Transnational Issues: Publications, Events and More

Parag Khanna in The San Diego Union Tribune | 'Foreign Oil Producers Have U.S. Over Barrel '

Communications — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 12:36:00 -0400

New America in the News:
“The oil centers in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain have been investing in economic growth in places without much oil, such as Egypt, Morocco and Jordan,” said Parag Khanna, director of the Global Governance Initiative at the New America Foundation. LINK

Wrong on Russia

Articles — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:00:00 -0400

In the wake of Russia’s military incursion into Georgia, too many current, former, and aspiring U.S. officials are caricaturing the Russian state that was shaped and is still guided by Vladimir Putin as a revisionist aggressor. For Robert Kagan, John McCain’s neoconservative foreign policy adviser, as well as for long-time Democratic foreign policy hands Richard Holbrooke and Ronald Asmus, Russia’s actions in Georgia are comparable to Hitler’s invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1938. For Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Russia’s actions are more reminiscent of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.

But, in reality, today’s Russia is not a resurgent imperial power. In the post-Cold War period, it was Washington, not Moscow, which… more

Flynt Leverett on MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann | 'Another War for Bush to Consider'

Communications — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 08:02:00 -0400

New America in the News:
Former Senior Director at the National Security Council and current Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation, Flynt Leverett, discusses how President Bush should handle Russia's invasion of Georgia, a U.S. ally. LINK to video

Parag Khanna on CNN | 'The Situation Room: U.S. Fears for Pakistan's Future'

Communications — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:34:00 -0400

New America in the News:
PARAG KHANNA, NEW AMERICA FOUNDATION: And some of the militant elements in the tribal areas have also become quite strong in the interim.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Publicly, the U.S. says the impeachment is an internal Pakistani matter but sent a veiled warning to its close ally, Musharraf, not to take action that could be destabilizing to Pakistan.

GONZALO GALLEGOS, DEPUTY STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: Our expectation is that any action will be consistent with the rule of law and the Pakistani constitution.

VERJEE: Musharraf could use his powers as president to dissolve parliament, fire the prime minister and call new elections. Musharraf has promised in the past not to repeat his actions of last November, when he imposed a state of emergency. It's unclear whether he would go quietly. So far, Musharraf has resisted pressure to resign, even as his unpopularity grows.

The critical question -- whether the Pakistani military will allow the government to humiliate and oust Musharraf, their former chief.

KHANNA: They might actually intervene in order to prevent the crisis from getting worse and simply force the civilian government to contend or to be comfortable or simply allow Musharraf to stay in power in exchange for the parliament not being dissolved. LINK to full transcript

Parag Khanna on the Kojo Nnamdi Show | 'The Collapse WTO Negotiations'

Communications — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:17:00 -0400

New America in the News:

(WAMU)--It was supposed to promote "pro-development" priorities at the World Trade Organization. But the so-called "Doha Round" of talks collapsed this week, as negotiators were unable to bridge bitter divides between developed and developing countries. We find out what happened, and what it means for workers and farmers in America and the developing world. LINK to Audio

Guest: Parag Khanna, Director, Global Governance Initiative in American Strategy Program, New America Foundation; author, "The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order" (Random House)

The Myth of Nuclear Deterrence

Communications — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 06:30:00 -0400

A New America Event
07/24/2008 - 2:30pm

On Thursday the New America Foundation hosted Ward Wilson, winner of the 2008 Doreen and Jim McElvany Nonproliferation Challenge, to examine the underpinnings of nuclear deterrence theory. Joined by Jeffrey Lewis, Director of the Nuclear Strategy and Nonproliferation Initiative, Wilson challenged the belief that nuclear weapons continue to serve a useful purpose in the world. An MP3 audio recording can be downloaded below, while video is available at right.

Wilson's argument framed nuclear weapons in the context of means and ends, with the intention of demonstrating that they serve no justifiable end. Nuclear deterrence is the belief that states can protect themselves by credibly threatening to impose unacceptable costs on an adversary in the event of an attack. Those unacceptable costs typically entail the wholesale slaughter of an adversarys population centers (counterforce) using nuclear weapons. Wilson challenged this fundamental component of nuclear deterrence- the efficacy of city-destruction- by examining roughly analogous historical examples, as well as the only true case studies, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Wilson concluded that in the past city destruction has failed to bring about the end of conflict, or deter future groups from providing resistance. In particular he argues that the Japanese, understandably, did not distinguish between the "rain drop" of Hiroshima amidst the downpour that was the U.S. strategic bombing campaign of 1945. Combining this with the belief that nuclear weapons serve no military function that cannot be achieved with conventional weapons, Wilson determines that there is no place for nuclear weapons in the world. Like chemical and biological weapons, nuclear weapons are useless, and should likewise be banned.

