This Week at ISN

14 - 18 Jan 2013 This weeks editorial focus highlights the perspectives of a number of prominent thinkers on the future of American global power.

Redirecting US Power and Global Power Relationships

An American Century
14 Jan 2013

Eliot Cohen is convinced that the United States' withdrawal from world affairs would imperil both itself and others. As a result, he argues Washington needs to continue promoting a global order that reflects its values and interests. More Not Fade Away: The Myth of American Decline
15 Jan 2013

The repeatedly predicted decline of American power and influence largely rests upon dubious analyses, writes Robert Kagan. As he sees it, the US' continued ability to overcome its difficulties bodes well for its future, even within a post-hegemonic world. More America and the Crisis of Global Power
16 Jan 2013

In this CSIS conversation, Zbigniew Brzezinksi initially argues that the US must develop a comprehensive and long-term geopolitical response to the challenges posed by a post-American world. He then lays out a strategic blueprint for such a response. More Every Nation for Itself: Winners and Losers in a G-Zero World
17 Jan 2013

While there is widespread consensus that the United States' unipolar moment has come and gone, it remains to be seen what a post-American global order will actually look like. Ian Bremmer predicts that we will soon be living in a 'G-Zero World' in which every nation must fend for itself. More The Myth of American Exceptionalism
18 Jan 2013

The idea that the United States maintains a uniquely virtuous presence in the world may console many Americans, but Stephen Walt knows better. He reminds us that this self-congratulatory vision of US global leadership is largely a myth. More

Security Watch
Blood Line: Afghanistan and Pakistan's Unspoken Border Dispute
14 Jan 2013

The Durand Line lies at the very heart of tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Both states' political stability and security depends upon a thorough examination of the role this colonial relic plays in hindering prospects for peace, or so Amir Ramin and Nadia Siddiqui believe. More NATO Solidarity with Turkey Gives a Boost to the Alliance's Territorial Defence Guarantees
15 Jan 2013

The deployment of Patriot missiles to Turkey may encourage Ankara to reaffirm NATO as a core guarantor of its national security, write Wojiciech Lorenz and Pinar Elman. It may also reinvigorate the credibility of territorial defense guarantees offered by the Alliance to its members. More

Time for Strategic Learning

16 Jan 2013

America does not seem to have enough leaders with strategic mindsets and the ability to think long-term, or so argues Harlan Ullman. This absence of a brain-based approach to strategy, however, is structural in nature. It is attributable to the way the American political system is set up. More Kim Jong-un's New Year's Speech: A Kinder, Gentler North Korea?
17 Jan 2013

Kim Jong-un's New Year message has prompted speculation that North Korea is preparing to re-engage with the South and the international community. However, Evans J.R. Revere remains unconvinced, especially in light of Kim's reaffirmation that Pyongyangs 'military first' policy remains intact. More The Year of Not Living Dangerously
18 Jan 2013

According to Robert Letona, ETA and other Basque separatist groups have rebranded their once-violent struggle into a dream of self-determination. ETA in particular is struggling to convince the Spanish people that it is now a politically legitimate independence movement. More

ISN Blog
Netanyahu the Palestinian
14 Jan 2013

Israel is set to re-elect Binyamin Netanyahu for another term, a prospect that fills some with dread. According to Alex Joffe, however, it is the Palestinians who will be most unsettled by a Netanyahu victory he mirror images their implacable belief in the righteousness of their own cause. More Three Strikes Against the Drug War
15 Jan 2013

Jorge Castaeda believes that three recent shifts have occurred in US and Latin American approaches to the 'war on drugs'. These shifts may, in time, lead to drugs policies that increasingly favor legalization over enforcement. More North Korea's Blackmail Missile
16 Jan 2013

Yuriko Koike believes that the timing of North Korea's recent rocket launch reflects Pyongyang's determination to maintain close diplomatic ties with China. Observers also suggest that the launch was designed to strengthen Kim Jong-un's far-from-certain grip on power. More Arab States of Uncertainty
17 Jan 2013

The political unrest engulfing the Middle East has exposed the fragility of the region's Arab states. Shlomo Ben-Ami argues that current developments in the area represent step two of an ongoing decolonization process i.e., the move towards self-determination by communities united only by a dictator's yoke. More Immigration and American Power
18 Jan 2013

Because immigration proved to be an important issue in the recent US presidential elections, reform efforts are now at the top of the Obama administration's policy agenda. In Joseph Nye's opinion, the reforms should be 'liberal' ones and thus help prevent the decline of American power. More

Video
The Myth of American Decline In this video, Robert Kagan argues that while the United States may not always be beloved, it nevertheless remains the dominant actor on the global stage. More Australia's Geographic Challenges This Stratfor video explains why Australia's geographically-centered challenges involve managing its longstanding isolation and small population, both of which affect virtually all of its domestic and foreign policy

decisions. More Stephen Walt on US - Middle East Policy In this video from the American Conversation Essentials series, Stephen Walt explains why the Middle East will remain a key component of US foreign policy for the foreseeable future. More

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