The Rule of Law

 

1.    THE DEATH OF THE MODERATE DEMOCRAT

       York, Byron

       National Review, vol. 58, no. 16, September 11, 2006, pp. 32-34

 

The moderate, centrist Democrat is a thing of the past, York writes. Rankings of how liberal Democrats are compared to how conservative Republicans are show that Democrats in recent years have moved farther to the left than Republicans have to the right. Sen. Joe Lieberman's loss to Ned Lamont in the Connecticut Democratic primary election is a sign to Democrats to move more to the left. Moderates were successful in helping Clinton get elected and re-elected but at the same time lost control of Congress. Now, the author writes, instead of trying to find a middle ground between Democrats and Republicans, Democrats instead have to find a middle ground between liberal factions and mainstream Democratic voters.

 

2.    THE GENEVA CONVENTIONS AND THE NEW WARS

       De Nevers, Renee

       Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 121, No. 3, Fall 2006, pp. 369-395

 

This article explores how the Geneva Conventions, adopted in 1949, apply to "new wars," such as the fight against terrorism, where those directly involved in fighting include non-traditional soldiers such as warlords, child soldiers and private security companies. The author argues that, although the nature of war and those who fight wars has changed dramatically since the conventions were adopted, the conventions should not be abandoned, but rather should address these changes. Applying the Geneva Conventions, she argues, will create greater international support for the U.S. war on terrorism because it will protect U.S. soldiers and citizens, garner multilateral support, and protect victims of war everywhere. "To ensure the cooperation that it needs to pursue terrorists, and to regain the high ground in this fight, the United States should lead the way...in creating a stronger framework to protect people from dangers they face in conflict zones and lawless societies," she writes.

 

3.    INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE TO PROMOTE INDEPENDENT MEDIA IN TRANSITION AND POST-CONFLICT SOCIETIES

      Kumar, Krishna 

      Democratization, Vol. 13, No. 4, August 2006, pp. 652-667

 

Recently, governments and NGOs have developed media assistance programs in transitional countries, assisting media with journalist and management training, financial backing, legal reform and institutional development. Kumar concludes that the programs have strengthened and expanded independent media outlets. Journalistic standards have improved vastly, while financial sustainability remains a struggle. Kumar concludes that governments should only assist media outlets that can sustain themselves without foreign support. He also argues that programs must be separate from public diplomacy efforts. If citizens or governments sense that foreign bodies are pushing ideology in the emerging media, the programs will backfire and the public will distrust the new media outlets. However, when public diplomacy and independent media coexist, both benefit, with new outlets creating a space for public diplomacy and diplomats generating content for journalists.

 

 4.    THE RIGHT TO RISE UP: PEOPLE POWER AND THE VIRTUES OF CIVIC DISRUPTION

       Ackerman, Peter; Duvall, Jack

       Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, vol. 30, no. 2, Summer 2006, pp. 33-42

 

The authors highlight the key elements of building successful, bottom-up popular democratic movements, which they regard as the most effective way to discredit and replace oppressive governments. Civic disruption -- the authors' preferred term for nonviolent resistance -- is behind 50 of 67 successful governmental transitions in the past 35 years. Effective movements require three elements -- unity of a wide spectrum of political groups and social communities; planning among the groups to probe, confuse, and outmaneuver the regime; and strong discipline among the opposition to prevent members from resorting to violence which will discourage support and providing the regime with justification for harsher crackdowns. While direct foreign involvement can harm a popular movement, the most valuable contribution that outsiders can make is to promote free exchange of information through the Internet and other means, giving such movements more and better information about best practices utilized elsewhere, thus enhancing their strategic planning options.

 

5.    ROVE 2.0

       Sinderbrand, Rebecca

       Washington Monthly, vol. 38, no. 9, September 2006, pp. 16-19

 

Just like his boss Virginia Senator George Allen, Republican campaign manager Dick Wadhams is in a make-or-break race, the author writes. Wadhams, who has only lost one race in nearly three decades of campaign management, is being considered by many as the "next Karl Rove." Wadhams is known to have taken "low blows to new heights, combining blistering verbal assaults, nasty wedge issues, and general loud-mouthing in an astonishingly effective manner," but furthermore has mastered how technology can be used in a campaign as evidence by the fact that his most effective innovations involved media manipulation. An Allen victory could make Wadhams an "unstoppable force", Sinderbrand argues, but a loss means that Democrats may have finally figured out how to beat the tough Republican campaign manager.