-Nick Calluzzo, Research Intern for the Nuclear Strategy and Nonproliferation Initiative

Flynt Leverett on P5+1 Talks with Iran

Communications — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:10:00 -0400

Following the P5+1 talks with Iran this past Saturday that included U.S. Under Secretary of State William Burns, Flynt Leverett sat down to analyze the meaning and potential of EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana's "freeze-for-freeze" formula given recent U.S. diplomatic overtures. Flynt Leverett is a senior fellow and director of the Geopolitics of Energy Initiative at the New America Foundation. Previously he served as senior director for Middle East Affairs at the National Security Council, Middle East expert on the Secretary of State's Policy Planning Staff, and senior analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency.

To watch the video,… more

Flynt Leverett in Policy Innovations | 'The Rise of the Rest'

Communications — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:04:00 -0400

New America in the News:

FLYNT LEVERETT: ..."As Americans, I think we also need to face up to the flip side of the rise of the rest, which is to some degree a decline in American standing and influence in various international arenas. I would argue that the United States is in an historically unprecedented condition. It emerged from the Cold War as this unquestioned global hegemon.

Now, not even two decades after the end of the Cold War, we have a situation in which the military dimension of American hegemony seems unassailable. If you look out, even with the most optimistic projections of the growth in Chinese, Indian, perhaps Russian, military capabilities, I would argue that the United States is going to have a unique capacity to project large amounts of military power around the world for at least the next two decades, and quite possibly longer than that. So the military dimension of American hegemony seems to be pretty intact.

There are, as always, limits to what military power can do for a hegemon. We seem periodically to need to remind ourselves of that. Perhaps the Iraq war is one such exercise... "

LINK to transcript and LINK to video

Minimum Deterrence

Ron Tang — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 08:06:00 -0400

Nuclear deterrence is a rather subjective concept: How many weapons are enough to ensure deterrence? How difficult is it to achieve and maintain deterrence? How important are the technical details of a country’s nuclear forces, such as the size, configuration, and readiness, to the goal of maintaining deterrence? The answers to these questions vary across recent history and across geographic areas.

One view, I would say the dominant view in U.S. defense planning, is that deterrence can be achieved only through difficult choices, sustained with intelligent effort, and will depend very much on the technical details. This is the view expressed… more

Jeffrey Lewis in Newstrack | 'New Law Bans Iranians from Studying Nuclear Technology in the Netherlands'

Communications — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 08:01:00 -0400

New America in the News:
..."But the Dutch law is surprisingly harsh," said Jeffrey Lewis, an arms-control expert at the New America Foundation, a think-tank based in Washington DC. "I don't know of any other state that has viewed its obligations in such a broad fashion. The legislation seems like an awfully crude instrument to me," he added... LINK

Parag Khanna on the Kojo Nnamdi Show | 'U.S. - Indian Relations'

Communications — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 05:43:00 -0400

New America in the News:

A landmark nuclear cooperation deal between India and the United States is on the rocks, threatened by deep divisions within India's governing coalition. As leaders from both countries meet at the annual Group of Eight summit, we explore their evolving relationship and the role of the Indian-American diaspora in foreign affairs. LINK to Audio

Guests:

Sanjay Puri, Chairman, U.S. Indian Political Action Committee (USINPAC)

Parag Khanna, Director, Global Governance Initiative in American Strategy Program, New America Foundation; author, The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order (Random House)

Flynt Leverett in The Australian | 'Nirvana Out of American Reach'

Communications — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:23:00 -0400

New America in the News:

The energy, financial and political woes that grip the US signal a decisive shift in world power, mocking the liberal delusion that Barack Obama or John McCain can return American prestige and power to its pre-Bush year 2000 nirvana. There is no such nirvana. There is instead a new reality: the greatest transfer of income in human history, away from energy importers such as the US to energy exporters; the rise of a new breed of wealthy autocracies that cripple US hopes of dominating the global system; and demands on the US to make fresh compromises in a world where power is rapidly being diversified....

Flynt Leverett, former director of Middle East Affairs on the National Security Council, says: "The international economic position of the United States has deteriorated substantially since the new millennium. The big trends in global finance and energy markets are working against the US. There isn't any solving this problem in terms of making it go away. These are ongoing realities. The energy picture is not going to change: it is here to stay..." LINK

Survey Says: Stop Backing Musharraf

Ron Tang — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 07:05:00 -0400

The US government is pressing the new Pakistani civilian administration to back off efforts to remove Pervez Musharraf from the presidency.

But if the United States truly wanted to shore up democracy and help fight terrorism inside Pakistan, it would pursue the exactly opposite policy: the United States should publicly back the immediate removal of Mr Musharraf. A new public opinion survey shows why.

