ANNUAL EDITIONS: American Foreign Policy 09/10, Fourteenth Edition
UNIT 1 The United States and the World: Strategic ChoicesUnit Overview1. The Day Nothing Much Changed, William J. Dobson, Foreign Policy, September/October 2006
Looking back at events in the international system since September 11, 2001, the author concludes that nothing much has changed about its underlying dynamics. The major impact of 9/11 has been to highlight the imbalance of world politics and the dominance of the United States.
2. How Globalization Went Bad, Steven Weber, et al., Foreign Policy, January/February 2007
According to the authors, the evils of globalization have become more pronounced. The primary force that produces instability in the international system is American primacy, and the United States is bearing the primary burden of this situation.
3. Hegemony on the Cheap, Colin Dueck, World Policy Journal, Winter 2003/2004
The problems with Bush’s foreign policy cannot be fixed by replacing unilateralism with
multilateralism. The problems lie in the fact that the liberal assumptions on which it is based
encourage ambitious foreign policy goals, pursued by insufficient means and resources. This situation is not unique to Bush but dates back to Wilson.
4. The Eagle Has Crash Landed, Immanuel Wallerstein, Foreign Policy, July/August 2002
The United States has become the powerless superpower according to Wallerstein. The same economic, political, and military factors that gave rise to American hegemony are now leading to its inevitable decline. The key question today is, ‘Can the United States devise a way to descend gracefully, or will it crash land in a rapid and dangerous fall?’
5. Grand Strategy for a Divided America, Charles A. Kupchan and Peter L. Trubowitz, Foreign Affairs, July/August 2007
The United States must strike a balance between its goals and its resources. Only then will the United States have a politically solvent strategy that recognizes the deep partisan differences; which, if unattended, threatens to lead to a erratic and incoherent foreign policy.
6. The Palmerstonian Moment, Richard N. Haass, The National Interest, January/February 2008
Lord Palmerston once remarked that countries have neither permanent friends nor permanent enemies. They only have permanent interests. Haass argues that these thoughts need to guide U.S. foreign policy, that globalization is largely responsible, and calls for a policy of integration to replace containment.
7. Strategic Fatigue, Graham E. Fuller, The National Interest, Summer 2006
The author argues that “superpower fatigue” has set in and that it threatens to morph into imperial overreach. The problem of superpower fatigue transcends the Bush administration and is universal in scope. Its ultimate lesson is that no sole superpower can promote its universal values without tainting them.
UNIT 2: The United States and the World: Regional and Bilateral RelationsUnit OverviewPart A. Russia8. Exploiting Rivalries: Putin’s Foreign Policy, Mark N. Katz, Current History, October 2004
Putin is determined to see Russia once again acknowledged as a great power. The core element of his strategy is to insert Russia into international situations where disagreement exists, and to exploit the ongoing rivalry as each side seeks to court Russia. Katz presents examples and argues the results have been uneven to date.
9. Russia and the West: Mutually Assured Distrust, Marshall I. Goldman, Current History, October 2007
The West has become critical of the movement away from democracy and the free market reforms under Putin. Most Russians see it differently. They see these steps as necessary corrections to the excesses of Yeltsin’s reforms. This essay examines these different perceptions and the implications they have for U.S. foreign policy.
Part B. Asia10. America’s Asia-Pacific Strategy Is Out of Kilter, William T. Tow, Current History, September 2007
The United States faces serious trouble with rivals and allies in the Asia-Pacific region. If it fails to establish an effective security policy in this region, the United States runs the risk of
becoming embroiled in an unstable multipolar rivalry that will sap its resources for decades to come.
11. China’s Challenge to U.S. Hegemony, Christopher Layne, Current History, January 2008
American hegemony is drawing to a close. Historically, the emerging challenge has been
geopolitically destabilizing, and there is little reason to expect China to be an exception. A future U.S.-China conflict is not assured and rests more on American actions than on Chinese decisions.
12. North Korea’s Nuclear Neurosis, Jacques E. C. Hymans, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, May/June 2007
U.S. foreign policy fails to understand/acknowledge the extent to which North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons is based in emotion rather than on logic. Kim Jong Il, like others who have sought nuclear weapons, is an “oppositional nationalist”; motivated by intense pride and fear.
