CFR.org - Foreign Affairs

The Battle for Affordable Drugs

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 17:17:08 -0400

Thomas Bollyky discusses the brewing fight over intellectual property and access to noncommunicable disease medicines in low- and middle-income countries and a potential way forward.

The Polish Model

Gideon Rose — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:44:14 -0400

Poland's minister of foreign affairs speaks with Foreign Affairs about his country's history, its future, and its place in Europe.

Regulatory Moneyball

Cass R. Sunstein — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:34:00 -0400

Government regulators should take their cues from the statistics-obsessed sports geeks of Moneyball and use data and empirical evidence to evaluate rules, instead of relying heavily on intuition, anecdotes, dogmas, and impressions.

India's Feeble Foreign Policy

Manjari Chatterjee Miller — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:29:31 -0400

The world may expect great things from India, but as extensive reporting reveals, Indians themselves turn out to be deeply skeptical about their country's potential. That attitude, plus New Delhi's dysfunctional foreign-policy bureaucracy, prevent long-term planning of the sort China has mastered -- and are holding India back.

The Real Story Behind Executive Pay

Steven N. Kaplan — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:25:42 -0400

Much of the outrage over economic inequality in the United States has centered on the high compensation and lack of accountability that corporate executives supposedly enjoy -- allegedly the result of boards at public companies. The truth, however, is that American CEOs now earn less and get fired more than in the recent past.

The Rise of Big Data

Kenneth Neil Cukier and Viktor Mayer-Schoenberger — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:17:40 -0400

Everyone knows that the Internet has changed how businesses operate, governments function, and people live. But a new, less visible technological trend is proving just as transformative: big data.

The Austerity Delusion

Mark Blyth — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:12:01 -0400

The results of Europe's experiment with austerity are in and they're clear: it doesn't work. Here's how such a flawed idea became the West's default response to financial crises.

The Irony of American Strategy

Richard N. Haass — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:08:53 -0400

A decade ago, when the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began, the United States chose to immerse itself in the greater Middle East when it had little reason to dive in. But now that most Americans want little to do with the region, U.S. officials are finding it difficult to turn away.

Africa's Economic Boom

Shantayanan Devarajan and Wolfgang Fengler — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:04:29 -0400

Sub-Saharan Africa's GDP has grown five percent a year since 2000 and is expected to grow even faster in the future. Although pessimists are quick to point out that this growth has followed increases in commodities prices, the success of recent political reforms and the increased openness of African societies give the region a good chance of sustaining its boom for years to come.

The Clinton Legacy

Michael Hirsh — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:01:24 -0400

As secretary of state, Hillary Clinton helped restore America's standing in the world, but she left office with no signature achievement. If she gets her way, her tenure as the country's top diplomat will come to be seen simply as a stepping-stone to the presidency

America's Energy Opportunity

Michael Levi — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:56:51 -0400

The U.S. energy revolution is not confined to a single fuel or technology: oil and gas production, renewable energy, and fuel-efficient automobile technologies all show great promise. To best position the country for the future, U.S. leaders should capitalize on all these opportunities rather than pick a favorite; the answer lies in 'most of the above.'

Why American Education Fails

Jal Mehta — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:53:34 -0400

Since the end of the industrial age, Americans have worried about improving their education system. But the country has never been able to make much progress. Other nations do it better, and the United States must learn from their examples if it hopes to catch up.

The Church Undivided

Victor Gaetan — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:50:43 -0400

Pope Benedict XVI made reaching out to other faiths and promoting Christian unity hallmarks of his tenure. Pope Francis will continue this work, not only because he has a history of facilitating religious dialogue, but also because global Catholicism requires it.

Why the U.S. Army Needs Armor

Chris McKinney, Mark Elfendahl, and H.R. McMaster — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:44:57 -0400

Looming budgetary constraints and the U.S. Army's ongoing downsizing have enhanced the appeal of forces that are lighter, smaller, and cheaper than tanks and other protected vehicles. But not only have armored forces proved critical in yesterday's wars; they will also be needed to win tomorrow's.

Why the U.S. Army Needs Missiles

Jim Thomas — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:40:23 -0400

Conventional wisdom holds that the U.S. Army will bear the brunt of forthcoming defense cuts. But that need not be the case, provided it shifts its focus away from traditional ground forces toward more relevant weapons: land-base missile systems.

The Persistence of Arab Anti-Americanism

Marc Lynch — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:32:03 -0400

Anti-Americanism might have ebbed momentarily thanks to U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and support for the Arab Spring. But hostility is once again mounting in the Arab world. In Amaney Jamal's new book, she tries to determine why.

Bolívar's Botched Bequest

Ilan Stavans — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:25:50 -0400

The Venezuelan revolutionary Simon Bolívar has a remarkably elastic legacy. Ever since his death in 1830, Latin American politicians across the political spectrum have claimed to be his rightful heir. What Bolívar left behind, it turns out, was less a coherent set of ideas than an abstract vision of Latin American unity -- a vision that remains impossible today.

