Scholars, advocates, and activists seeking to make the U.S. a more responsible global partner.
War & Peace

The Militarization of Paradise

by | Nov 11, 2011

The South Korean government has been campaigning to have its southern island of Jeju recognised as one of the seven new wonders of nature. A favourite honeymoon spot in Asia and an official “island of peace,” Jeju already boasts several UNESCO World Natural Heritage sites. There’s an extinct volcano at the island’s centre, miles and miles of exquisite coastline, extraordinary lava formations on land and coral formations at sea, and…a huge naval base currently under construction. 

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Should We Engage North Korea?

Should We Engage North Korea?

by | Nov 10, 2011

The recent two-day talks between the United States and North Korea were a good start, but it also shows that a diplomacy contingent upon denuclearization will not likely break the deadlock. Perhaps the pending leadership succession from Kim Jong-il to his heir apparent Kim Jong-eun provides a window of opportunity for the United States to effectively engage the North through a different strategy, and denuclearization can happen from there.

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This Is Not What Containment Looks Like

This Is Not What Containment Looks Like

by | Nov 9, 2011

“To strengthen Iran sanctions laws for the purpose of compelling Iran to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons and other threatening activities, and for other purposes,” begins HR1905, the so-called “Iran Threat Reduction Act” advanced by the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee this week. The resolution, put forward by the chairwoman of the committee, Florida Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, has 349 co-signers, more than enough to pass a House vote. It will increase sanctions on Iran and limit U.S. contact with Iranian officials, and pressure to enact it will be strengthened by the release of a November IAEA report asserting that Iran has been secretly developing nuclear weapons (and a delivery system for them) since 2003.

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Iran: Here We Go . . .

by | Nov 9, 2011

While neoconservative commentators were declaring that diplomacy doesn’t work with Iran, members of Congress were setting about ensuring that it wouldn’t. 

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