2007

Trade Imbalance: The Struggle to Weigh Human Rights Concerns in Trade Policymaking (Cambridge University Press, 2007)

In many countries, citizens allege that trade policies undermine specific rights such as labor rights, the right to health, or the right to political participation. However, in some countries, policy makers use trade policies to promote human rights. Although scholars, policy makers and activists have long debated this relationship, in truth we know very little about it. This book enters this murky territory with three goals. First, it aims to provide readers with greater insights into the relationship between human rights and trade. Second, it includes the first study of how South Africa, Brazil, the United States, and the European Union coordinate trade and human rights objectives and resolve conflicts. It also looks at how human rights issues are seeping into the WTO. Finally, it provides suggestions to policy makers for making their trade and human rights policies more coherent.

• Breaks new ground by looking at the behavior of policy-makers at the intersection of trade and human rights
• Provides useful recommendations for policy-makers on how to pursue policies that achieve goals for both trade and human rights
• Uses case study to describe dilemmas that governments face and suggests how they can work to promote human rights at home and/or abroad

Nation Building in South Korea: Koreans, Americans, and the Making of a Democracy (UNC Press, 2007).

In this ambitious and innovative study Gregg Brazinsky examines American nation building in South Korea during the Cold War. Marshaling a vast array of new American and Korean sources, he explains why South Korea was one of the few postcolonial nations that achieved rapid economic development and democratization by the end of the twentieth century. Brazinsky contends that a distinctive combination of American initiatives and Korean agency enabled South Korea's stunning transformation. On one hand, Americans supported the emergence of a developmental autocracy that spurred economic growth in a highly authoritarian manner. On the other hand, Americans sought to encourage democratization from the bottom up by fashioning new institutions and promoting a dialogue about modernization and development.

Expanding the framework of traditional diplomatic history, Brazinsky examines not only state-to-state relations, but also the social and cultural interactions between Americans and South Koreans. He shows how Koreans adapted, resisted, and transformed American influence and promoted socioeconomic change that suited their own aspirations. Ultimately, Brazinsky argues, Koreans’ capacity to tailor American institutions and ideas to their own purposes was the most important factor in the making of a democratic South Korea.

NGOs and the Millennium Development Goals: Citizen Action to Reduce Poverty (Co-authored with Stephen Smith and Hildy Teegen, Palgrave Macmillan 2007)

This book examines the role of NGOs in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the fight to end global poverty more generally. The MDGs arguably represent the greatest opportunity and challenge for alleviating poverty and improving quality of life globally in our time. Their achievement will require maximizing all available resources and capitalizing on all available actors. NGOs have been highlighted by governments and global leaders as an important actor, but without better understanding of their potential, roles, and challenges to their effectiveness, we are not likely to fully tap their contribution and thus will be further challenged in achieving the MDGs. This book presents and examines general NGO roles and comparative advantages, as well as roles and opportunities specific to particular MDG sectors.

The United States in Africa: Bush Policy and Beyond (Zed Books, 2007)

The George W. Bush administration maintains that in sub-Saharan Africa it is making major new contributions in fighting disease, promoting development, fostering democracy, and promoting peace. Yet, despite the rhetoric, is the Bush Administration really working to bring about a fairer and more just Africa?

Though aid has increased and a major AIDS initiative launched, Copson argues that US policy in Africa falls well short of meeting reasonable standards of fairness or justice. Foreign aid is losing its focus on development as political priorities come to the fore; U.S. barriers to African exports remain substantial; and the AIDS program is in danger of flagging due to unilateralism and ideological controversy. An increasingly military approach to fighting the 'Global War on Terror' in Africa and securing energy imports carries serious risks for the region. Copson concludes by assessing the prospects of a more equitable policy emerging in future administrations.

