the action is. Wearing different hats, they press their agendas in venue after venue. According to award-winning public policy scholar and anthropologist Janine Wedel, these are the "shadow elite," the prime movers in a vexing new system of power and influence.

Not Serious -- This Time

Erin Drankoski — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:20:00 -0500

Is the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) leadership, which is currently proposing to seek United Nations recognition of a Palestinian state along the pre-1967 border, about to shake up the Israeli-Palestinian paralysis in a game-changing way? The answer for now would appear to be "no." Both U.S. and EU officials were quick to distance themselves from the idea and label it premature. For their part, the Israelis took umbrage at this hint of Palestinian unilateralism. In case anyone

Engaging Cuba on Human Rights

Erin Drankoski — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:19:00 -0500

Normalization of U.S. relations with Cuba was widely seen as exactly the kind of high-value, low-hanging fruit that would be ideal for a president elected under the banner of "change." But a scathing new Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, "New Castro, Same Cuba," will make lifting sanctions against the Castro regime -- on travel, remittances, trade -- more difficult for President Obama.

How Copenhagen Died During Barack Obama's Asia Trip

Erin Drankoski — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:21:00 -0500

He did it! During his trip to China, President Barack Obama mentioned human rights and the importance of free thinking, and China didn't dump its massive pile of U.S. dollars. America must still have some sway left in the world.

Perhaps Obama is now on a roll and will score a last-minute deal with China on climate change reduction targets or revaluing the Chinese yuan to get the global economic order rebalanced. Not.

End the GOP's Filibuster Folly

Erin Drankoski — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:49:00 -0500

A year ago, Barack Obama was elected to bring change to America. But his efforts to transform Washington are being stymied by one of the capital's oldest of political traditions: the Senate filibuster. Ten months into Obama's presidency, Democrats have passed just one major piece of legislation, February's stimulus package.

Think Again: Green China

Erin Drankoski — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:42:00 -0500

Two years ago, the New York Times reported that China was "choking on growth," with rapid economic development ravaging its environment. But in a recent column, the Times' Tom Friedman declared that "Red China [has] decided to become Green China," writing that the developing country now outpaces the United States in its pursuit of alternative energy.

Havel's Velvet Anniversary

Erin Drankoski — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:25:00 -0500

Twenty years ago this month, protestors massed for ten days in Prague's Wenceslas Square, demanding an end to communist rule, and chanting: "Havel, na Hrad!" (Havel to the Castle.)

Obama Can't Count on Karzai

Kate Schuler — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:48:00 -0500

Before President Obama releases his strategy for Afghanistan, he should think twice about fully re-embracing Hamid Karzai.

By rigging the first round of elections with more than a million fraudulent votes, rigging the second round of elections with more than 500 'ghost' polling places to generate another flood of fake ballots and refusing to reform the electoral system, incumbent President Hamid Karzai abused his office to steal a democratic election from the people of Afghanistan.

Cold War Nostalgia

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:39:00 -0500

The global celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall aren't entirely about commemorating the rebirth of freedom or reliving those thrilling moments when a perverse and repressive system collapsed. Listen closely to the exalted commentary recounting the events of those historic days and you're also likely to hear the subtle intonations of regret and nostalgia.

Chile’s Big Surprise

Erin Drankoski — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:34:00 -0500

Latin America has seen independent candidates run for office before. They have won in countries like Peru, with Alberto Fujimori and then Alejandro Toledo, and Colombia, with Álvaro Uribe. Caudillos like Venezuela's Hugo Chávez and Ecuador's Rafael Correa have bucked entrenched but sclerotic party systems. And leaders of broad movements have brought an end to decades-long single-party rule, as Fernando Lugo did with his victory in Paraguay over the Colorado Party. But something unusual is happening in Chile. In its upcoming presidential election,

Energizing Peace

Erin Drankoski — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:07:00 -0500

The lessons of geography appear to be ignored by policymakers in Washington D.C. these days. The Obama administration is pursuing tenuous negotiations with Iran regarding its supply of low-enriched uranium, in the hopes of taking the first step to erase the longstanding animosity between the two countries. It is also rethinking its Afghanistan and Pakistan policy to emphasize reconstruction and economic development. These two strategies are unfortunately disconnected -- despite the fact that Afghanistan shares a 600-mile-long strategic border with Iran.

Unsettling Questions

Erin Drankoski — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:09:00 -0500

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stepped from the frying pan into the fire this weekend, when she sparked a controversy regarding U.S. policy toward Israeli settlements right after some tough days of public and private diplomacy in Pakistan. But was the controversy as serious as it seemed? And what does it means for the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts? Here, a fact check on some settlement myths and misconceptions.

1. What is the significance of Clinton's linguistic acrobatics?

What Serious Diplomacy Looks Like -- in Turkey

Erin Drankoski — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:38:00 -0400

Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was expected to come to the White House on Thursday for a meeting with President Barack Obama. Erdogan's visit has now been postponed, and the decision to postpone comes on the heels of the Turkish leader's high-profile visit to Iran this week.

Pakistan Drone War Takes a Toll on Militants -- and Civilians

Erin Drankoski — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:07:00 -0400

The Obama administration has dramatically ratcheted up the American drone warfare program in Pakistan. Since President Obama took office, U.S. drone strikes have killed about a half-dozen militant leaders along with hundreds of other people, a quarter of whom were civilians.

As a result of the unprecedented 42 strikes by drone aircraft into Pakistan authorized by the Obama administration, aimed at Taliban and al Qaeda networks based there, about a half-dozen leaders of militant organizations have been killed.

Is Iraq Slipping Away?

Erin Drankoski — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:53:00 -0400

Terrorism Dilemmas Come Down to Kashmir

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:48:00 -0400

The most vital region in this world today, for U.S. interests at least, remains a maze of cloud-shearing piles of rock and sweeping valleys, both checkered by impoverished towns and men clutching AKs-- but this pile is hundreds of miles from Kabul.

U.S. Is Losing Afghan War on Two Fronts

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:27:00 -0400

We are losing in Afghanistan, on two fronts. The most important center of gravity of the conflict -- as the Taliban well recognizes -- is the American public. And now, most Americans are opposed to the war.

For years, Afghanistan was "the forgotten war," and when Americans started paying attention again -- roughly around the time of President Obama's inauguration -- what they saw was not a pretty sight: a corrupt Afghan government, a world-class drug trade, a resurgent Taliban and steadily rising U.S. casualties.

Romania's Amnesia-induced Ambivalence

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:35:00 -0400

Three weeks ago, when the Nobel committee awarded its literature prize to Romanian writer Herta Muller, it lauded her courageous and unflinching fictional portraits of "daily life in a stagnated dictatorship" in communist Romania. What they did not mention, however, was Muller's ongoing nonfictional critique of the leadership of post-communist Romania.

War and Politics

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:47:00 -0400

Over the summer, the Afghan Taliban's military committee distributed "A Book of Rules," in Pashto, to its fighters. The book's eleven chapters seem to draw from the population-centric principles of F.M. 3-24, the U.S. Army's much publicized counter-insurgency field manual, released in 2006. Henceforth, the Taliban guide declares, suicide bombers must take "the utmost steps . . . to avoid civilian human loss." Commanders should generally insure the "safety and security of the civilian's life and property." Also, lest