State Department Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review

Consultation Draft

The U.S. State Department, under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, planned its first-ever Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR). Its goal, as stated in this draft version obtained by the Washington Post, is "to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of State and USAID in delivering results for the American taxpayer, by modernizing their capabilities and aligning their efforts as core pillars of America’s civilian power". The report lays out strategies for U.S. foreign aid and diplomacy to function together.

Could She Reach the Top in 2012? You Betcha

“THE perception I had, anyway, was that we were on top of the world,” Sarah Palin said at theclimax of last Sunday’s premiere of her new television series, “Sarah Palin’s Alaska.” At thatpoint our fearless heroine had just completed a perilous rock climb, and if she looked as if she’djust stepped out of a spa instead, don’t expect her fans to question the reality. For them, Palin’sperception is the only reality that counts.

Europe and America, Aligned for the Future

With this week’s NATO and United States-European Union summit meetings in Lisbon, I am proud to have visited Europe a half-dozen times as president. This reflects an enduring truth of American foreign policy — our relationship with our European allies and partners is the cornerstone of our engagement with the world, and a catalyst for global cooperation.

NATO's Milestone Lisbon Summit

The upcoming NATO summit in Lisbon this weekend promises to be significantboth for an American-backed plan for withdrawing allied troops fromAfghanistan by the end of 2014 and for the presence of Russian President DmitryMedvedev. Medvedev's willingness to join the summit is an important moment,says Robert E. Hunter, U.S. ambassador to NATO from 1993 to 1998, signalingthat Russia is interested in playing "a positive role in the future of Europeansecurity" and might even join the new missile defense plan that's on the table.

The G20-Summit in Korea - Reactions from the U.S.

Abdication of Power

During the G20-Summit in Seoul the expectation was that global imbalances, currency values and financial regulation would bring leaders together to form a consensus on how best to move forward in the lasting global financial crisis. However, when world leaders failed to agree, declaring at the end of the summit that they would work to tackle global economic tensions and vulnerabilities, they heightened rather than lowered the fears of expanding currency wars and trade protectionism.

The Perils of Proximity

China-Japan Security Relations

Das chinesisch-japanische Verhältnis ist historisch gesehen ein sehr problematisches. Zwei Kriege haben die jüngere Geschichte der beiden Staaten und ihre Beziehung zueinander geprägt und beeinflussen noch immer die Politik der ehemaligen Rivalen.

Midterm Elections in den USA - Konfrontation oder Kooperation?

Zwei Jahre nach seinem glanzvollen Sieg bei den Präsidentenwahlen 2008 hat Präsident Barack Obama eine heftige Wahlniederlage einstecken müssen. Zwar stand sein Name auf keinem der Wahlzettel. Die Wähler haben diese Zwischenwahlen jedoch vor allem als eine Gelegenheit empfunden, dem Präsidenten eine Botschaft zu übermitteln: dass sie mit der aktuellen politischen und insbesondere wirtschaftlichen Situation des Landes höchst unzufrieden sind.

A Prelude to a Prologue-The U.S. and the G20 Summit

The G20 summit on November 11-12 in Seoul, South Korea, will be another attempt by political leaders, finance ministers, central bank governors and a number of international bodies such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, tohalt the current economic crisis, to secure a durable recovery, and subsequently to deliver strong, sustainable and balanced growth. But rising currency tensions in the recent months could overshadow every other topic on the agenda.

Portrait of an Election

AEI Political Report

Die Wahlmessungen im politischen Bericht enthalten auch die letzten Umfragewerte vor der Wahl im November. Bei der Kongressbewertung glänzen weder Demokraten noch Republikaner. Votings für Obama blieben das gesamte Jahr unterhalb der 50 Prozentmarke.

J Street und die Debatte über den Friedensprozeß im Nahen Osten

J Street ist eine „Advocacy Group“ in Washington, die vor allem wegen ihrer Position zur Rolle Israels im Friedensprozeß im Nahen Osten Aufmerksamkeit gewonnen hat. ... zum englischen Text des Länderberichts.