Part C. The South13. Requiem for the Monroe Doctrine, Daniel P. Erikson, Current History, February 2008
The historical realities that gave rise to the Monroe Doctrine have fundamentally changed but the United States has been slow to adjust to the reality of globalization that is reaching into the Western Hemisphere. The United States must resist any temptation to revive the Monroe Doctrine.
14. Mirror-Imaging the Mullahs, Reuel Marc Gerecht, World Affairs Journals, Winter 2008
Foreign policy experts must place questions of religion at the center of their political
analyses of Iraq and Iran and stop assuming that elites in the Middle East think like them. If they did, then they would see that pro-American secular and autocratic political cultures in the region are dying.
15. U.S. Africa Command, Sean McFate, Military Review, January/February 2008
In February 2007, the United States established its newest unified combat command, the Africa Command. The author examines why AFRICOM was created, how it is viewed in Africa, and how it can help secure Africa. He argues that to succeed, AFRICOM must link questions of military security with furthering economic development.
UNIT 3: The Domestic Side of American Foreign PolicyUnit Overview16. Foggy Bloggom, David Frum, The National Interest, January/February 2008
Whereas the professional foreign policy community values moderation, the blogosphere is a place of anger and enthusiasm. Predominantly liberal and democratic, it directs much of its criticism at think tanks in a manner much like neocons once did at the professional foreign policy bureaucracy.
17. The War We Deserve, Alasdair Roberts, Foreign Policy, November/December 2007
Blame for the Iraq War cannot be placed on neocons, President Bush, or the military.
Responsibility for the Iraq War lies primarily with the American public, who ask more and more of government but sacrifice less and less. Under such conditions, a global war against terrorism cannot be fought.
18. The Tipping Points, Daniel Yankelovich, Foreign Affairs, May/June 2006
This article provides an overview of how the American public views foreign policy. It is
particularly concerned with issues that have reached the “tipping point,” the point at which a large portion of the public demands governmental action. Today they include the Iraq War, the outsourcing of jobs, illegal immigration, and U.S. relations with the rest of the world.
19. Trade Talk, Daniel Drezner, The American Interest, Winter 2005
Trade politics have changed markedly over the past twenty years. No longer can presidents make trade policy in a political vacuum. The reasons for this are discussed. Also, three “iron laws” of trade politics are presented: foreign trade policy is a scapegoat for business fluctuations of all sorts, trade generates large diffuse costs and concentrated benefits, and trade is usually framed as a zerosum contest.
UNIT 4: The Institutional Context of American Foreign PolicyUnit OverviewPart A. The Presidency20. The Return of the Imperial Presidency?, Donald R. Wolfensberger, Wilson Quarterly, Spring 2002
Following the events of September 11, 2001, many spoke of a return to the imperial presidency. Wolfsenberger examines the history of this concept and its roots in the excesses of Watergate and Vietnam. He warns against investing the idea of an imperial presidency with too great an aura of legitimacy.
21. The Truman Standard, Derek Chollet and James M. Goldgeier, The American Interest, Summer 2006
The Bush administration frequently invokes comparisons between itself and the administration of Harry Truman. How valid are these comparisons? The authors argue that this analogy may do more to highlight the current administration’s foreign policy shortcomings than its foreign policy strengths.
Part B. The Bureaucracy22. Extraordinary Rendition and the Wages of Hypocrisy, Aziz Z. Huq, World Policy Journal, Spring 2006
Extraordinary rendition is the government-transfer of individuals without legal process to another country. This policy was employed by the CIA after 9/11. This essay examines this practice and concludes that extraordinary renditions have significant negative diplomatic and strategic consequences for the United States.
23. The Homeland Security Hash, Paul C. Light, The Wilson Quarterly, Spring 2007
The Department of Homeland Security has done little to make the United States more secure and is widely considered to be one of the most troubled bureaucracies in the government. This essay examines its establishment and how this condition came about, and makes suggestions for improving its performance.
24. Coming Soon, Richard H. Kohn, World Affairs Journals, Winter 2008
Improving civil-military relations will be one of the major tasks facing the next president.