Security First: For a Muscular, Moral Foreign Policy
(Yale UP, 2007)

What should American policies be toward recently liberated countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan, or rogue states like North Korea and Iran? When should the United States undertake humanitarian intervention abroad? What must be done to protect America from nuclear terrorism? The author asserts that providing basic security must be the first priority in all foreign policy considerations, even ahead of efforts to democratize. He sets out essential guidelines for a foreign policy that makes sense in the real world, builds on moral principles, and creates the possibility of establishing positive relationships with Muslim nations and all others.

Etzioni has considered the issues deeply and for many years. His conclusions fall into no neat categories-neither “liberal” nor “conservative”-for he is guided not by ideology but by empirical evidence and moral deliberation. His proposal rings with the sound of reason, and this important book belongs on the reading list of every concerned leader, policy maker, and voter in America.

Unstrange Minds: Remapping the World of AUTISM
(Basic Books, 2007).

Unstrange Minds begins with Roy Richard Grinker's personal story: his family's battles with the school system, the rare orchid his daughter Isabel plucked at the Smithsonian, and a day in Monet's garden that changed Isabel forever. But because Grinker is an anthropologist as well as a father, Unstrange Minds takes us across the globe to South Korea, South Africa, Peru, and India.

Based on his work in the United States and abroad, Unstrange Minds presents the controversial idea that there is no evidence for an autism epidemic. Instead, the high rates of prevalence and diagnosis today are instead evidence that scientists are finally counting cases correctly. And this is a good thing, not only for the US but for the world, including cultures that have only just begun to learn about autism.

Unstrange Minds shows how the shift in how we view and count autism is part of a set of broader shifts taking place in societies throughout the world. The growth of child psychiatry, the decline of psychoanalysis, the internet, the rise of international advocacy organizations, greater public sensitivity to children's educational problems, and changes in public policies have together changed the way autism is diagnosed and defined.

Deterring International Terrorism and Rogue States: U.S. National Security Policy After 9/11
(Routledge, 2007).

This book challenges current US policy by arguing that the US should adopt a deterrence strategy toward so-called rogue states and terror groups. The book critically assesses the “three pillars” of the Bush administration's national security policy: missile defense which preoccupied the administration until September 11, 2001; preemption which became the US focus with the September 11 attacks; and homeland security which the administration portrayed as more a natural response to threat than an aspect of policy that must be reconciled with the other pillars. The book reveals that US policymakers promote defensive strategies when they should be emphasizing offensive ones; promote offensive strategies when they should be emphasizing defensive ones; and promote preemptive strategies when they should rely upon a threat to punish countries for acquiring or using illicit weaponry. The book concludes that bad offenses and defenses are endemic to the current US policy approach. US offenses undermine deterrence by inducing rogue state leaders to take destabilizing countermeasures, motivating and (perhaps) enabling terrorists to attack, and sapping resources that could be used in homeland security. US defenses are inadequate for the problem at hand and, in the case of missile defenses, can weaken deterrence if viewed by adversaries as a threat.

When the Press Fails: Political Power and the News Media from Iraq to Katrina
(Co-authored with W. Lance Bennett and Regina G. Lawrence, University of Chicago Press, 2007).

During the gravest moments of George W. Bush’s tenure-the response to 9/11, the buildup to war with Iraq, the Abu Ghraib scandal-the media largely reported reality as his administration scripted it. Why, in these times when we most need a critical, independent press, does this essential pillar of democracy fail us? A sobering look at the intimate relationship between political power and the news media, When the Press Fails argues that reporters’ dependence on official sources disastrously thwarts coverage of dissenting voices from outside the beltway.

The result is both an indictment of official spin and an urgent call to action that begins by questioning why the mainstream press neglected to cover considerable evidence against the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Drawing on hard-hitting interviews with journalists and analysis of content from major news outlets, the authors show that such catastrophic blind spots, particularly during the Abu Ghraib controversy, have stemmed from a lack of high-level sources within government willing to question the administration publicly. Contrasting these grave failures with the refreshingly critical reporting on Hurricane Katrina-a rare event that caught officials off guard, enabling journalists to enter a no-spin zone-When the Press Fails concludes by proposing new practices to reduce reporters’ dependence on power.

