Political Science



U.S. Foreign Policy

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See also

Military Commissions
Military Commission Act of 2006
"This legislation gives the US president authorization to set up military commissions to try enemy combatants, and sets some limits for their interrogation and prosecution based on Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. Defendants may not invoke the Geneva Conventions during trials or file habeas corpus petitions in federal court, and cannot prevent hearsay evidence from entering the court. Defendants may receive the death sentence."
- [Description from Council of Foreign Relations website.]

Hamdan v. Rumsfeld
- Official opinion from the Supreme Court of the U.S.

Council on Foreign Relations

  • The Impact of Hamdan v. Rumsfeld
    "...the Court ruled that the military commissions do not comply with U.S. military law, the laws of war, or the Geneva Conventions, which protect the rights of detainees during wartime."
    Backgrounder by Lionel Beehner, September 2006.

_____

The White House

Foreign Affairs
Published by the Council on Foreign Relations

  • The Middle East Predicament (January/February 2005)
    "Summary: The Middle East challenges facing Washington today have never been greater--but there remains a chance for peace. To secure it, the United States must stick with Iraq, pressure Iran into giving up its nukes, foster a moderate Palestinian leadership, and support Muslim reformers. Success in the region has never been more important."
    By Dennis B. Ross

Africa Policy Information Center

American Choices
Understanding Foreign Policy Debates
"In 12 questions, American Choices asks you to weigh some of the fundamental trade-offs facing U.S. policymakers. At the end of it, you get a summary of your beliefs, and how they compare with others."

American Diplomacy
Electronic journal

Americas Program
"...goal is to help forge a new global affairs agenda for the U.S. government and people-one that makes the United States a more responsible global leader and partner. The
primary way we do this is by producing policy reports, issue briefs, political commentary, and popular education materials offering essential information and credible, forward looking policy analysis."
Maintained by the Americas Program of the Interhemispheric Resource Center (IRC)

  • borderlines
    Journal on U.S.-Mexico border affairs (published 1993-2001).

Arms Control Today
Published by the Arms Control Association

Brookings Institution Project on Terrorism and American Foreign Policy - (dead link)
"The project will present an ongoing series of briefings on various aspects of the crisis, analytical publications ranging from short 2,000-word papers to full-length books, and a large and growing website containing background resources, full texts of relevant government documents, and archived video, audio, and printed transcripts of Brookings events."

Brookings Project on U.S. Policy Towards the Islamic World - (dead link)
"The Project will provide a deeper comprehension of the forces that led up to September 11 and the possible future challenges the U.S. and our friends in the Islamic World face. It will also facilitate high-level dialogue between policy and issue experts and senior figures in the U.S. Executive Branch, Congress, and other governmental bodies."
Created under the auspices of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy

  • 2002 Doha Conference on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World - (dead link) (October 2002)
    "The conference assembled more than 60 leading scholars and practitioners from 25 countries across the Islamic world (including Muslim communities in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia) and the United States."
  • Time for the Hard Choices: The Dilemmas Facing U.S. Policy Towards the Islamic World - (dead link)
    Working Paper #1, September 2002
    By Peter W. Singer, Project Coordinator.

Brookings Institution

  • President Bush's National Security Strategy: Is the U.S. Meeting Its Global Challenges?
    A Brookings Briefing, March 21, 2006.
  • Foreign Policy Studies - (dead link)
    • U.S. National Security Policy Post-9/11: Perils and Prospects
      The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, Winter 2004
      By Susan E. Rice
    • Brookings Institution - Saban Center for Middle East Policy
      • The New U.S. Proposal for a Greater Middle East Initiative: An Evaluation
        Middle East Memo #2, May 10, 2004.
        By Tamara Cofman Wittes
      • Brookings Project on U.S. Policy Towards the Islamic World - (dead link)
        "The Project will provide a deeper comprehension of the forces that led up to September 11 and the possible future challenges the U.S. and our friends in the Islamic World face. It will also facilitate high-level dialogue between policy and issue experts and senior figures in the U.S. Executive Branch, Congress, and other governmental bodies."
        Created under the auspices of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy
        • The Approaching Turning Point: The Future of U.S. Relations with the Gulf States
          U.S. Policy Towards the Islamic World, Analysis Paper #2, May 2003
          By F. Gregory Gause, III, Director, Middle East Studies Program, University of Vermont
        • 2002 Doha Conference on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World - (dead link) (October 2002)
          "The conference assembled more than 60 leading scholars and practitioners from 25 countries across the Islamic world (including Muslim communities in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia) and the United States."
        • Time for the Hard Choices: The Dilemmas Facing U.S. Policy Towards the Islamic World - (dead link)
          Working Paper #1, September 2002
          By Peter W. Singer, Project Coordinator.
    • Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies - (dead link)
    • Iraq - (dead link)
      Sections include: Current Commentary ; Selected Readings ; Iraq Memos ; Middle East Policy ; Project on Terrorism ; Sanctions ; Internally Displaced Persons ; U.S. Policy Towards the Islamic World.
    • Opinion

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Recent & critical publications.