Four areas stand out as in need of attention: ending the Iraq War, the need to create a 21st century military establishment and unsustainable military budgets, and social issues such as gays in the military.
25. The Right Stuff, Paul R. Pillar, The National Interest, September/October 2007
The author, a retired intelligence official, reviews three new public intelligence estimates on Iraq and concludes that the intelligence community did a much better job of anticipating future developments in Iraq than is commonly believed. He concludes with the lessons that can be learned from how policies in Iraq were made.
Part C. Congress26. When Congress Stops Wars, William G. Howell and Jon C. Pevehouse, Foreign Affairs, September/October 2007
Politics does not stop at the water’s edge. The political composition of Congress has been the deciding factor in determining whether Congress will support or oppose presidential calls for war. The media is a potentially important ally for Congress in challenging presidential war powers.
UNIT 5: The Foreign Policy Making ProcessUnit Overview27. Law, Liberty and War, Anne-Marie Slaughter and Jeremy Rabkin, The American Interest, Summer 2006
The Global War on Terrorism and its offshoot, the Iraq War, has sparked a major debate over the constitutional balance of power between Congress and the presidency and the protection of American civil liberties. Slaughter and Rabkin present contrasting interpretations of these and other issues that are central to the conduct of American foreign policy in the post 9/11 era.
28. Words vs. Deeds, Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, The Brookings Review, Summer 2003
Public Opinion polling has become a key ingredient in presidential decision making. This article examines or asks the question “Why poll?,” and places the Bush administration in a historical context. It concludes that the Bush administration’s use of polls is not pathbreaking, but what is unique is the gap between the administration’s words and actions.
29. Neo-Conservatives, Liberal Hawks, and the War on Terror, Anatol Lieven and John C. Hulsman, World Policy Journal, Fall 2006
Using the Cold War as the starting point for its analysis, this essay is critical of both
neo-conservatives and liberal hawks for holding utopian visions of the goals of American foreign policy and for the over-ambitious ideas on how to use American power. It calls for a return to pragmatic centrism.
30. The Pros from Dover, John Prados, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists,
January/February 2004
Prados, who has written widely on intelligence matters, provides a structural overview of how the National Security Council operates and proceeds with an examination of Bush administration’s decision making. He asserts that with regard to 9/11, either the system did not work, or it worked keeping terrorism off the agenda.
UNIT 6: U.S. International Economic StrategyUnit Overview31. America’s Sticky Power, Walter Russell Mead, Foreign Policy, March/April 2004
America’s military power coerces others to go along with it. America’s soft power converts others to its cause. Mead argues that too long overlooked is America’s economic power. It is “sticky,” attracting others to the United States and then entrapping them. Sticky power is perfectly suited for stabilizing Iraq and managing relations with Russia and China.
32. The New Axis of Oil, Flynt Leverett and Pierre Noël, The National Interest, Summer 2006
The authors argue that structural shifts in the world’s energy markets are creating the greatest challenge to American hegemony since the end of the Cold War. What has emerged is a new axis of oil, which has at its center a geopolitical partnership between Russia and China.
33. The Coming Financial Pandemic, Nouriel Roubini, Foreign Policy, March/April 2008
Global interdependence connects countries in good times and bad. Accordingly, the U.S. financial crisis is like a disease that will infect other countries before it runs its course. Prime areas to be affected are trade, the value of the dollar, and commodity prices.
UNIT 7: U.S. Military StrategyUnit OverviewPart A. The Use of Force34. Requiem for the Bush Doctrine, Andrew J. Bacevich, Current History, December 2005
Central to the Bush Doctrine is the concept of preventive war. Bacevich argues that the Iraq War has demonstrated that the United States cannot implement a policy of preventive war for several reasons. It has deflated the American reputation for military success, called into question the staying power of U.S. forces as well as their professionalism, and revealed weaknesses in its military leadership.
35. Outsourcing War, P. W. Singer, Foreign Affairs, March/April 2005
The modern private military industry now plays a major role in Iraq and other global conflicts. This essay reviews the roles that private military firms play, the underlying forces that have led to their prominence, as well as the policy dilemmas they create for the United States.
