Volume 131 - Number 1 - Spring 2016
Japanese Energy Policy after Fukushima Daiichi: Nuclear Ambivalence John S. Duffield discusses the evolution of Japanese energy policy since the tragic events at Fukushima Daiichi in March 2011. He finds that deep divisions over nuclear power have stymied the development of a new political consensus on the role it should play in addressing the country’s energy needs and concerns about climate change.
Volume 131 - Number 1 - Spring 2016
The Jihadist Returnee Threat: Just How Dangerous? Daniel Byman examines the terrorism threat that jihadist foreign fighters pose to the United States and Europe. He argues that the danger, while quite real, is at times exaggerated and that better policy can further reduce it.
Volume 130 - Number 4 - Winter 2015-16
Power and Risk in Foreign Policy: Understanding China’s Crisis Behavior Kai He discusses China’s foreign policy and responses to crises under former General Secretary Hu Jintao. He argues that when Chinese leaders perceive that their political survival is threatened they are more likely to exhibit risky behavior in terms of foreign policy. He discusses how these findings could inform our understanding of China’s current and future foreign policy orientation.
Volume 130 - Number 4 - Winter 2015-16
Did Chirac Say ‘Non ’? Revisiting UN Diplomacy on Iraq, 2002-03 Stefano Recchia revisits the George W. Bush administration’s attempt in the spring of 2003 to secure UN approval for the Iraq war. Drawing on new evidence from declassified documents and interviews with senior officials, he argues that the administration would have stood a good chance of securing UN approval—notwithstanding French opposition. But the administration had to be willing to postpone the start of military operations by up to six weeks and endorse a set of demanding benchmarks for Iraqi compliance, as proposed by Britain and several nonpermanent members of the Security Council.
Volume 130 - Number 3 - Fall 2015
Japan’s Nuclear Hedge: Beyond “Allergy” and Breakout Richard J. Samuels and JAMES L. SCHOFF examine the origins and current state of Japan’s policy toward nuclear weapons. They argue that Japan’s nuclear hedging strategy is likely to continue in the near future, but maybe not indefi nitely. Japan’s choices to go nuclear will be determined by its ability to manage potential threats and on the strength of the U.S. commitment to extended deterrence.
Volume 130 - Number 3 - Fall 2015
Saint or Sinner? Human Rights and U.S. Support for the Arms Trade Treaty JENNIFER L. ERICKSON analyses the U.S. decision to support the UN Arms Trade Treaty initiative in October 2009. She argues that this support was part of a broader policy shift toward multilateralism that the Obama administration made in an effort to repair the reputation of the United States within the diplomatic community.
Volume 130 - Number 3 - Fall 2015
Is the American Century Over? Joseph S. Nye, Jr. , discusses whether the “American century” beginning in 1941 has come to the end. He argues that transnational and non-state forces are changing America’s pre-eminence, but that we are not entering a post-American world.
Volume 129 - Number 2 - Summer 2014
Building National Armies after Civil War: Lessons from Bosnia, El Salvador, and Lebanon Zoltan Barany looks at how national armies are built following the conclusion of civil wars and identifies lessons derived from three cases: Bosnia and Herzegovina, El Salvador, and Lebanon. He describes the key components of successful post-civil war building of an army.
Volume 128 - Number 4 - Winter 2013-14
Did Bush Democratize the Middle East? The Effects of External–Internal Linkages Bruce Gilley examines how the so-called Freedom Agenda of President George W. Bush affected politics in the Middle East. He concludes that this agenda generally exerted positive effects on democratic change in the region, although often working in unintended ways and usually interacting with domestic factors.
Volume 128 - Number 4 - Winter 2013-14
Conceptualizing Containment: The Iranian Threat and the Future of Gulf Security