 

6.    UNDERSTANDING PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN AMERICAN COURTS

       Benesh, Sara C.

       Journal of Politics, vol. 68, no. 3, August 2006, pp. 697-707

 

The operation of the rule of law is the most fundamental requirement of government in a democracy, writes political scientist Benesh. Political philosophers debate what the rule of law is, how to protect it, and what requirements it demands, but there is agreement that institutions, or courts, within a democracy be charged with its keeping. In this article, Benesh addresses the critical importance of understanding what drives the public's support for courts and confidence in the justice system. Benesh's analysis shows that the American public understands the law and respects the court system. A highly educated individual with experience as a juror and a strong understanding of the court system who lives in a state where judges are appointed and the crime rate is low demonstrates the highest level of confidence in state courts. A person without much formal education who had been a defendant at least once in his or her life, who does not trust the institutions of government and who happens to live in a state with elected judges and a high crime rate has the lowest level of confidence. It is essential to consider what drives support for courts because, without a public constituency, courts could suffer greatly at the hands of those seeking to control them.

 

7.    WHO TURNED OUT THE ENLIGHTENMENT?

        Starobin, Paul

        National Journal, vol. 38, no. 30, July 29, 2006, pp. 20-26

 

These days, the author writes, scientific experimentation takes place in a climate of contention. The prospect of discovery appears not to thrill but to worry partisans, Starobin argues. For decades, both the left and the right have protested scientific work, as has big business lobbying groups. The scientific community has gotten involved in the political battles as well, Starobin points out. The author interviews scientists, including one who says America is moving away from the rational philosophy of the Enlightenment. Another scientist points out that while 70 percent of Americans think science can better their own lives, people tend to ignore science when science is viewed as conflicting with their values.

 

Economics and Trade

 

8.    THE COSTS OF BEING PUBLIC AFTER SARBANES-OXLEY: THE IRONY OF "GOING PRIVATE"

       Carney, William J.

       Emory Law Journal, vol. 55, no. 1, 2006, pp. 141-160

 

The author notes that the enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) in 2002 may be the act that took the regulation of corporate disclosure to the point where costs of compliance will clearly exceed its benefits for many corporations. He considers whether regulation has gone too far -- forcing honest businesses to consider abandoning public markets for less regulated private markets. He notes that returns on investment need to be considered for spending on fraud prevention. He argues that SOX will not prevent all -- or even most -- financial fraud. SOX creates more stringent accounting controls, he explains, but they do not really add new protections against the fraud committed by companies like Enron and WorldCom -- whose actions were already illegal. Carney analyzes the costs of compliance with SOX and shows an increasing number of public companies going private.

 

9.    THE GLOBAL IMPLICATIONS OF A DOLLAR COLLAPSE

       Brittan, Samuel

       International Economy, vol. 20, no. 3, Summer 2006, pp. 24-27

 

The author, a columnist with Financial Times, discusses the political and economic implications of a dollar collapse and describes possible scenarios. He says that if the dollar collapsed, one result could be an offsetting boost given to demand in the Euro area and in Asia. At the other extreme, the U.S. would be accused of deliberately weakening its own currency for domestic political reasons and some politicians could retaliate through protectionist barriers, attempts at competitive devaluation, or ill-conceived taxes on international capital movements. The most likely trigger for a dollar collapse would be that of the U.S. housing market, but such a drastic fall in the dollar's external value could well be the signal for Asian authorities to cease stockpiling assets and even start dumping them. If the world is experiencing excess demand, as the pressure on oil and commodity markets and the abundance of credit suggest, a modest recessionary movement in the U.S. might be good. Both the immediate economic prospects and the behavior of international interest rate differentials would be bearish for the dollar. It is an unfortunate aspect of both financial commentary and journalism that a five percent movement up or down in any key variable in one day would create huge excitement, whereas a much bigger movement spread gradually over a couple of months may hardly be noticed.