The authors ultimately contend that if ordinary Americans start to hear alternative perspectives aired in the legitimizing arena of the mainstream press, they just might begin to act as a public-no longer suffering with private shock and awe as world-changing events unfold before their eyes.

Collective Security in Space: European Perspectives
(co-edited by James Clay Moltz, and Emma Hinds, The Elliott School Space Policy Institute, 2007).

With the financial support of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Space Policy Institute of George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs in 2006 initiated a two-year project aimed at stimulating international discussions to identify specific positive steps towards collective space security. There have been a number of suggestions, mainly originating in the United States, of approaches that might be internationally acceptable, including increased space situational awareness, various confidence-building measures, “rules of the road,” and a space code of conduct.

This project is aimed at extending the examination of such alternatives to the broader international community of analysts and government officials. It hopes to stimulate regional discussions of space security questions in both Europe and Asia and to provide a basis for further discussions within the United States on how best to achieve overall U.S. interests in space in cooperation with other space actors. During 2006, the project focused its attention on European perspectives on space security. It first commissioned papers on space security issues from leading European space experts and officials.

Although there has been a fair amount of recent attention to security space topics in Europe, most of that attention has focused relatively narrowly on the capabilities to meet European security requirements. There has not been careful attention given to issues of global space security and to how Europe should be involved in achieving that broad objective. Stimulating such attention has been a key objective of this project. The commissioned papers were discussed at a May 15-16, 2006, Paris workshop co-hosted by the Paris-based Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS). This volume contains edited versions of these papers.

Japan in International Politics: The Foreign Policies of an Adaptive State (Co-edited with Thomas U. Berger and Jitsuo Tsuchiyama, Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc, 2007)

How have shifts in both the international environment and domestic politics affected the trajectory of Japanese foreign policy? Does it still make sense to depict Japan as passive and reactive, or have the country's leaders become strategic and proactive? Japan in International Politics presents a nuanced picture of Japanese foreign policy, emphasizing the ways in which slow, adaptive changes, informed by pragmatic liberalism, have served the national interest.

The authors analyze core issues in the arenas of security policy, economic relations, and regional diplomacy. The concluding chapter of the book considers the significance of Japan's current foreign policy posture for its future role in international politics.

Thomas U. Berger is associate professor of international relations at Boston University. Mike M. Mochizuki holds the Japan-US Relations Chair in Memory of Gaston Sigur at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs. Jitsuo Tsuchiyama is professor and dean of the School of International Politics, Economics and Communication at Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo.

The Mind of the Terrorist: The Psychology of Terrorism from the IRA to al-Qaeda (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007)

In contrast to the widely held assumption that terrorists as crazed fanatics, Jerrold Post demonstrates they are psychologically “normal” and that “hatred has been bred in the bone.” He reveals the powerful motivations that drive these ordinary people to such extraordinary evil by exploring the different types of terrorists, from national-separatists like the Irish Republican Army to social revolutionary terrorists like the Shining Path, as well as religious extremists like al-Qaeda and Aum Shinrikyo. In The Mind of the Terrorist, Post uses his expertise to explain how the terrorist mind works and how this information can help us to combat terrorism more effectively.

State of the Struggle: Report on the Battle against Global Terrorism
(Co-authored with: Lee Hamilton, Bruce Hoffman, Brian Michael Jenkins, Paul Pillar, Xavier Raufer, and Fernando Reinares, The Council on Global Terrorism and Brookings Institution Press, 2007).

The West is in a worsening, eroding position in the struggle against global terrorism. While we have experienced some tactical success and thus far managed to protect the U.S. homeland, the growing tide of radicalization will create an increasingly volatile and dangerous environment. Taking the form of a report card, State of the Struggle assesses the West's progress across a wide array of counterterrorism imperatives. From ethical questions of balancing security and core values to the problems of creating viable counterterrorism coalitions to the likelihood of terrorist use of biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons, the report examines a wide swath of issues necessary to create workable counterterrorism strategies.

