King Fahd's Saudi Arabia

Written shortly after King Fahd of Saudi Arabia's death, this profile takes the measure of the man: “Profligate though he may have been, Fahd never forgot that Saudi Arabia was a rich place with a small army in a region full of ghastly predators. He proved forceful even with a weak hand.”     

Power and Paradox: Asian Geopolitics and Sino-American Relations in the 21 Century

The pattern of Asian geopolitics can be examined by employing three analytical perspectives. The first employs East Asia and the vigorous debate over the meaning of the rise of China as an intellectual prism to observe the currents of geopolitical continuity and change that are currently abroad in the Asian region. The second explores the extent to which the interacting forces of geopolitics and military modernization foster the rise of new force projection capabilities that may affect the strategic environment in Asia—particularly in East Asia. Here, the focus is mainly on the arsenals of the three indigenous Asian giants, China, Japan and India, all of whom have developed, or are in the process of developing, significant air and maritime assets whose operations have the potential to intersect in East and South East Asia. Russia is not as much a presence because it no longer possesses its powerful Soviet-era Pacific Fleet and has, in essential respects, retreated to its traditional role as a Eurasian land power.¹ The third examines the future of Sino-American relations in Asia in the context of the debate over China's ascent and U. S. decline—a discussion that has intensified since the implosion of the U.S. financial system in 2008 and the onset of the worst global recession since the 1930s.     

The Many Faces of Mexico

This article will reexamine basic assumptions about the geopolitics and character of the United States-Mexico border, take a closer look at current events that have affected the drug war and, finally, discuss possible policy responses beyond those routinely voiced in the public domain.     

非洲的社会科学与知识生产:克劳德·阿克的贡献

克劳德.阿克是非洲政治哲学的先驱之一,对非洲民主与发展的政治经济学研究作出了突出的贡献。阿克推动了非洲后殖民主义理论的辩论,并对后殖民主义提出了质疑;他对西方社会科学进行了批判,大力提倡非洲知识生产的内生性需要,并倡导通过内生化知识生产的完美策略使南方国家的社会科学去殖民化。阿克的著作深受马克思主义知识传统的影响,被贴上马克思主义的原创品牌的标签,但又改写了这一传统,对理解当代非洲政治经济与社会历史有重要的意义。     

Prudence and the Obama Doctrine

This article examines the Obama Doctrine's main tenets, assesses its operation— focusing on the geopolitically crucial regions of Europe, East Asia, and the Middle East–and then offers concluding observations about the trajectory and consequences of this doctrine.     

NATO Special Operations: Promise and Problem

NATO special operations forces (SOF) are at a crossroads as the NATO role in Afghanistan winds down. After more than a decade of development, NATO SOF have greatly increased their ability to operate together in the field and in headquarters. If the alliance continues to emphasize SOF development, these forces can play a major role in future NATO campaigns, particularly outside Europe. Moreover, SOF can be maintained effectively in times of austerity. Yet intelligence sharing, particularly in real time, is currently one of the major limitations on NATO SOF, creating divisions between United States and United Kingdom on one hand and much of the rest of NATO on the other. In order to make truly effective use of SOF the alliance needs to make fundamental changes to its decades old system for sharing intelligence.     

The Middle East: Learning from the Past

The effort to bring peace to the Middle East has been an almost century long process. Legions of soldiers, politicians, and diplomats have attempted the political equivalent of transmuting dross into gold. They have failed; none more comprehensively than President Bill Clinton and his Middle East interlocutors. Despite personal energy, intelligence, and creativity, U.S. efforts failed. After a stretch of benign/malign neglect, Washington again is venturing into the swamp by sponsoring renewed Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. There are learnable lessons from what has been (mis)managed in the past. The question remains whether the United States will take counsel from them.