 

10.    THE IMF'S ROLE IN A POST-CONFLICT SITUATION

         Hagan, Sean

         Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law, vol. 38, no. 1, 2006, pp. 59-61

 

The author, a lawyer with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), notes that the IMF is often called upon to assist countries facing financial crises, often precipitated by a civil war or an international conflict. One serious issue that has arisen from such circumstances is the possibility that a sovereign debt of a country may become unsustainable, i.e. where there is no feasible set of macroeconomic policies that would enable the country to resolve its crisis. Care must be taken that such actions do not result in "odious debt," a doctrine that could have severe consequences for access by emerging market and developing countries to future financing. However, he notes, "odious debt" has not become a well-established principle under international law since there is concern that it will create considerable uncertainty in the international financial system. IMF has also established a financing facility specifically designed to assist member countries that emerging from conflict situations (Emergency Post-Conflict Assistance) and it provides a considerable amount of free technical assistance to its members that helps them develop a legal and institutional framework that supports the operation of a market economy, such as the Fund is doing now in Iraq.

 

11.    IPRs, TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

         Dolfsma, Wilfred

         Journal of Economic Issues, Vol. 150, No. 2, June 2006, pp. 333-342

 

Dolfsma says intellectual property rights (IPRs) have become increasingly prominent in debates and are almost unanimously deemed to favor economic development -- especially by policymakers in developed countries. It is acknowledged that some parties may benefit more from a system of IPRs than others, but some degree of improvement for all parties is the expected outcome, he writes. He analyzes the empirical and theoretical findings relevant to the question of IPRs' effect on technological development, and thus prospect for economic development. He concludes that the ideal levels of IPRs change as a country becomes more developed. For example, he notes that under today's IPRs Japan might not have had its strong electronics industry and the U.S. might not have had its strong film industry. Dolfsma asserts IPR systems need to be carefully designed to balance the needs for incentives for inventors, incentives for follow-on innovations, consumer benefits and economic development.

 

12.    IS THE UNITED STATES BANKRUPT?

         Kotlikoff, Laurence J.

         Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, vol. 88, no. 4, July/August 2006, pp. 235-249

 

The author, professor of economics at Boston University, points out that the U.S. has never defaulted on its debt, and its debt-to-GDP ratio is substantially lower than that of Japan or other developed Western democracies. However, he notes that analysis suggests that the U.S. "is, indeed, bankrupt, insofar as it will be unable to pay its creditors, who, in this context, are current and future generations to whom it has explicitly or implicitly promised future net payments of various kinds". In an article combining complex mathematical equations and readable layman's language, Kotlikoff expounds on the total U.S. fiscal gap, citing a U.S Treasury Department-sponsored study in 2002 that calculated the total U.S. debt at an eye-popping USD 65.9 trillion -- an amount five times the total U.S. GDP, and twice the size of national wealth. He notes that, in a few years, the 77 million "baby boomers", ages 41-59, will start collecting Social Security and health-care benefits from the next generation, an "onslaught of obligation" that the country has done little to prepare for. Apart from draconian tax increases and benefit cuts, Kotlikoff proposes to allow direct Chinese investment in the U.S. economy with their massive dollar reserves, and a radical overhaul of U.S. financial institutions -- a national retail sales tax, personalized Social Security accounts, and a budgeted universal health-care system.

 

13.    THE NEW ENERGY REALISTS

         Lugar, Richard G.

         National Interest, issue 83, Summer 2006, pp. 30-33

 

Senator Lugar, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, says today's energy realists are those who understand that without major changes in the way we get our energy, life in the U.S. will become increasingly difficult. In the coming decades, he explains, oil supplies will be stretched to the limit by economic growth in both the industrialized West and in large, rapidly growing economies. Geology and politics have created petro-superpowers that nearly monopolize the world's oil supply -- which make true "free market" price setting an impossibility, he adds. As economies increasingly compete for insufficient supplies of energy, writes the Senator, oil will become an even stronger magnet for corruption, conflict and military action than it already is. He recommends we should push alternative energy use, expand our energy partnerships abroad and understand that oil will remain an important energy source. Further, he notes, we must recognize that in an energy interdependent world, U.S. efforts to reduce its own petroleum use will not have maximum geopolitical impact if the oil we save is simply consumed by other countries. So, he concludes, the drive towards viable alternative energy sources needs to be a global effort.

 

14.    PANDER-NOMICS

         Roach, Stephen S.

