Negotiations: The United States and North Korea
Stephen W. Bosworth
In an address given to the Fletcher community, Dean Stephen W Bosworth analyzed the current state of diplomatic relations with North Korea. He draws upon his regional experience and past negotiations with North Korea to identify lessons and potential opportunities. In closing, Dean Bosworth roughly outlines a possible approach that may lead to progress on North Korea’s nuclear disarmament.
Cuba’s Brave New World
Daniel P. Erikson and Paul J. Wander
Two researchers from the Inter-American Dialogue, Daniel P. Erikson and Paul J. Wander explore the recent, and ongoing, sea change in Cuba’s international relations. Since Radil Castro succeeded his brother Fidel, Cuba has shown the world a new, more engaging face. The authors discuss the resurgence in Cuba’s bilateral relations with the United States, its engagement with neighbors Latin and South America, and its leadership of the Non-Aligned Movement. The authors also analyze Cuba’s post-Cold War engagement with China on military, economic, and cultural matters, and the EU.
The Art of Negotiation
Christo and Jeanne-Claude
The Fletcher Forum sat down this spring with Christo and his partner, the late Jeanne-Claude, to discuss the art of international negotiations. The artists explained their approach to consensus-building and their techniques for winning the support of stakeholders at every level of society. They shared insights from their successful projects in Australia, Japan, France, Germany, and the United States, as well as failures and obstacles to success.
When Islamists Go into Politics
Amr Hamzawy and Marina Ottaway
Renowned scholars Amr Hamzawy and Marina Ottaway explore the impact of Islamists on politics-including the impact of this strategy on Islamist movements themselves. Hamzawy and Ottaway analyze the ideological and practical implications of Islamists’ participation in democratic processes; they also discuss Islamists’ participation in a range of contexts, from so-called “normal” conditions to siege and post-conflict elections.
Democracy’s Development: Second Elections in Iraq and Afghanistan
Larry Diamond, Ashraf Ghani, and Rend Al Rahim
State-building efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan have demonstrated that policymakers and the media pay considerable amount of attention to first elections. Democratic processes have proven to be reversible, and much less attention has paid to second elections, however, and their importance to nascent democracies. The Fletcher Forum facilitated a discussion with Larry Diamond, Ashraf Ghani, and Rend al Rahim, three prominent experts in the fields of state-building and democratization, to explore what second elections can tell us about the health of Iraq and Afghanistan. The participants discussed a wide array of topics-ranging from power dynamics to the shift in electoral strategies, and from the longevity of political parties to the impact of Islam on the electoral process-and identified policies that would facilitate the process of democratization in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Europe Deciphered: Ideas, Institutions, and Laws
Eric Engle
Legal scholar Eric Engle explains the EU’s laws and institutions by tracing their conceptual foundations in various competing forms of liberalism, which have been modified by Europe’s history. Although the EU’s institutions and their underlying philosophical roots may be similar to those of the United States, Engle identifies numerous points of divergence between the two systems. He argues that these distinctions are significant, often in ways that may seem opaque to outsiders. Ultimately, Engle suggests that if North and South Americans arrive at a deeper understanding of the EU’s legal institutions and their conceptual foundations, they may achieve greater political stability and integration, as well as improved economic well-being.
Humanitarian Futures: Getting Elephants to Dance
Peter Walker
Peter Walker identifies key issues and trends that humanitarian actors will need to address, such as complexity, climate change, spirituality, and accountability. Walker explains why it is difficult to predict the next great crisis, and he analyzes how studying trends and the drivers of change may lead to some unexpected questions about the future. His analysis reveals important implications for humanitarians and four principles humanitarian actors will need to embrace as they plan for their future work.
A Conversation on National Security Law: The Future of Enemy Combatants, Guantanamo Bay, and Nuclear Terrorism
Jack Goldsmith
This spring, The Fletcher Forum sat down with Jack Goldsmith, Assistant Attorney General in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel during the George W Bush administration, to discuss the national security law in a post-9/11 context. Goldsmith addressed particulars such as torture, domestic surveillance, nuclear terrorism, and the rights of Guantanamo Bay detainees, and principles, such as the secrecy, transparency, and law’s reach and application during times of national crisis. In closing, Goldsmith identified two important issues that may challenge U.S. legal architecture in the near future: cyber security and the use of the military in a domestic context during a national emergency.
Securing Global Nuclear Stockpiles: The First Line of Defense in Preventing Nuclear Terrorism
Andrew Newman and Matthew Bunn
Andrew Newman and Matthew Bunn, nuclear security experts at Harvard’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, discuss the state of security concerning the world’s stockpiles of fissile material. After presenting two examples that highlight potential nuclear insecurity–one from Georgia and the other from South Africa-they examine the efficacy of U.S.-based and international programs that have been adopted to prevent future breaches. Despite progress, Newman and Bunn have found cause for concern. In response, the authors offer eight recommendations that address the root causes of these shortcomings and they describe a multi-layered approach to securing nuclear stockpiles and reducing the risk of nuclear terrorism.
Moral Capitalism and the Great Financial Meltdown of 2008
Stephen B. Young
Stephen B. Young examines the 2008 financial crisis from the perspective of ethical economics. His analysis reveals both failures at the structural and individual level that have shaken capitalism to its very foundation. In response, Young proposes a new set of ethical principles and prescribes a number of corrective policies, which are codified in the “Caux Round Table Approach.” Young argues that, if adopted, these principles and policies would generate truly sustainable economic growth based on the production of value; this, Young argues, may in turn strengthen one’s faith in capitalism.
Protecting Latin America’s Gains through the Current Financial Crisis
Pamela Cox
Pamela Cox, the World Bank’s Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean Region, outlines the impact of the financial crisis on Latin American economies. She highlights how the loss of available credit and the collapse of commodity prices may have dramatic long-term consequences and jeopardize development gains throughout the region. To safeguard development and accelerate Latin America’s economic recovery, Dr. Cox proposes five priorities for action for governments and multilateral institutions.
Disaster Risk and its Reduction: Who Is Responsible?
Margareta Wahlstrom
The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlstom explores the configuration of disaster risk globally and explains why “extreme weather and geological outbursts … need not lead to disasters.” If effective action is not taken, disaster risk will steadily grow and may result in catastrophes that erase development gains and destabilize countries around the globe. International agreements such as the Kyoto Framework for Action and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change can help governments manage and reduce their country’s disaster risk in a changing climate. Moreover, efforts to systematically link disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation represent a policy breakthrough that must be reinforced through implementation.
Reassessing the Traditional Skill-Transfer Paradigm: The Example of Rwanda
Reid E. Whitlock
Rwanda expert Reid Whitlock discusses skill transfer in and out of Rwanda during the last decade. A close examination of these processes in Rwanda reveals a diverse range of skill-transfer trends that collectively undermine the conventional wisdom, which maintains that developing countries import skills from developed countries and seldom export them. Whitlock shows that, in fact, Rwanda is a successful importer of skills from other developing countries, such as Sri Lanka, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and an exporter of skills to Burundi.
Book Review
Saviors and Survivors
by Mahmood Mamdani