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

[China] Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  • Testimony on Rule of Law In China
    Testimony by Minxin Pei before the Senate Foreign Relations, June 7, 2005. Committee at a hearing titled, "The Emergence of China Throughout Asia: Security and Economic Consequences for the U.S."

[China] China Leadership Monitor (online version)
"...seeks to inform the American foreign policy community about current trends in China's leadership politics and in its foreign and domestic policies."
- Stanford University Hoover Institution

[China] Chinese Military Power
A Compendium of Online Resources About Chinese Military Policy & Capabilities
"...your gateway to full-text online analysis and research tools essential to understanding China's military policy, capabilities, and potential. Here you will find access to the spectrum of U.S. opinion regarding China's strategic development, with regularly updated links to online articles, reports, and government documents assessing China's military modernization, relevant political and economic factors, the military balance in East Asia, and U.S. policy toward China
- Sponsored The Project on Defense Alternatives

Commonwealth Institute - QDR [Quadrennial Defense Review] Page
A Compendium of Online Resources about U.S. Defense Strategy, Force Planning, and Policy Reviews.

  • Can Saddam Be Contained? History Says Yes (November 2002) [.pdf]
    John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt, Cambridge, MA: Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, International Security Program Occasional Paper, November 2002 (.pdf file).
    Posted on the Commonwealth Institute Website.

Congressional Research Service - CRS Reports for Congress

U.S. Congressional Reports
- GPO Access

Corriere della Sera (Italy)

Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)

Country Indicators for Foreign Policy (CIFP)
 "..., initiated by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, represents an on-going effort to identify and assemble statistical information conveying the key features of the economic, political, social and cultural environments of countries around the world."

Current History
A Journal of Contemporary World Affairs.

Debate Central - Weapons of Mass Destruction
2001-2002 National Forensic League Debate Topic

Foreign Affairs Online
"...has been specifically designed to assist students and other individuals interested in International Relations, International Law, and U.S. Foreign Policy."
Sections include: General References ; Map Resources ; Media ; U.S. Government ; Foreign States ; United Nations ; International Law ; NGOs & IGOs ; International Relations ; Human Rights ; Think Tanks.
By Robert J. Beck, Ph.D.

Foreign Affairs Magazine
Published by the Council on Foreign Relations

  • The Middle East Predicament (January/February 2005)
    "Summary: The Middle East challenges facing Washington today have never been greater--but there remains a chance for peace. To secure it, the United States must stick with Iraq, pressure Iran into giving up its nukes, foster a moderate Palestinian leadership, and support Muslim reformers. Success in the region has never been more important."
    By Dennis B. Ross

Foreign Policy (FP)
The Magazine of Global Politics, Economics, and Ideas

  • Special Report: If I Were President... (March-April 2003)
    "George W. Bushís policies toward North Korea and Iraq are under fire, and public approval of his presidency is declining. Whatís the Democratic alternative?"
    Essays by Sen. John Edwards ; Sen. John Kerry ; Rep. Richard Gephardt ; Sen. Joseph Lieberman.
  • Democratic Presidents and U.S. Foreign Policy (March-April 2003)
    "...read some of their most important speeches on U.S. foreign policy."
    Includes: Woodrow Wilson ; Franklin D. Roosevelt ; Harry S. Truman ; John F. Kennedy ; Lyndon B. Johnson ; Jimmy Carter ; William J. Clinton.
  • FP Exclusive Interview with former U.S. Military Leaders on Recent Terrorist Attacks (September/October 2001)
    "Present in the interview with FP Editor Moises Naim were four of Americaís most respected and influential former military leaders: Army Major General William Nash (Ret.), former commander of the Armyís 1st Infantry Division and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations; Navy Admiral William Owens (Ret.), former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and author of Lifting the Fog of War (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000); Marine Lieutenant General Paul Van Riper (Ret.), former assistant commandant of the Marine Corps and former president of the Marine Corps University; and Air Force General Charles Boyd (Ret.), former deputy commander in chief of the U.S. European Command, former executive director of the Hart-Rudman Commission and current director at the Council on Foreign Relations."

