The Alienated Frontier: Why the United States Can’t Get Osama bin Laden

Since the Russian-supplied Afghan army overthrew progressive President Daud in 1978, the nation has endured the long Soviet-Afghan war, the Taliban, and the arrival of U.S troops. These military actions have only heightened the historical alienation of the Pashtun tribes who overspread the long-contested border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. These are the people who are almost certainly sheltering Osama bin Laden. The Alienated Frontier is a centuries-old problem that must be solved if we are to win the war on terror, and solving it will require rebuilding the infrastructure, developing alternatives to poppy cultivation, and solving the “Pashtunistan” question. The capture or elimination of given individuals will achieve little if the conditions that allow radicals to thrive are not addressed     

Results from single-donor analyses of project aid success seem to generalize pretty well across donors

The Review of International Organizations - Much research on foreign aid presents claims that apply to aid in general but tests these claims using data from one or a small number of donors. This...     

From revolution to reform and back: EU-Security sector reform in Ukraine

ABSTRACT

Security Sector Reform (SSR) is an important element of the EU’s external intervention toolkit. In an increasingly uncertain global security environment, the EU has currently stepped up its SSR endeavours. However, success of these efforts largely depends on the EU’s capabilities in navigating complex context-specific challenges. In particular the EU needs to be able to simultaneously address the functional and normative-societal imperatives that underpin SSR. This article considers the case of the EU’s ongoing SSR mission to Ukraine – the European Union Advisory Mission (EUAM). It asks, what are the unique context-specific challenges faced by EUAM in Ukraine? How do these challenges influence the EU’s ability to satisfy both the normative-societal imperative of SSR through the EUAM? This article mainly relies on secondary data, and applies a “Whole of Society” approach to conflict prevention and peacebuilding (WOS). Amidst a situation of ongoing multiple armed conflicts and EU-Russian relations of mutual dependence, a key finding is that the mandate of the mission has become more narrow and exclusive by sacrificing vertical coherence and the normative-societal imperative. We recommend EUAM adopt a more “revolutionary” approach to SSR, by adhering to key SSR normative principles so that the mission can overcome the challenges of the unique reform environment of Ukriane. This will also make it able to contribute more meaningfully to the wider reform process in an effective and sustainable manner.     

法国为何重返北约军事一体化机构

法国在退出北约军事一体化机构43年后重返，有冷战后国际环境的巨大变化和其国内政治、军事需求的背景。法国重返北约，意在加强法美军事合作从而进一步增强法国军事实力，并藉以提高其对欧洲的话语权。因此，这也是法国外交实行重大调整的亮相。然而，法国独立外交理念和独立的核政策在未来的法美关系、法国同欧盟其他成员国关系以及美欧关系中如何不发生碰撞．还有待时间与历史的验证。     

布什为何不想退出伊拉克?

自2003年3月23日美国发动伊拉克战争迄今已历四年。四年来,美国软硬实力、内政外交因为这场战争而发生了什么样的变化?国际战略形势又随之出现了哪些变迁?对中国而言,加速发展的战略机遇期是否还将持续?伊拉克战争本身又带来哪些启示?围绕这些问题,《现代国际关系》编辑部举办了“伊拉克战争四周年国际战略形势”专题研讨会,邀请一些知名国际问题专家进行了深入探讨。现将与会专家学者的主要观点辑录刊发,以期对读者更好地理解和把握这些问题有所裨益。     

多哈回合谈判因何草草收场

今年7月25日,世贸组织(WTO)总干事帕斯卡·拉米宣布,多哈回合谈判全面中止。这标志着自2001年11月14日启动的多哈回合谈判在经历了5年的讨价还价后仍以一个使各方都感到尴尬的结局草草收场。尽管各国都曾为了达成一个大家都接受的方案“上下而求索”,但是长路漫漫,这样的结局并     

Why the Doha Round Came to a Disappointing Conclusion

On 25 July 2006, Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Pascal Lamy formally recommended the suspension of the Doha Round of global free trade talks.     