This distinguished group of international terrorist experts, including former congressman Lee Hamilton, explains how the West successfully shut down Afghanistan as a terrorist sanctuary only to face new dangers as that beleaguered nation moves again toward anarchy. The authors explain why Iraq may well become not only a breeding ground for terrorists but a base from which trained operatives will boomerang back to the European continent. The book examines such trends as the rise in suicide terrorism, the effects of al-Qaeda's self-perceived triumph, and the potential for new recruits and new technologies to replenish and advance faster than the West can respond to these challenges. These factors inform the report's predictions about future terrorist threats.

The authors call for a new long-term strategy, with all that implies in terms of allocating resources, maintaining public support, and reversing the swell in terrorist ranks. The current emphasis on military action needs to be shifted. The failure to shape viable longterm policy solutions thus far makes for a bleak outlook.

People Count! The Networked Individual in World Politics (Paradigm, 2007)

People Count! rests on a single but important premise: As the world shrinks and becomes ever more complex, so have people—as “networked individuals”—become ever more central to the course of events. The age of the nation-state has yielded to the age of the individual, and no one is better qualified than distinguished scholar James N. Rosenau to track this shift in prose that sings. Here he investigates the myriad ways in which “people count” in global politics. Tracing developments in globalization, demography, and the skills revolution, Rosenau profiles 17 different groups and shows how and why they matter on the world scene. Along the way, he tells the fascinating back stories behind the roles that people play: Who the terrorists are, why soldiers fight, how citizens and immigrants compare, what connects the networkers, where travelers feel at home, and when the here and now takes a back seat to another world. This book seeks to depict a new era by analyzing the basic roles people occupy in their family, community, and society, including the wider world.

In the Ruins of Empire: The Japanese Surrender and the Battle for Postwar Asia (Random House, 2007)

With access to recently available firsthand accounts by Chinese, Japanese, British, and American witnesses and previously top secret U.S. intelligence records, Spector tells for the first time the fascinating story of the deadly confrontations that broke out-or merely continued-in Asia after peace was proclaimed at the end of World War II. Under occupation by the victorious Allies, this part of the world was plunged into new power struggles or back into old feuds that in some ways were worse than the war itself. In the Ruins of Empire also shows how the U.S. and Soviet governments, as they secretly vied for influence in liberated lands, were soon at odds.

At the time of the peace declaration, international suspicions were still strong. Joseph Stalin warned that "crazy cutthroats" might disrupt the surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay. Die-hard Japanese officers plotted to seize the emperor's palace to prevent an announcement of surrender, and clandestine relief forces were sent to rescue thousands of Allied POWs to prevent their being massacred.

In the Ruins of Empire paints a vivid picture of the postwar intrigues and violence. In Manchuria, Russian “liberators" looted, raped, and killed innocent civilians, and a fratricidal rivalry continued between Chiang Kai-shek's regime and Mao's revolutionaries. Communist resistance forces in Malaya settled old scores and terrorized the indigenous population, while mujahideen holy warriors staged reprisals and terror killings against the Chinese-hundreds of innocent civilians were killed on both sides. In Indochina, a nativist political movement rose up to oppose the resumption of French colonial rule; one of the factions that struggled for supremacy was the Communist Viet Minh led by Ho Chi Minh. Korea became a powder keg with the Russians and Americans entangled in its north and south. And in Java, as the Indonesian novelist Idrus wrote, people brutalized by years of Japanese occupation “worshipped a new God in the form of bombs, submachine guns, and mortars.”

Central and East European Politics: From Communism to Democracy (Co-authored with Jane L. Curry, Rowman & Littlefield, 2007)

This long-needed text explores the other half of Europe—the new and future members of the European Union along with the problems and potential they bring to the region and to the world stage. Clear and comprehensive, it offers an authoritative and up-to-date analysis of the transformations and realities in Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltics, and Ukraine. Divided into two parts, the book presents a set of comparative country case studies as well as thematic chapters on key issues, including EU and NATO expansion, the economic transition and its social ramifications, the role of women, persistent problems of ethnicity and nationalism, and political reform.