U.S. Foreign Policy

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Promoting Innovation
August 17, 2009 1 min. read

I’d like to take a minute to turn from our usual focus on foreign policy and diplomacy to take a look at science and technology. The U.S. has a proud history of being a world leader in technological innovation. This website, for example, provides a list of U.S. Nobel Prize winners, as of 2008, and […]

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In with Global Engagement, Out with GWOT
August 13, 2009 1 min. read

Patricia Kushlis at WhirledView has an excellent post on the end of the Global War on Terror(John Brennan, Obama’s top White House advisor for Homeland Security and Counter Terrorism, who formally declared America’s Global War on Terror over at a CSIS event) and what global engagement means as a concept and a policy in practice. I couldn’t […]

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How Strong is U.S. Support for Georgia?
August 12, 2009 3 min. read

As you know, the U.S. has refused to recognize the independence of Abkhazia and has made statements officially supporting the territorial integrity of Georgia after last year’s war with Russia. The news that Russia will be building up a military presence there is sure to prompt an American reaction. According to this report in The […]

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Embassies and "Talking to Our Enemies"
August 12, 2009 3 min. read
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The UACES: Exchanging ideas on Europe blog has an excellent post by Michael Siebert of the German Embassy in London (this came to my attention through John Brown’s blog on public diplomacy – a must read for anyone interested in PD).   John quotes this part of Siebert’s post:     “As a member of the Political Department of […]

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Debating the U.S. Role in Afghanistan
August 11, 2009 1 min. read

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy The video above from MSNBC notes the surge of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and gives a quick update on the state of the war there. The U.S. Army is encouraging debate on the war in Afghanistan and in this blog post they note […]

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The Three Amigos Summit
August 10, 2009 1 min. read

President Obama is in Mexico today attending what’s been called the “Three Amigos” Summit. The mainstream media is billing this summit as a chance for Obama to meet with his Mexican and Canadian counterparts to discuss trade, migration, swine flu, energy, the environment and joint efforts to counter rising drug violence. For a nice overview […]

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US Needs To Take Its Own Advice on Democracy
August 9, 2009 3 min. read

Last Friday the New York Times ran an editorial offering ideas on how to begin serious reforms in New York State government, particularly the New York State Legislature. Leadership challenges in the state senate paralyzed the operations of government at a difficult time in the state’s economic situation (many of the states in the US are suffering in this downturn […]

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Universities and Development: Real Partnerships
August 8, 2009 2 min. read

Universities can – and often do – play an important role in advancing the cause of international development (and public diplomacy).  One program that works very well is USAID’swork with the organization Higher Education for Development (HED).   HED uses USAID funds to create partnerships between US and overseas universities.  These partnerships are focused on specific development […]

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Still No Leadership at USAID
August 7, 2009 1 min. read

The Washington Post ran an article yesterday about how the continued lack of a USAID Administrator is making it difficult to define the role development in the new administration, especially as Congress looks to reform the agency and Hillary Clinton is beginning her Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review.  What is making this post so difficult […]

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Book Review on Internationalizing Campuses
August 7, 2009 1 min. read

Patricia Kushlis at WhirledView has an excellent review of William P. Kiehl’s How Colleges Can Create International Communities.  I won’t repeat the points made about the book (but make sure to read the review).  But I would add that while it is heartening to see that educational and cultural affairs have been mentioned by both President Obama (especially […]

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Reforming the Business of Development
August 6, 2009 3 min. read

USAID Reviews Role of For-Profit Contractors Earlier this year the US Agency for International Development (USAID) began an internal review of its longstanding practice of using for-profit consulting firms that sub-contract to non-profit organizations working with USAID (thereby skirting the regulation that does not allow for-profit contractors).  USAID awards about $4 billion every year in federal […]

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New Opening to North Korea?
August 6, 2009 1 min. read

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy Former President Bill Clinton’s trip to North Korea has provided a foreign policy spectacle that has everyone talking. Of course, it wasn’t supposed to be about foreign policy, it was billed as a strictly humanitarian mission to gain the release of the two […]

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