日本为何炒作对华政府开发援助问题

日本对华的政府开发援助(ODA),对中国的经济的快速发展和与国际经济体系的接轨起到了积极的作用;日本的ODA决策也是出于其自身经济和国家战略安全利益考量,并已获得了相应的回报。近年来日本炒作对华ODA问题,只能暴露其对华外交的情绪化和简单化,我国可泰然处之,理智回应。     

美国为何敌视委内瑞拉

20 0 1年 1月 2 0日 ,布什登上美国总统的宝座。布什上台后多次声称重视发展同拉美国家的关系 ,进一步加强对美国“后院”的控制。在美拉关系中 ,委内瑞拉占据重要地位。这不仅因为委内瑞拉是距美国最近的南美国家 ,地理位置重要 ;更重要的是 ,委内瑞拉是美国石油的第 2大供应国 (仅次于沙特阿拉伯 ) ,与美国经济有密切联系。然而 ,在 2 0 0 1年美国发表的人权报告中 ,美国歪曲事实 ,污蔑委内瑞拉不尊重人权 ;在美国发表的《2 0 0 0年国别反毒评估报告》中 ,美国还粗暴干涉委内瑞拉内政。布什政府为什么对委内瑞拉采取敌视态度 ?笔者认为有…     

欧盟对华军售难以解禁的背景综述

2003年秋天起,欧盟能否解除持续了近15年的对华军售禁令问题进入人们的视野,并逐渐成为舆论关注的一个焦点。法国和德国认为该禁令早就该解除,美国和日本等国则强烈反对。2004年11月17日,欧洲议会以中国人权问题为由,通过决议要求欧盟继续维持对华武器禁运。①这个决议虽没有实际约束力,却反映出一部分欧洲人在该问题上的心态。同年12月8日举行的中欧峰会上,欧盟宣布将于2005年6月给出一个明确解决方案,欧盟正式启动了对华军售解禁的程序。但在随后的发展中,欧盟这一立场却多次动摇。现在看来,解禁的日期将可能继续后延。一、美国出于战略考…     

德国缘何拒绝参与对利比亚军事行动

今年3月17日,联合国安理会通过在利比亚设立禁飞区的决议,以保护平民和反对派免受卡扎菲军队空袭,这意味着联合国成员国在必要情况下可以对利比亚采取军事行动。德国罕见地同中国、俄罗斯、印度、巴西一道投了弃权票。     

安倍为什么敢搅乱东北亚安全局势

日本首相安倍参拜靖国神社,实行一系列倒行逆施的政策。国际舆论认为,日本战后战犯政治的延续,追求经济景气的诱惑,联合国撤除敌国条款后摘帽心理的膨胀,美国再平衡战略的鼓动,是安倍政府敢于搅动东北亚局势的主要原因。一旦日本突破战后体制,修宪成功,日本就有可能再次成为世界战争的策源地。     

Why State Subsidies? Evidence from European Community Countries, 1981–1986

In this article I seek to explain why European Community members subsidized a substantial portion of their economies in the period 1981–1986. I test three competing explanations: socioeconomic, party control, and world markets. Parties have an impact on overall state subsidies and loans, but trade deficits are most influential in the disbursement of direct budget outlays and tax incentives. Unemployment has no effect on subsidies. The differential responsiveness to trade and parties is likely to frustrate efforts toward greater European integration.     

Why should trade between Central Asia and China continue to expand?

Trade volume between Central Asia and China has tripled since 2002. This study, which is based on Chinese sources, explains the reasons for this expansion in trade. Even if numerous obstacles remain, Government development policy in China’s western regions has induced trade growth between Xinjiang and Central Asia. Trade flows mainly consist of three blocks: economic activities of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, commerce conducted by traders of the coastal province of Zhejiang, based in Xinjiang, and petty trade notably between Kazakhstan and Xinjiang.     

Why a managerialist pursuit will not necessarily lead to achievement of MDGs

With case studies on Millennium Development Goal (MDG)-oriented reform projects in Vietnam, this article focuses upon a persistent dilemma in attempting to turn worthy goals into implementable programmes and sustainable results. How to achieve these goals is uncertain, but modern performance management, as expressed in Logical Frameworks, demands certainty. The article suggests how an open management style can allow for pragmatic adaptation to circumstances; or, more radically, how Log Frames could be redesigned to focus upon interpretation of contextual challenges. But such a dynamic requires a high degree of delegation and an acceptance that accountability must also be an interactive learning process.