I have an entire shelf of books dedicated to the economic development that ISN’T happening around the world. They have titles like: The Elusive Quest for Growth, The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good, The End of Poverty, The Mystery Read More…
Category: foreign policy
The Path to Democracy
As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, the end of the Cold War left many people looking for new ways to understand international affairs. Starting in the early 1990’s, many people began to feel that democracy had won the final chapter in world affairs and it was just a matter of when and how Read More…
Writing History and the Question of the Decade
As it became clear that Iraq didn’t harbor any WMD and stable democracy was elusive, neoconservatives and supporters of the Bush Doctrine seemed to sink into the shadows and disappear. Now that our troops are leaving Iraq to its elected government and the Middle East and North Africa have erupted with democratic movements, the tides Read More…
Intervention in Libya
In my last article I spoke of the importance of statecraft and smart power. The situation in Libya is a perfect example of the importance of these concepts. The simple fact is this situation isn’t simple. On one hand, it seems clear that we should do all we can to support an uprising against an Read More…
Implementing Smart Power
At the suggestion of a friend, I recently started reading Mitt Romney’s book No Apology. I was excited to read the book because I thought I’d disagree with it before I even began. (I’ve said before that I think everyone should spend a lot more time listening to or reading those they disagree with.) The Read More…
Lessons Learned
I recently returned from a deployment to Afghanistan and am often asked “how is it going over there,” or, “what was it like.” To answer those questions in true military fashion, it seems appropriate to record my “Lessons Learned,” as any good officer would. My first observation is that I didn’t observe much, and am Read More…
Terrorism
The use of the word “terrorism” has become very liberal in our day, a phenomenon I believe to be extremely dangerous. The problem with the word is that it immediately makes anyone labeled with it beyond negotiation – an enemy that can never be anything but an enemy. It creates a battle that can Read More…
Foreign Policy & Defense
Ever since the end of the Cold War, the United States has struggled to find its identity in the international world. I’m not convinced we’ve found a coherent national strategy when it comes to foreign policy and defense. The Republicans’ foreign policy is undecided between the libertarians who want to cut off all interaction Read More…