Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
On Iraq, the Middle East and the war against terrorism the Kerry team seems to be bereft of new ideas. Without a willingness to listen and respond to the views of Muslim states and peoples, a Kerry administration would be no more able than a Bush administration to reduce wider Muslim hostility, push for peace between Israel and Palestine, or formulate a new strategy in the war against terrorism.
The deterioration of the situation in Iraq this month raised many people's hopes that the United States would get seriously bogged down there. While some openly gloated at America's misfortunes, others argued that maybe the United States would tone down its arrogance and -- perhaps under a new president -- start to listen to other people's advice.
The political progress in Taiwan and Hong Kong is good news. Ever since Taiwan began its transition to democracy in the late 1980s, optimists have hoped that its opening would serve as a shining beacon for the mainland. But only democratization within China can transform the country.
Countries with a combination of a large land mass and a sizeable population tend to be chronically unstable politically and economically. Allowing their problems to fester, the case all too often in the past, is a source of continuing hardship to their citizens and neighbors alike. The international community needs to consider a new approach to the problems of these nations.
The Bush and Putin administrations have misleadingly folded Chechnya into the global war on terror. Their critics have done little better by defining Chechnya as a human rights challenge. However, ignoring Chechnya or focusing primarily on human rights misses the larger issue, which is not what happens to Chechnya, but what kind of Russia emerges from that forgotten war.
Trenin and Malashenko examine the implications of the war with Chechnya for Russia's post-Soviet evolution. Considering Chechnya's impact on Russia's military, domestic politics, foreign policy, and ethnic relations, the authors contend that the Chechen factor must be addressed before Russia can continue its development.