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Upcoming Events November 18
Got a minute? Our experts give quick takes on today’s pressing foreign policy issues. Torture and the Bomb The Iranian Opposition's Second Life Ban Ki Moon and R2P Postcard from...
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Military vs. Climate Security: Mapping the Shift from the Bush Years to the Obama Era
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Jun 18, 2009 May 6, 2009 Apr 9, 2009 Apr 2, 2009 Mar 17, 2009 |
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Home to well over one-fifth of the population, South Asia continues to be a hotbed of conflict and upheaval. Human rights abuses, the war in Afghanistan, and climate change all present critical challenges to the region and to U.S. foreign policy. In our new focus, FPIF contributors examine current obstacles and future solutions in South Asia. Much of the Afghanistan debate has been centered in the U.S. But what do Afghans think? Gabriela Campos interviews Mariam Nawabi in Underlying Causes of Security in Afghanistan. A new report gives the impression that the opium trade is the main reason why the Taliban are gaining in strength, absolving the United States and NATO of their own responsibility in fomenting the insurgency. Julien Mercille annotates the report in UN Report Misleading on Afghanistan's Drug Problem. Zia Mian notes that while Pakistani support for al-Qaeda is falling, so is support for U.S. policy. He outlines paths for the future in United States, Pakistan: The Decade Ahead. Activist Listeners: The Raqs Media Collective, in an interview with Niels Van Tomme, discusses how they're revolutionizing the art of communication in Delhi and beyond. In Bollywood Gets Political, Noor Iqbal writes that it's no longer just the same old song and dance: India's film industry is tackling some pretty serious topics. |
New Report: What Defense Contractors Don't Want You to Know A new study shows that military hardware we don't need isn't as great for job creation as advertised. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst found that $1 billion will buy you fewer jobs in defense than it will in health care, clean energy, and education. "You'd create more jobs not just next year, but in the next 10 years," said coauthor Robert Pollin. The study, The U.S. Employment Effects of Domestic and Military Spending Priorities: An Updated Analysis, was commissioned by FPIF and Women's Action for New Directions, with help from the Colombe Foundation. |
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FPIF on the G20 FPIF co-director Emira Woods was in Pittsburgh as part of a panel cohosted by the Institute for Policy Studies and The Nation magazine. "What the G20 powers do," she explained, "is prevent the poor countries to act in their own interests and determine their own future." Read an on-the-ground account of the G20, including our event featuring Emira and Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, here. FPIF contributors have also provided thoughtful commentary on the G20 and its repercussions. Mark Engler, in Casino Capitalism As Usual, writes that the G20 leaves needed reforms for global economy off the table. G20: Form, Not Substance: At the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh, columnist Walden Bello expects a decline in substance and a growth in protest. |
Youth and Activism A grand alliance of religious groups and secular progressives can help realize the vision of Obama's Cairo speech, writes Rabbi Arthur Waskow in Toward an Abrahamic Peace. Young people everywhere refuse to ignore the deadliest conflict since WWII, writes Kwaku Osei in Fighting the Forgotten War: Students' Activism for the Congo. |
Peace and Security
Change Nuclear Weapons Policy? Yes, We Can.
Daryl Kimball
The next president can and must take immediate steps toward a nuclear weapons free world.
The Case for U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan
Sameer Dossani
Instead of scaling up an already disastrous war, the United States could change course in a way that would ultimately do a lot more to ensure the world's safety.
Strange Strike
Farrah Hassen
Syria learned yet again with the recent helicopter attack, when it comes to relations with Washington, no good deed goes unpunished.
Multilateralism
Detaining the United Nations
Phyllis Bennis
Richard Falk, the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, wasn't allowed into Israel on a recent trip. That action fits a pattern of Israeli efforts to hide the human consequences of the siege of Gaza and of the escalating settlement expansion in the West Bank.
Challenging U.S. Global Dominance
Herbert Bix
The United States pushed NATO further eastward toward the borders of Russia while pouring money and armaments into Georgia, paving the way to the August war.