Foreign Policy In Focus (FPIF)
"...seeks to make the U.S. a more responsible global leader and global partner. It is a "think tank without walls" that functions as an international network of more than 650 policy analysts and advocates. Unlike traditional think tanks, FPIF is committed to advancing a citizen-based foreign policy agenda--one that is fundamentally rooted in citizen initiatives and movements."

Foreign Relations of the United States

"...is the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions that have been declassified and edited for publication. The series is produced by the State Department's Office of the Historian and printed volumes are available from the Government Printing Office."

  • 1900-1918
    From Libraries, University of Wisconsin, Madison
  • 1945-
     From Office of the Historian, U.S. State Department

Gallup International - Recent International Surveys - (dead link)

George Washington University - The National Security Archive
"...an independent non-governmental research institute and library located at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The Archive collects and publishes declassified documents acquired through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

  • The September 11th Sourcebooks
    National Security Archive Online Readers on Terrorism, Intelligence and the Next War
    • Volume I: Terrorism and U.S. Policy (September 21, 2001)
      "...contains the documents that our staff experts, led by Dr. Jeffrey Richelson and coordinated by Michael Evans, have selected as the most important available primary sources on U.S. terrorism policy."
    • Volume II: Afghanistan- Lessons from the Last War (October 9, 2001)
      "...Archive experts John Prados and Svetlana Savranskaya draw on declassified records and the memoirs of former Soviet officials to examine Soviet policymaking, military operations, and lessons learned from the last war in Afghanistan, a bloody, ten-year conflict that pitted Soviet military forces against CIA-backed Afghan rebels."
  • Chile: 16,000 Secret U.S. Documents Declassified
    "The release, totaling over 50,000 pages of State Department, CIA, White House, Defense and Justice Department records, represents the fourth and final ìtrancheî of the Clinton Administrationís special Chile Declassification Project ... The declassification includes 700 controversial CIA documents that the Directorate of Operations had refused to releaseórecords of U.S. covert operations between 1968 and 1975 to destabilize the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende and, after the violent 1973 coup, to bolster the military regime of Augusto Pinochet."
    See also NSA's Chile Documentation Project - (dead link).
  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation Database, 1945-1990 - (dead link)
    "...provides access to the documentary record of the nuclear activities and policy process of the U.S. government from the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki through the IAEA inspections of the Iraqi nuclear program. The collection consists of 2,651 catalogued primary source documents totaling approximately 14,000 pages. The documents cover four aspects of policy over three policy making periods."
  • The US and the Genocide in Rwanda 1994
    Evidence of Inaction
    Edited by William Ferroggiaro (August 20, 2001)
    "...detailing how US policymakers chose to be ìbystandersî during the genocide that decimated Rwanda in 1994."

Hoover Institution Books Online - (dead link)
"The Hoover Institution publishes books on a wide range of national and international policy issues. These books may be purchased through the Hoover Press or read online here, where the PDF versions are available."

  • Our Brave New World: Essays on the Impact of September 11 - (dead link)
    Edited by Wladyslaw Pleszczynski, 2002.

International Crime Threat Assessment
"This Global assessment was prepared by a US Government interagency working group in support of and pursuant to the President's International Crime Control Strategy."

Iraq - See my separate Iraq Studies page.

Library of Congress - American Memory

Los Angeles Times

National Pubic Radio (NPR) - Fresh Air Online

  • Listen to Joseph Cirincione (April 1, 2003)
    "He specializes in defense and proliferation issues at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He is senior associate and director of the Non-Proliferation Project. He will discuss the evolution of the Bush administration's policy toward Iraq. Its origins begin with a small group of influential officials and experts in Washington, D.C., who were calling for regime change in Iraq long before Sept. 11, 2001."
  • Listen to William Kristol (April 1, 2003)
    "He is editor of the conservative magazine, The Weekly Standard. He also chairs the neo-conservative think tank, Project for the New American Century. He is one of the architects of the blueprint for regime change found in the document 'Rebuilding America's Defenses: Strategies, Forces and Resources for a New Century.'"

The National Security Archive - U.S. Japan Project - (dead link)
Diplomatic, Security, and Economic Relations Since 1960
A main aim is "Securing declassification of key U.S. government records pertaining to U.S.-Japanese relations to serve as the basis of a comprehensive edited collection of key declassified documents detailing the making of U.S. policy towards Japan since 1960."
- George Washington University

Newsweek - The Arrogant Empire
Cover story, March 24, 2003.
"America's unprecedented power scares the world, and the Bush administration has only made it worse. How we got here-and what we can do about it."

Office of the Historian
Publishes the official documentary history of U.S. foreign policy and provides historical research and advice for the Department of State.