         National Interest, issue 83, Summer 2006, pp. 92-95

 

Roach, chief economist for Morgan Stanley, says the election year political gains of catering to anti-trade constituencies runs counter to the macroeconomic needs of a domestic savings deficient U.S. economy. He discusses some protectionist legislation currently in Congress and notes that it would not fix the trade deficit problem, but it would discourage the trade and investment that allows the U.S. economy to grow despite the savings deficit. Roach is also disconcerted by the legislative tactic of transforming China into the "competitive enemy" or characterizing the United Arab Emirates (owner of Dubai Ports World) as a national security threat. These tactics inject distrust into the U.S.'s relationships with the international community, he laments, including some of its most important strategic relationships. As the political "fix" for the gaping U.S. trade deficit is increasingly at odds with the macroeconomic fix, the odds of a disruptive outcome for the U.S. and global economy are high and rising, concludes Roach.

 

Global Issues

 

15.    LEADING THE RENEWABLE ENERGY REVOLUTION

         Lewis, Joanna

         Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 7, No. 2, Summer/Fall 2006, pp. 147-154

 

The author, a senior international fellow at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change and adjunct professor at Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service, points out that "China is a particularly important place in which to examine the opportunities for renewable energy development due to the size of its current energy demand and its projected renewable energy market potential." Already a global leader in solar thermal technology manufacturing and in the production of small hydro and wind turbines, China also has growing solar photovoltaic (PV) and utility-scale wind turbine industries. The world's largest producer and user of coal and the second largest national emitter of carbon dioxide, China is investing in the development of renewable energy options. The most advanced renewable electric technologies have historically come from Europe, the United States, and Japan, but these countries risk losing market share if emerging manufacturers can successfully produce comparatively lower cost technology. Other countries should be watching closely as China's renewable markets start to mature.

 

16.    THE MESSENGER

         Bowen, Mark; Talbot, David

         Technology Review, vol. 109, no. 3, July/August 2006, pg. 38-43

 

James Hansen, director of NASA's climate research center, the Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, nearly single-handedly turned global warming into an international issue in 1988 when he told a group of reporters, after testifying before a Senate committee, that the greenhouse effect was already affecting climate. He continued over the years to predict the progress of global warming; earlier this year, the Bush Administration tried to silence him because Hansen's scientific views were in conflict with the political position on global warming. Hansen took this attempt to silence him to the New York Times and the television show 60 Minutes, propelling the global warming story into the headlines. The author, who wrote THIN ICE: UNLOCKING THE SECRETS OF CLIMATE IN THE WORLD'S HIGHEST MOUNTAINS, discusses the science behind Hansen's beliefs, and the ideas of Hansen and his team of experts for holding future temperatures below the danger level. It is "technically possible to avoid the grim 'business-as-usual' climate change," Hansen said in December 2005. "If an alternative scenario is practical, why are we not doing it?"

 

17.    STEM CELLS REBORN

         Singer, Emily

         Technology Review, vol. 109, no. 2, May/June 2006, pp. 58-65

 

In 2004, stem cell researcher Hwang Woo Suk of Seoul National University and colleagues claimed to have created patient-specific stem cells. In 2005, Hwang's research was shown to be fraudulent -- he and his team had created no cloned stem cell lines. Stem cell research suffered during the time Hwang had claimed his advances because many researchers stopped their work or lost their funding. Today, stem cell researchers are back at work; this article describes a range of stem cell research, including therapeutic cloning. Other researchers, rather than using stem cells as a form of therapy themselves, plan to use them to study specific diseases and test new treatments. This application will help scientists understand how any disease with a genetic component unfolds at the cellular level. Cloned stem cells might also provide a much more effective way to test drugs. Despite the possibilities, U.S. researchers are constrained by intense public scrutiny, an administration opposed to embryonic stem cell research, and a continuous struggle to get funding from private investors.

 

18.    WHAT KIND OF GENIUS ARE YOU?

         Pink, Daniel H.

         Wired, July 2006, pp. 148-153

 

University of Chicago Economics Professor David Galenson has developed a new theory that reveals the source code of the creative mind. He has spent decades in this research, and in so doing, providing living evidence of his own theory. Galenson has studied the lives and output of scores of great creative minds in many fields and found that genius comes in two forms -- conceptualism and experimentalism. Conceptualists make bold, dramatic leaps in their disciplines, and most do their breakthrough when they are young. Herman Melville and Orson Welles are examples. The experimental innovators proceed by a lifetime of trial and error and do much of their important work in their later years. Artists like Alfred Hitchcock and Mark Twain personify this creative style. The contrasting careers of painters Picasso and Cezanne also demonstrate the theory. Picasso worked well into his 90s, but the paintings he produced before he was 30 are those most widely recognized. Cezanne worked for decades to perfect his technique and the paintings he produced in the last years before his death at 67 are those most valued by the art world today.