Postcard from ... the UN
Nora McKeon
In the midst of the food crisis, African farmers are finally telling their story directly to the world.
Global Economy
Green Paper Gold
Jeremy Brecher, Tim Costello, and Brendan Smith
Here's an innovative way to tackle the economic crisis and global warming in one sweeping proposal.
Economic Woes? Look to Kerala
Shirin Shirin
The Indian state of Kerala's alternative development model offers valuable lessons as the global economic crisis unfolds.
Charting a Progressive International Financial Agenda
Daniel Bradlow
We've got the best opportunity in 60 years to create a more pro-people global financial order.
Africa
The Africa That Pushes Back
Mukoma Wa Ngugi
Handouts and Hollywood celebrities obscure the real work being done in Africa today.
Saving Congo: Whither the EU?
Mark Burgess
The EU has an army of sorts. Maybe it should start using it for the common good.
Somalia Resurfaces
Michael Shank
Somalis can sort out their problems if the outside world just gives them a chance.
Americas
Ecuador's Debt Default
Neil Watkins and Sarah Anderson
The South American country's refusal to make "immoral and illegitimate" payments exposes an international financial architecture glitch.
Beyond the Drug War
Coletta Youngers
The Obama administration should take advantage of promising new trends in Latin America to seek more effective and more humane drug control policies both at home and abroad.
Latin Americanists Urge Obama to Revamp Policies
Cynthia McClintock
More than 200 scholars are urging the new president to respect Latin America's new progressive leadership.
Asia
Pakistan and the Islamist Challenge
A.H. Nayyar and Zia Mian
Pakistan's failure to confront Islamic militants is a threat to itself, its neighbors, and the world.
Thailand: The Certainty of Uncertainty
Johanna Son
After a coup two years ago and multiple protests since, Thailand has a new prime minister. But don't expect stability for the near future.
One China, 2.0?
Erdong Chen
The new Taiwanese president could substantially alter the cross-strait dynamic.
Eurasia
Turkey Between East and West
Ragan Updegraff
If Europe doesn't extend a welcoming hand, Turkey will drift eastward—and that's not good news for the United States.
A New Helsinki Accord
Anton Caragea
In the aftermath of the Georgia crisis, Europe needs to think big and craft a comprehensive new agreement on borders and sovereignty.
What To Do Now in Georgia
Ian Williams
It's time for the UN to step up to the plate and help resolve the conflict.
Confronting the Financial Crisis The global financial crisis is emptying the pockets of people in rich, poor, and middle-income nations alike. In its wake, FPIF offers new solutions to the crisis and innovative alternatives to the now officially defunct “Washington Consensus.” |
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Is the Obama administration winding down our empire or simply trying to implement a kinder, gentler version? |
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Food prices are up all over the world. Is the current food crisis a temporary problem or a sign of something more serious? |
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The United States maintains more than 700 bases around the world and is pushing to set up even more. What are these bases doing, how is the Pentagon rethinking their functions, and how can we reduce this military footprint? |
 Religion and Foreign Policy A look at the role of religion in global affairs. Read about missionaries, monks, and the intersection of monotheism and modernity. |
 China Focus With China emerging as the new global go-to guy, FPIF assesses this growing influence and its impact on U.S. foreign policy. Introduction, Central Asia, Arms Sales, Partnership or Competition?, Southeast Asia, India's Nuclear Deal, East Asian Security, China's Labor Law, Taiwanese Independence, Cross-Straits Unification, China and the Environment, Kung-Fu Nationalism, Debate on Labor, China in Africa, China and Human Rights, Frankenstein Alliance, Conclusion |
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Material published and distributed by FPIF represents the views of the author(s) and does not necessarily represent the views of the board members or staff of IPS or of the FPIF editors. FPIF is committed to sponsoring a broad public dialogue about U.S. foreign policy and the role of the United States in the world.
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