Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Aggressive action is needed to address the global financial crisis, but bailing out banks and domestic industries are measures that could—if not orchestrated carefully—provoke a devastating global trade war.
Although Europe actively tries to manage Middle East crises, it undermines its economic, political, and security interests by assuming a secondary role to the United States and following its policy line.
Pakistan’s new and fragile government must reform the country’s intelligence agencies to counter their influence on civil society and politics.
Negotiations over a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have reached a dead end. International efforts should focus on a short-term cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that can pave the way for a sustainable armistice.
Greater transparency about their holdings and investment strategies would help Sovereign Wealth Funds to overcome concerns and to play a role in resolving the economic crisis.
The Obama administration faces pressure to pull back U.S. democracy promotion efforts, given the Bush’s administration’s legacy and increasing talk of a global “democratic recession.” However, by building a new approach to democracy promotion the United States can regain its place as a respected, trusted, and influential ally of democracy around the world.
While President Obama inherits a cordial and generally stable relationship with China, building goodwill early on and cultivating direct personal ties with Chinese leaders will be the best way to continue the largely productive relations of the last eight years.
Arabs expect the Obama administration to focus immediately on the Palestinian issue, using its influence with Israel to halt settlement activity and acting as an honest broker in peace negotiations.
Focusing U.S. policy in the Caspian on containing Russian and Chinese influence has done little to advance U.S. security interests, and reduced its standing in the region to its lowest level in decades. The Obama administration needs a new approach that provides opportunities for local leaders to engage with the United States in economic and political development.
The invasion of Iraq has surfaced long-suppressed nationalist aspirations among the Kurds, most notably the emergence of the federal Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). If ignored or mishandled, Kurdish aspirations have the potential to ignite violence and instability in Iraq, as well as the region, at a particularly delicate time.
The international community has yet to create the conditions for a sustainable Afghan state and a viable government in Kabul that can survive a U.S. withdrawal. The focus needs to shift to an alternative strategy that de-escalates combat, thereby neutralizing insurgency momentum and Taliban appeals for Jihad, while protecting infrastructure that allows stable Afghan institutions to develop.
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace announced that Dmitri Trenin has been appointed director of the Carnegie Moscow Center.
It will be impossible to manage, much less resolve, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict while ignoring Hamas. The Obama administration should use diplomacy to restore a livable situation for the present, and at a later date move back toward longer-term diplomacy.
The U.S. spent at least $52 billion on nuclear weapons and related programs in fiscal year 2008, but only 10 percent of that went toward preventing a nuclear attack through slowing and reversing the proliferation of nuclear weapons and technology.
The Carnegie Moscow Center has been named the best among Russia’s and East Europe’s think tanks according to the Think Tank Index compiled by the University of Pennsylvania
During the campaign, President-elect Obama emphasized the need for greater diplomacy and a willingness to engage with hostile regimes. This commitment to “return to diplomacy” will not be enough to break the deadlock in the Middle East. Obama should break from traditional U.S. posture and support peace initiatives originating with Arab countries.
Successive U.S. administrations have forfeited the chance to integrate Russia into the West. Instead, the United States has either neglected Russia or openly disregarded its overtures and warnings on a range of regional concerns. The incoming U.S. administration needs a comprehensive approach to Russia based on a shared vision of European security.
An Israeli–Syrian peace deal is a real possibility and would have a positive effect on the Middle East and U.S. interests there. But the two sides will not reach an agreement without U.S. leadership. The incoming administration should use a balance of pressure, incentives, and robust diplomacy to make the agreement a reality.
Despite some electoral success, Islamist movements participating in politics have failed to influence policy and are criticized by their base for abandoning their religious commitments. Islamist movements must convince their supporters that political participation is the best way to affect government in the long term, despite seemingly poor short-term gains.
Amid the overwhelming popular enthusiasm and unprecedented media coverage in the Arab world that accompanied the 2008 U.S. presidential elections, the Carnegie Middle East Center provided an open forum for distinguished Arab observers to share their thoughts on future American policies in the Middle East.