How to Fix America

Edward Conard and Fareed Zakaria — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:14:15 -0400

For the U.S. economy to reach its full potential, argues Edward Conard, Washington should decrease federal spending and ease government regulation. Fareed Zakaria demurs, contending that structural reform and government investment are what the U.S. economy needs most.

Generation Kill

Gideon Rose — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 11:50:47 -0500

The former Afghanistan and special forces commander talks frankly about his accomplishments, his mistakes, his lessons learned, and the future of the new American way of war he helped create.

Beyond the Pivot

Kevin Rudd — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 11:44:24 -0500

The Obama administration's "pivot" to Asia made sense, because China was starting to doubt U.S. staying power. Now that Washington has sent Beijing a clear message it will be around for the long haul, however, the time has come for the two countries to deepen and institutionalize their relationship in order to secure Asia's lasting peace and prosperity.

The Long Arm of International Law

Pierre N. Leval — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 11:38:02 -0500

Thanks to a once-obscure law passed in 1789, foreign victims of foreign human rights abusers can use U.S. courts to sue their abusers. But the Supreme Court may soon ban such suits. That would be a shame, since they offer victims some measure of solace and give substance to underenforced human rights laws. The law should be upheld, and other countries should follow the U.S. lead.

Gangster's Paradise

Peter R. Andreas — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 11:30:04 -0500

Despite media hoopla, cross-border crime -- illegal drugs sales, evasion of taxes, intellectual property theft, and money laundering -- is hardly a new phenomenon. For much of history, moreover, the United States was as much perpetrator as victim. Recognizing this awkward truth should help cool down overheated debates about today's transnational problems and how to respond to them.

Capitalism and Inequality

Jerry Muller — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 11:24:58 -0500

Inequality is rising across the post-industrial capitalist world. The problem is not caused by politics and politics will never be able to eliminate it. But simply ignoring it could generate a populist backlash. Governments must accept that today as ever, inequality and insecurity are the inevitable results of market operations. Their challenge is to find ways of shielding citizens from capitalism's adverse consequences -- even as they preserve the dynamism that produces capitalism's vast economic and cultural benefits in the first place.

Mexico Makes It

Shannon K. O'Neil — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:53:12 -0500

Even as Mexico continues to struggle with grave security threats, its steady rise is transforming the country's economy, society, and political system. Given the Mexico's bright future and the interests it shares with the United States in energy, manufacturing, and security, Washington needs to start seeing its southern neighbor as a partner instead of a problem.

Breaking Up Is Not Hard to Do

Husain Haqqani — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:48:51 -0500

Instead of continuing their endless battling, the United States and Pakistan should acknowledge that their interests simply do not converge enough to make them strong partners. Giving up the fiction of an alliance would free up Washington to explore new ways of achieving its goals in South Asia. And it would allow Islamabad to finally pursue its regional ambitions -- which would either succeed once and for all or, more likely, teach Pakistani officials the limitations of their country's power.

Japan's Cautious Hawks

Gerald L. Curtis — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:42:41 -0500

The election of the hawkish Shinzo Abe as Japan's prime minister has the world worrying that Tokyo is about to part with its pacifist strategy of the last 70 years. But Japan's new leaders are pragmatic, and so long as the United States does not waver in its commitment to the country's defense, they are unlikely chart a new course.

The Lost Logic of Deterrence

Richard K. Betts — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:20:14 -0500

For half a century, deterrence was the backbone of U.S. national security strategy. But now, Washington doesn't seem to know how and when to use it properly. The United States has needlessly applied deterrence to Russia, failed to apply it when it should have against Iraq and Iran, and been dangerously confused about whether to apply it to China. U.S. policymakers need to relearn the basics of deterrence in order to apply it successfully in the appropriate circumstances.

The Evolution of Irregular War

Max Boot — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 16:59:06 -0500

Pundits tend to treat terrorism and guerrilla tactics as something new, but nothing could be further from the truth. Although the agendas have changed over the years -- from tribalism, to liberalism and nationalism, to socialism, to jihadist extremism -- guerrilla and terrorist warfare has been ubiquitous throughout history and consistently deadly.

Red White

Benn Steil — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 16:52:15 -0500

FDR Treasury official Harry Dexter White was the leading architect of the Bretton Woods international monetary and financial system. But he was also a vital agent for Soviet intelligence in the 1930s and '40s. This article brings to bear startling new archival evidence to illuminate his motives.

Getting the GOP's Groove Back

Bret Stephens — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 16:44:03 -0500

After their loss last year, Republicans are grappling over what to do next -- and when it comes to foreign policy, small-government conservatives worried about debt are squaring off against big-military conservatives fearful of defense cuts. Fortunately, the GOP does not need a total makeover; what it needs is a renegotiated modus vivendi between the two competing camps, each of which has valuable things to teach the other.