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Engaging Today's Global Citizen January 2009
In the Issue

Features

Ask the Expert: US Influence in Global Institutions. As a part of our recent reader survey, we asked for your questions about foreign policy issues. One reader asked what it will take for the Obama administration to repair US influence in global institutions. Stanley Foundation program officer David Shorr responds. Look for other reader questions in upcoming editions of think.

Turkey and the Changing Global Order. Across politics, economics, culture, military strength, and more, a new group of countries have growing influence over the future of the world. Turkey is one of nine countries the Stanley Foundation sees shaping the global scene. Learn more about Turkey’s influential role in international affairs and the challenges it faces as a rising power. This article is part of a series related to the Stanley Foundation effort "Rising Powers: The New Global Reality."

Winter 2008 Courier Now Available. In this issue an expansion of the G-8 is examined, a new Stanley Foundation project looks at international leadership in a shrinking world, and Turkey’s role in the region is explored. Program officer Matt Martin makes the case for reducing US dependence on nukes and an article by Michael Schiffer on rising powers included in the Foreign Policy Association’s Great Decisions briefing book is previewed. Read the full issue in HTML or PDF. Courier is also now available by e-mail. Sign up today.

Beyond the Headlines

New Leadership Spans the Globe in '09. With the inauguration of US President-elect Barack Obama just days away, continued turmoil in the Mideast, and an onslaught of global challenges ahead, it may serve us well to have a glimpse of changing international leadership in the new year. Israelis will head to the polls on February 10, following the resignation of Ehud Olmert as prime minister and Kadima party leader in Israel and the failure of his successor, Tzipi Livni, to form a coalition government. Livni’s main challenger is former prime minister and center-right Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu, known for his opposition to the Gazan Disengagement Plan in 2004 and for his hawkish remarks that Iran’s intentions are to ignite a world war with whatever nuclear weapons he presumes it will acquire. Meanwhile, Iran will choose its highest elected official this June, with President Ahmadinejad running for reelection against a swarm of speculative challengers, including the more moderate former President Mohammad Khatami. Additionally, consequential to Mideast peace is the looming election of Palestinian Authority leadership between Fatah and Hamas, although no official date has been set. Iraqis go to the polls for provincial elections later this month to elect their version of state legislators. The European Union will hold elections in its 27 member states June 4-7, electing more than 700 members of the European Parliament by proportional representation of more than 515,000,000 European citizens, making these the biggest transnational elections in history. In Africa, a turbulent political road in the Ivory Coast yields a tentative presidential election date in late March. Ecuador, Uruguay, and Chile will hold general elections in April, October, and December, respectively. Bolivia will also hold its general election in December, following a long-postponed constitutional referendum to take place January 25, which would permit the election of current President Evo Morales for another two terms. For an up-to-date listing of upcoming elections around the world, visit the Angus Reid Global Monitor Election Tracker. 

Zimbabwe: A Country at Risk. Zimbabwe has been the subject of many headlines lately. The country is affected by desperate economic conditions, a ruthless dictatorial regime clinging to power, and cholera and AIDS epidemics. President Robert Mugabe has refused international diplomatic efforts, and some argue that the responsibility to protect should be applied on behalf of Zimbabweans. In a recent report, the International Crisis Group has proposed "a possible way forward to end Zimbabwe’s nightmare." Beyond its domestic issues, it’s possible that Zimbabwe is also being used in arms trade that the international community is in favor of curbing.

Stay Active
Tools For Action
US and rising powers is the subject of an article in the 2009 Great Decisions briefing book written by Stanley Foundation program officer Michael Schiffer. The article examines how the US-dominated post-Cold War era is waning and new countries are increasing their influence in economic, political, and even military matters. The briefing book is part of the Great Decisions program from the Foreign Policy Association. In addition to rising powers, the briefing book features articles on Afghanistan/Pakistan, energy and the global economy, the Arctic, Egypt in the 21st century, global food supply, Cuba after Castro, and universal human rights. Learn more or order your briefing book today.

Watch & Learn
Atlantic Monthly writer James Fallows has been living in China for the last two years. During this time, Fallows has reported on China’s economic, political, and cultural transformation. In this Stanley Foundation interview, conducted in Beijing in November 2008, Fallows explores China’s rise, the challenges it faces, and potential strategies for US adaptation to China’s evolving role in the world. The interview is part of the Stanley Foundation’s Rising Powers project.

New Resource
In a new policy analysis brief by Stephen J. Stedman of Stanford University, the concept of a league of democracies is examined. America and International Cooperation: What Role for a League of Democracies? looks at how the US can work to build alternative organic coalitions or institutions for solving problems that are extremely unlikely to take the form of a league or concert of democracies. Instead, Stedman recommends a G-16-type process that brings in a bevy of middle powers, emerging economies, rising powers, and major powers—both democratic and authoritarian—so that the bulk of the world’s resources and wealth can be brought directly to bear on the world’s thorniest problems. Read the full brief here.

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