More than the ailing economy, the survey, conducted by Terror Free Tomorrow in collaboration with the New America Foundation and the Pakistan Institute for Public Opinion, revealed that the most important priority for Pakistanis is an… more

Flynt Leverett in the National Interest | 'Does the G8 Still Matter?'

Communications — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:17:00 -0400

New America in the News:

...From July 7–9, as the Nixon Center’s executive director and moderator of the discussion Paul Saunders said, the world’s heaviest hitters will meet to discuss the most-pressing problems. Former ambassador to Germany and current managing director at McLarty Associates, Richard Burt, and Flynt Leverett of the New America Foundation met at the Nixon Center on Wednesday to look at an even-more-basic issue: whether the G8 still matters. Or, as Ambassador Burt asked, if it ever did.

The G8’s purview is simply too broad to be effective, Burt argued. The group should return to its roots, economics, if it hopes to retain relevancy in today’s world of global markets and interconnected states. Leverrett agreed, but put the future of the group in even-starker terms: developing a strategy of global economic governance is “imperative” for the G8’s survival, and U.S. interests in a rapidly changing world. Failing to adapt, he said, is simply an “abrogation of responsibility...” LINK to article and LINK to C-SPAN video

Fynt Leverett on C-SPAN | the Nixon Center Panel Discussion on Relevance of G8 Summit

Communications — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:06:00 -0400

New America in the News:
As the host of the 2008 G8 Summit, Japan has established an agenda focused on non-proliferation, the international economy, climate change, and development. With changes in the global distribution of wealth and influence over the last thirty years, the Nixon Center hosts a panel discussion on the relevance of the G8 Summit. Flynt Leverett, Senior Fellow and the Director of the Geopolitics of Energy Initiative at the New America Foundation, serves as a co-panelist. LINK to video

Does Osama bin Laden Still Matter?

Ron Tang — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 05:57:00 -0400

Does Osama bin Laden matter anymore? You could be forgiven for thinking he doesn't. In recent months, an impressive cast of terrorism experts and counterterrorism officials around the world has coalesced around the notion that al-Qaeda's leader is no longer an active threat to the West. They point out that he has not been able to strike on U.S. soil since 9/11 or in Europe since the London bombings three summers ago. In Iraq, his most successful franchise operation is on the ropes. Across the Muslim world, opinion polls suggest his popularity has faded, and many of his early supporters… more

Parag Khanna in Khaleej Times | 'UAE a Rare Success Story'

Communications — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 08:11:00 -0400

New America in the News:

American author and international relations analyst Parag Khanna yesterday called the UAE a "rare success story", attributing it to its geographical location, globalisation and blend of foreign legacies with indigenous power structures.

Speaking on the role of the emirates in the geopolitical market place, Khanna, Fellow and Director of Global Governance Initiative at the New America Foundation, a non-partisan, public policy institute in Washington DC, termed the UAE "a meeting point for first world European technology and third world labour".

"The UAE has a culture of Eurasia. It is a story of foreign legacies blended with indigenous power structures in a post-colonial world. It is also a success story of globalisation, which is rare in post-colonial countries," said Khanna, who was a geopolitical advisor to the United States Special Operations Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2007... LINK

Parag Khanna in XPress | 'UAE more influential'

Communications — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 09:16:00 -0400

New America in the News:
Flooded with oil money and foreign investments, the UAE is influencing international developments like never before, said a visiting US scholar on Sunday.

From putting boots on the ground in war-torn Afghanistan – for reconstruction efforts – to bailing out giant companies from the recent property crash in America, the Emirates is now a ‘player’ in world affairs, Parag Khanna, the director of the Global Governance Initiative, told reporters at the Dubai Press Club... LINK

The New Colonialists

Ron Tang — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:32:00 -0400

Even on their best days, the world’s failed states are difficult to mistake for anything but tragic examples of countries gone wrong. A few routinely make the headlines -- Somalia, Iraq, Congo. But alongside their brand of extreme state dysfunction exists an entirely separate, easily missed class of states teetering on the edge. In dozens of countries, corrupt or feeble governments are proving themselves dangerously incapable of carrying out the most basic responsibilities of statehood. These countries -- nations such as Botswana, Cambodia, Georgia, and Kenya -- might appear to be recovering, even thriving, developing countries, but like their failed-state… more

Parag Khanna in Turkish Daily News | 'Redifining Turkey's Strategic Orientation'

Communications — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 11:39:00 -0400

New America in the News:

...The implications from denying Turkey an avenue to the European Union are not limited to damaging Turkey, however, but also diminish Europe itself. As Parag Khanna affirmed, “Europe increasingly needs Turkey,” which he defines as representing a “geopolitical asset (that) Europe cannot do without...” LINK