 

Regional Security

 

19.    AGENCIES SEEK SEAMLESS NETWORK

         Magnuson, Stew

         National Defense, vol. 90, no. 626, January 2006, pp. 42-43

 

Just before 9/11, the Departments of Justice and Treasury signed a memorandum of understanding to create a joint communications system. The impetus for this agreement was replacement of the existing patchwork of federal, state and local communication systems with an integrated wireless network (IWN). The IWN is designed to both reduce costs and make communication more effective during major disasters. The Department of Homeland Security has since joined Justice and Treasury and IWN's long-term goal is to connect 80,000 officers from the three departments throughout the United States.

 

20.    THE CAUSE OF STRIFE IN THE U.S.-ROK ALLIANCE

         Kang, David C.

         Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, vol. 30, no. 2, Summer 2006, pp. 23-31

 

The past decade has seen a marked shift in East Asia's security conditions, yet the relationship between the United States and South Korea have not kept pace. While South Korea is fixated upon efforts to integrate its northern neighbor and develop a unified foreign policy, the United States views all developments in the region through its preoccupation with counterterrorism, proliferation, and homeland security. The author notes that "the day when the United States comprised 90 percent of South Korea's foreign policy focus are gone forever; South Korea -- and eventually a unified Korea -- will need to decide how it will redefine its relations with the United States as well as juggle competing interests with Japan and China."

 

21.    A DANGEROUS SEPARATION: THE SCHISM BETWEEN AMERICAN SOCIETY AND ITS MILITARY

         Wrona, Richard M.

         World Affairs, vol. 169, no. 1, Summer 2006, pp. 25-38

 

The author, an Army officer and instructor at the United States Military Academy, advocates universal military conscription as a means to mitigate the widening culture gap between the U.S. military and American society. Wrona provides an historical overview of American attitudes toward the military as well as polling data suggesting that military personnel see themselves as increasingly isolated, conservative, and moving away from their traditional apolitical role in society. These factors, combined with the increasing use of private military firms and the tendency for elected officials to use the military as backdrops for photo-ops. The best way to manage the civil-military gap, the author argues, is to narrow it by instituting a system of universal service, which would expose a wider segment of American society to military culture, and shift attitudes away from "rights" in favor of the "responsibilities" that underpin democratic societies.

 

22.    DECLARING VICTORY

         Fallows, James

         Atlantic Monthly, September 2006

 

Based on interviews with over 60 terrorism experts, the author concludes that while al-Qaeda is only a shadow of its pre-9/11 self, the terrorists can continue to harm the United States by goading it into actions that can harm its international standing, such as its continued presence in Iraq, its imprisonment of terrorists in Guantanamo, and ongoing domestic concerns about civil liberties. Because of al-Qaeda's own mistakes, and because of the things the United States and its allies have done right, al-Qaeda's ability to inflict direct damage in America or on Americans has been sharply reduced, leading the author to propose that the United States de-escalate its Global War on Terror by declaring victory and continuing counterterrorism efforts through a more low-key approach of alliance-building and targeted usage of its "hard" and "soft" power.

 

23.    GROWING OLD THE HARD WAY: CHINA, RUSSIA, INDIA

         Eberstadt, Nicholas

         Policy Review, April-May 2006, pp. 15-40

 

The author's mixture of economics and demographics paints an unhappy picture for these three large-population countries. Though all three face graying work forces, for each the worst news is different. Russia's population in 2025 "will be grayer than any population yet seen in human history," and will have to work in unprecedented fragile health, as the drop in life expectancy experienced since 1960 figures to continue. China's coercive reproduction control program will result in a relatively smaller working-age population between 2005 and 2025, which will have to support an "exploding" population of those 65 and older. Many areas of India face "rapid population aging on current levels of per capita output that are astonishingly low" by any international or historical benchmark. Moreover, by 2026 a third of Indians 25 years old or older could be illiterate, with no formal schooling.

 

24.    LESSONS OF THE KOREAN WAR FOR THE "SIX-PARTY TALKS"

         Holmes, James R.

