Terrorism and the U.S. energy infrastructure

James DeFronzo, Revolutions &; Revolutionary Movements (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1991), 336 pp. $59.95.

David Scott Palmer, Ed., Shining Path of Peru (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992), 271 pp. $45.00.

Stanley E. Spangler, Force and Accommodation in World Politics (Maxwell Air Force Base, AL: Air University Press, August 1991).

James J. Wirtz, The Tet Offensive: Intelligence Failure in War (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1991).

David Omissi, Air Power and Colonial Control: The Royal Air Force, 1919–1939 (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1990), 260 pp. $35.     

Health care and the elderly.

Western values have long emphasized an interventionist approach to problems of health and health care. Yet, as medical technology becomes increasingly expensive and as the number of older people grows, proposed changes often are now governed more by considerations of cost than by quality of services. This tension between cost and quality also affects public willingness to invest in social components of health care despite their importance in enhancing quality of life. The tension emerges in sharpest contrast as scarce resources are allocated by gatekeepers in health maintenance organizations and in the arrangements for long-term care. With respect to financing, what seems to be needed is a creative mix of voluntary inputs from the community, private initiatives, and new programs of public entitlements. With respect to quality of care, what has often been overlooked is the recognition that gains in the quality of life require programs that encourage older people's continued involvement and participation in social life and in active and healthy life-styles. This article discusses the evolving balance between these two types of interventions: the medical and the social.     

U.S. counterterrorism policy in the 1980s and the priorities for the 1990s

Abstract

The Department of State's counterterrorism coordinator discusses current patterns in international terrorism and cites three areas of growing concern: radical Palestinian terrorist groups, Libyan supported terrorism, and narcoterrorism in the Andean nations. He explains U.S. Government counterterrorism policy and assesses its effectiveness. The recent trend toward treating terrorists as criminals and applying the rule of law against them is examined. He also emphasizes the importance of pressuring countries that sponsor terrorism and of refusing to make deals with terrorists.     

U.S. Military Interventions and the Risk of Civil Conflict

The historical record of the majority of inter- and intra-state conflicts indicates frequent third-party interventions in these conflicts. In the decades following World War II, the United States has been one of the most frequent interveners in third world internal wars. This study focuses on the repercussions of U.S. military interventions on the intensity of civil conflict and political violence in the targeted nations. A comprehensive empirical analysis suggests that in addition to low per capita income, large populations, high religious fractionalization, and weak governance, the direct and indirect involvement of the U.S. military may also lead to increased civil strife and political violence in the targeted nations. U.S. military involvement increases the probability of political instability and unrest and hence could be one of the many conditions that favor insurgency.     

The U.S. Coptic Diaspora and the Limit of Polarization

ABSTRACT

After briefly presenting the main characteristics of the Coptic diaspora in the United States and of its attempts at gaining political clout since the 1990s, the article examines the impact of the election of President Obama and of the 2011 Egyptian revolution on the rhetoric and strategy of the main Coptic organizations in the United States. I also examine the changing relation between Copts in Egypt and Copts in the United States.     

艰辛与梦想留美华人学者状况扫描

据2002年美国人口普查局统计,美国华人有270万.在美国,几乎每一所大学都有华人教师,据1998年统计,在美国各大学人文及社会科学的华人教授已达4000多人,其中不少人成就显著.自改革开放20多年以来,大陆留学美国人数不断增多.目前大约有6万中国学生在美国学习,大部分攻读硕士以上学位,覆盖各学科专业,华人留学生向来以基础扎实、勤奋刻苦著称,被许多高等院校、研究所看中,从事教育科研自然是情理之中.     

从普京访美看俄美关系起伏

近半年来,原本就暗流涌动的俄美关系屡兴风波.为缓解紧张气氛,2007年7月初,俄总统普京出访美国;而这次出访前后两国的言论举措,似乎折射出了更多双边关系中的实质性内容.     

核武器与冷战时期美国对苏联的政策

冷战时期,作为维护国家安全的重要工具,核武器在美国对苏联的政策中发挥了重要作用。美国政府不仅在战后初期坚持核保密政策,而且还多次利用核武器对苏联施加压力,以迫使其在政治上和外交上做出让步,并制定了一系列针对苏联的核作战计划。与此同时,为了保持对苏联的核优势地位,对苏联构成有效的威慑,美国政府不断加强核力量的建设,使得美苏之间的核军备竞赛愈演愈烈,并使双方走到了核战争的边缘,从而使得美苏决策者都认识到,限制核军备竞赛对双方至关重要,美苏关系也由此进入了相对缓和的时期。及至20世纪70年代,限制战略武器谈判成为美国对苏政策的重要内容。     

Revenue formation and revenue sharing in the U.S. federal system

Paper presented at the International Seminar on International Seminar on “Fiscal Federalism and Change of Functions in the Finance and Banking Systems”     

Dialectics and Transformation: Exploring the International Theory of E. H. Carr

This article examines the appeal of Carr's theory of international relations, which has enjoyed a longevity matched by few other bodies of work in a discipline characterised by faddism. I attribute Carr's success as an international theorist to his subtle use of philosophy, history, and political theory. Carr's holistic and interdisciplinary approach achieves its best expression in his employment of a critical dialectics of international theory in The Twenty Years' Crisis. The article does not confine itself to this element of Carr's writings as I also examine several works, such as The Future of Nations. Independence or Interdependence?, Conditions of Peace, and Nationalism and After,that consider the transformation of the international society. The latter works also employ a dialectic of power and morality in order to envision a world very different from the international system that Carr observed, an international order that approximates the emerging relations among states at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The article concludes with an examination of the role relativism played in Carr's theory scheme and the extent to which his dialectics of utopianism and realism is an important precursor of critical and postmodern theories of international relations.