PBS - Frontline - Kim's Nuclear Gamble (April 2003)
"Examining the highly unstable relationship between the U.S. and North Korea and how it has brought the world to the brink of a nuclear showdown."
Sections include: Analysis: The Crisis ; Who Are the North Koreans? ; Chronology ; The North's Nuclear Capability ; Interviews ; Readings & Links ; Producer's Chat ; Teacher's Guide ; Tapes & Transcripts ; Press Reaction.

The PEW Forum on Religion & Public Life

  • Liberty and Power: A Dialogue on Religion and U.S. Foreign Policy
    Discussion held October 15, 2004.
    Speakers include: J. Bryan Hehir, Harvard University, Walter Russell Mead, Council on Foreign Relations, Louise Richardson, Harvard University, Shibley Telhami University of Maryland. Moderator: E.J. Dionne, Jr., The Brookings Institution.

The Project Against the Present Danger
Standing in Defense of International Law, International Cooperation, and Multilateralism
Analysis and New Commentary from Foreign Policy In Focus (FPIF)

Project for the New American Century (PNAC)
"...is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to a few fundamental propositions: that American leadership is good both for America and for the world; that such leadership requires military strength, diplomatic energy and commitment to moral principle; and that too few political leaders today are making the case for global leadership...It will also strive to rally support for a vigorous and principled policy of American international involvement and to stimulate useful public debate on foreign and defense policy and America's role in the world."

["The founding members included Vice-President Dick Cheney; Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld; Paul Wolfowitz of the Defence Department; Richard Perle, head of the defence advisory board; Louis Libby, Cheney's chief of staff; John Bolton, undersecretary of state for arms control; and Elliot Cohen of the defence policy board." - From CBC News Online - (dead link), March 17, 2003]

Public Diplomacy Forum - (dead link)
"...a foreign affairs resource of the United States Information Agency (USIA). The PDForum is designed to provide internet users with current information about USIA's work and the issues of public and citizen diplomacy."

RAND Publications (free online versions)

  • On "Other War": Lessons from Five Decades of RAND Counterinsurgency Research
    "The challenges posed by insurgency and instability have proved difficult to surmount. This difficulty may embolden future opponents to embrace insurgency in combating the United States. Both the current and future conduct of the war on terror demand that the United States improve its ability to conduct counterinsurgency (COIN) operations."
    By Austin Long, 2006.
  • A Fresh Start for Haiti?
    Charting Future U.S. Haitian Relations
    By James Dobbins, March 2004

Stanford University - Hoover Institution

The Sydney Morning Herald

  • War of Ideas - September 11 Five Years On
    Sections include: Afghanistan ; Iran ; Lebanon ; Iraq ; Palestinian Territories ; USA.
    "Paul McGeough visited some of these fractious regions to check on the progress of American-sponsored democracy, and to see how the battle of ideas is affecting the lives of the people in these countries."

[Thailand] Foreign Affairs
Published by the Council on Foreign Relations

  • Toxic Thaksin
    "Summary: Elected in a landslide just last year, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was deposed last week in a bloodless overthrow organized by the military. Over the year his fall from grace had been steady and swift, thanks to his abuse of power, repression of the opposition and Muslim minorities, and allegations of corruption. Still, argues Duncan McCargo of the University of Leeds, even if Thaksin deserved to go, the manner of his passing will endanger the country's democracy and stability."
    By Duncan McCargo, September 2006

U.S. International Trade Commission

  • "The Economic Impact of US Sanctions with Respect to Cuba" - (dead link) [.pdf]
U.S. National Intelligence Council

U.S. State Department

U.S.-China Security Review Commission - (dead link) "The U.S.ñChina Security Review Commission was created in the National Defense Authorization Act signed into law on October 30, 2000 (PL 106-398) (22 USC 7002)."

United States Institute of Peace

  • The Mighty and the Almighty: Religion's Role in International Affairs (Audio or Text)
    A dialogue between former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Professor Susan Thistlethwaite, October 5, 2006.
    "Given the increasing role of religion in international affairs, how should the U.S. government relate to religious communities and factor religious issues into policymaking?"

washingtonpost.com

  • A Course of 'Confident Action' (November 2002)
    "Bush Says Other Countries Will Follow Assertive U.S. in War on Terrorism"
    "This report is adapted from an interview for the book, 'Bush at War,' an inside account of the debate within the Bush administration that led to U.S. military action in Afghanistan and the decision to confront Iraqi President Saddam Hussein."
    By Bob Woodward

The Weekly Standard

  • Arab Democracy, American Ambivalence - (dead link)
    Will Bush's Rhetoric about Transforming the Middle East be Matched by American Deeds?
    Op-Ed, February 23, 2004.
    By Tamara Cofman Wittes, Saban Center for Middle East Policy

See also



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