         World Affairs, vol. 169, no. 1, Summer 2006, pp.3-24

 

Through a detailed case study of the negotiating process that ended the Korean War, the author illustrates what he considers key lessons to resolve today's nuclear standoff on the Korean peninsula. In both cases, North Korea, China, and the United States came to the table with vital interests at stake, but unlike in 1953, none of the negotiating parties today will be able to improve their bargaining position and undercut others -- the U.S. is averse to using military force, and North Korea has hardened its facilities and its regime remains firmly in control. Another key difference is that while China's support helped to sustain Pyongyang in the 1950s, particularly after Stalin's death, which helped during the Korean War negotiations, its influence on Kim Jong-Il today has been greatly exaggerated. Until North Korea's disastrous socioeconomic conditions threaten its regime, Holmes concludes, "The United States and its partners have few obvious options other than to keep North Korea hemmed in, encourage China to use such influence as it possesses, and pursue patient negotiations."

 

25.    SENSE AND SYMBOLISM: EUROPE TAKES ON HUMAN SECURITY

         Liotta, P. H.; Owen, Taylor

         Parameters, Vol. 36, No. 3, Autumn 2006, pp. 85-102

 

Liotta, executive director of the Pell Center (Newport, R.I.) for International Relations and Public Policy, and Taylor, a doctoral candidate at Oxford University, discuss the emergence of the concept of "human security" as contrasted with the more traditional concept of "national security," presenting their case through an analysis of recent policy statements by the European Union (A Secure Europe in a Better World) and the U.S. (National Security Strategy of the United States of America). While acknowledging that the term is not used in either of the documents, they state, "... the concept's principles, including the need to address and solve longer-term development issues ... are omnipresent." They also point to "a grand experiment in security architecture" involving the expansion and changing role of NATO, the Partnership for Peace, and the OSCE. "Europe has at least acknowledged the need to think, act, and organize differently to prepare for the future. Specifically, the EU security strategy stresses the necessity of 'effective multilateralism' and often acknowledges the crucial leadership roles of the United States in making this multilateralism both coherent and effective." Many questions remain concerning the security challenges of the future, "but at least the dialogue has begun."

 

U.S. Society and Values

 

26.    THE EVOLUTION OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

         Huntington, Tom

         American Legacy, vol. 12, no. 3, Fall 2006, pp. 46-50

 

"Over his long life the founding father slowly changed from an unabashed slaveholder to a true abolitionist," contends Huntington, who traces the contradictions and ambivalence in Franklin's attitude toward slavery in this detailed article. Ironically, Franklin himself had been an indentured apprentice; however, he was a man of his time with an eighteenth-century man's prejudices. While he never actively freed his slaves, he became president of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery and the Relief of the Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage in 1787, and, shortly before his death, wrote a satirical defense of slavery that pointedly exposed the injustice of Congress's refusal to accept an antislavery petition the society had presented.

 

27.    FIVE YEARS LATER -- MY KIND OF TOWN: NEW YORK, NEW YORK

         Hamill, Pete

         Smithsonian, vol. 37, no. 6, September 2006, pp. 26-28

 

As the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center approaches, veteran journalist Pete Hamill reports that his fellow New Yorkers have moved on. "The horror can rise again at odd moments ... and then the moment passes," he writes. In fact, he contends that in many ways the city is better than ever: the economy has recovered, people are more polite, race has become a less divisive issue, and the streets are safer. While not a perfect city -- many of the city's attractions are too expensive for ordinary citizens, for instance -- New York continues to thrive; and New Yorkers continue to exhibit the qualities that have always helped them survive: "optimism, irony, intelligence and laughter."

 

28.    GOD'S COUNTRY?

         Mead, Walter Russell

         Foreign Affairs, vol. 85, no. 5, September/October 2006, pp. 24-43

 

The author, the Henry Kissinger Senior Fellow for U. S. Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, explains why Venial Protestants are in the ascendancy now in the United States and reasons for this cyclical shift. He divides Protestantism, still the largest U. S. religion, into three main streams -- liberals, fundamentalists and evangelicals -- and describes the philosophies of the adherents of each group. He explains how the United States is a religiously pluralistic society and how U. S. religious politics is a coalition sport, i.e. that any single religious group must be able to cooperate with other groups, religious or not, to affect foreign policy; evangelicals, he suggests, have been able to do so. He sees little to fear, and much to applaud, in their ascendancy.

 

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