36. Preemption Paradox, Bennett Ramberg, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, July/August
2006
Reviewing the historical record over preemptory military strikes dating back to World War II, the author finds that preemptive military strikes only buy time. As a strategy, preemption holds profound political risks, presents significant logistical and military problems, and ultimately is not capable of stopping the pursuit of nuclear weapons.
37. New Challenges and Old Concepts, Steven Metz, Parameters, Winter 2007/2008.
In the decade before 9/11, defense experts treated insurgencies as a relic of the Cold War but today’s insurgencies are different from those of the past. They are more like competitive markets than traditional wars and this change is not yet sufficiently recognized.
38. A Nuclear Posture for Today, John Deutch, Foreign Affairs, January/February 2005
Deutch, a former head of the CIA and Deputy Secretary of Defense, argues that the U.S. nuclear arsenal still reflects a Cold War national security focus. He rejects the calls for abolishing the U.S. nuclear force. Instead, Deutch calls for treating nonproliferation and the maintenance of a nuclear deterrent as they are mutually supportive for the twin purposes of preventing an attack on the United States and responding quickly to lesser contingencies including chemical and biological attacks.
Part B. Arms Control39. When Could Iran Get the Bomb?, David Albright, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, July/August 2006
Many details of Iran’s nuclear capabilities and plans are unknown. Various scenarios suggest that Iran will need at least three years to have enough highly enriched uranium to make a nuclear bomb. Technical difficulties could delay this process further. This article examines the steps Iran must go through to cross the nuclear threshold, and calls for intensified international efforts to slow or stop this process.
40. The New Threats: Nuclear Amnesia, Nuclear Legitimacy, Jack Mendelsohn, Current History, November 2006
A crucial step in stopping terrorists and rogue states from using nuclear weapons is to
delegitimize them, relegating them to a deterrent role and a weapon of last resort. Doing so has proven to be difficult because Americans suffer from nuclear amnesia and have forgotten how destructive nuclear weapons really are.
41. Ban the Bomb. Really., Michael Krepon, The American Interest, January/February 2008
According to the author, we have entered into a fourth wave of interest in abolishing nuclear weapons. These four waves are reviewed here. Krepon argues that the need for abolition is great because dangers are growing and he outlines steps that can be taken to ban the bomb.
UNIT 8: The Iraq War and BeyondUnit Overview42. Lifting the Veil, Henry Munson, Harvard International Review, Winter 2004
Feelings of impotence, rage and humiliation pervade the Islamic world today. The author presents findings from recent public opinion polls taken in the Middle East. He concludes that defeating terrorism requires diluting the rage that fuels it.
43. The Right Way, Kenneth M. Pollack, The Atlantic Monthly, March 2006
Arguing that Iraq hangs in the balance, the author presents seven steps that hold the hope of victory. He argues that the key question now is not whether the Bush administration will change its strategy, but whether the American people will give these ideas time to succeed.
44. Withdraw Now, William Odom, Current History, January 2006
Odom, director of the National Security Agency under President Reagan, states that the invasion of Iraq may be the greatest strategic disaster in U.S. history and that staying there only makes it worse. Arguing that the war was not in America’s interests, he calls for withdrawal.
45. Stay to Win, John McCain, Current History, January 2006
John McCain presents the argument for staying in Iraq. He asserts that in removing Saddam Hussein from power, the United States incurred a moral duty not to abandon the Iraqi people to terrorists or killers. McCain argues this will be their fate if the United States leaves prematurely.
46. Bush’s Neo-Imperialist War, John B. Judis, The American Prospect, November 2007
The author argues that Bush’s Iraq policy harkens back to the great power imperialism that marked the period leading up to World War I. It ignores the fundamental truth that eventually those whose country is occupied become restless. The remedy suggested is a return to liberal internationalism.
47. The Next Generation of Terror, Marc Sageman, Foreign Policy, March/April 2008
The generation of al Qaeda terrorists that carried out the 9/11 hijackings are no longer the main enemy of the United States. A new and more dangerous generation of terrorists has arrived on the scene and will present a major security threat to the United States in the future.
