Uncategorized Archives - Foreign Policy In Focus

Assad’s Mixed Legacy

by Stephen Zunes | Jun 1, 2000

President Hafez Assad leaves a mixed legacy. He brought relative stability in his thirty-year reign to a country which had been wracked with coups and counter-coups in the preceding years, yet it came at an enormous price in terms of basic human rights. He maintained a commitment to socialism and nationalism, yet did so through a cult of personality and insular style which alienated Syrians from across the political spectrum. He successfully curbed the influence of extremist Islamic movements, but at a cost of many thousands of lives in a brutal 1982 crackdown.

Nationalist Ideologies and Misperceptions in India-U.S. Relations

by Arun Swamy | May 1, 2000

The most prominent story in U.S. coverage of President Clinton’s March 2000 visit to India was the public rebuke issued to him by India’s ceremonial head of state, President K. Narayanan. At an official banquet Narayanan broke with protocol to chide Clinton for describing South Asia as “the most dangerous place on earth,” charging that such remarks would encourage the very violence Clinton feared. Oddly, though, Indian reporting of the event focused more on the tenor of U.S. reporting than on the remarks themselves. The difference reflected a contrast between the tones of American and Indian coverage that, though the reverse of what one would expect, confirms the very different perspectives of the U.S. and India on this chronically troubled relationship. American coverage was somber, focusing on Clinton’s failure to convince India to give up nuclear weapons. In India, where this outcome was never in doubt, reporting was more upbeat, seeing a belated American acquiescence to India’s nuclear status and role in world affairs.

Global Focus: U.S. Foreign Policy at the Turn of the Millennium

by Tom Barry, Martha Honey | Mar 1, 2000

This volume portrays the challenges and questions facing Americans and their government at a time when a new global order is being defined by transnational corporations, when the dimensions of U.S. military power bear little relation to threats, and when most global crises call for international solutions. The volume outlines the principles, practices, and policy alternatives that would help to make the U.S. a more responsible global leader and global partner.

U.S. Must Insist Israel Return to the Peace Talks and Withdraw from Lebanon

by Stephen Zunes | Feb 1, 2000

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak’s decision to pull out of the peace talks with Syria is a shameless capitulation to Israel’s far right and raises serious questions as to whether the Israeli government is seriously interested in peace. President Clinton must demand that Israel return immediately to the negotiation table and come into full compliance with UN Security Council resolutions or risk an immediate cutoff of U.S. military and economic aid.

Africa Activism: What Direction Now?

by Jim Cason, Jim Lobe | Feb 1, 2000

From February 16 to 20, some 2,300 committed and energetic delegates from throughout the United States gathered in Washington, DC, for a five-day, high-profile “summit” dedicated to building a politically powerful coalition for Africa, but there was much uncertainty about how to do it. The official program and plenary sessions were dominated by U.S. and African government officials, members of Congress, and corporate leaders. But the energy in the workshops and hallways of this event, as well as the commitment of delegates to use their own funds to get to Washington for the meeting, demonstrated again the potential for Africa activism that still exists in the United States ten years after the South African victory over apartheid. Particularly noticeable was the high attendance—upwards of 30%—of Africa expatriates who established themselves during the conference as key players in any future constituency for the continent.

U.S. Policy Hampers Chances for Israeli-Syrian Peace

by Stephen Zunes | Dec 1, 1999

There is little hope for real progress in the Israeli-Syrian peace talks unless the Clinton Administration is willing to uphold human rights and international law along with its commitment to Israel’s legitimate security needs. Since Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967, these issues have been at the heart of the dispute.

Balkans Overview: Need for a Regional Solution

by Robert Greenberg | Dec 1, 1999

During the cold war the geopolitical map of the Balkans was relatively simple. Bulgaria and Romania were in the Soviet orbit, Albania was isolated and allied only with the People’s Republic of China, while Greece leaned westward, first as part of NATO and later when it joined the European Economic Community. Tito’s Yugoslavia, occupying the greatest section of the Balkan Peninsula, was officially non-aligned.

Keys to Stability in the Balkans

by Robert Greenberg | Nov 1, 1999

Key Points

Corporate Welfare and Foreign Policy

by Janice C. Shields | Jun 1, 1999

Special Report Corporate Welfare and Foreign Policy By Janice C. Shields Annual Subsidies for Exporters, Importers, and International Investors Tax Breaks Benefiting Exporters, Importers, and International Investors Laws Benefiting Exporters, Importers, and International Investors

United States and Africa: Starting Points for a New Policy Framework

by William Minter | Jun 1, 1999

President Clinton’s 12-day trip to Africa in spring 1998 was the most extensive ever by an American president. Boosters of the trip inside the administration hoped that it would dramatically signal a constructive U.S. engagement with the continent—a new policy for a new Africa. In the months before the trip, Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Susan Rice laid out a “new vision for Africa” and called for a “new partnership” with partners who “listen to one another, learn from one another, and compromise with one another.”