ROGUE/REPRESSIVE STATES
Spring 2004
"Neotrusteeship and the Problem of Weak States"
Journal Article, International Security, issue 4, volume 28
By James Fearon and David Laitin
As recent efforts in Bosnia, East Timor, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, and now Iraq attest, state building has become a growth industry. Even the Bush administration, once highly resistant to U.S. involvement in such missions, is now willing to engage in state-building projects based on the recognition that failed states and rogue regimes seeking weapons of mass destruction pose the main security threats to the international community.
October 2002
"Tunnel at the End of the Light: A Critique of US Counter-terrorist Grand Strategy"
Journal Article, Cambridge Review of International Affairs, issue 3, volume 15
By Ivan Arreguin-Toft, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2002-2009
"This essay introduces a theoretically grounded critique of US counterterrorist grand strategy in reaction to the destruction of the World Trade Center's twin towers in New York and a portion of the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on September 11th 2001."
Summer 2002
The New Nature of Nation-State Failure
Journal Article, Washington Quarterly, issue 3, volume 25
By Robert Rotberg, Director, Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution
Nation-states fail because they can no longer deliver positive political goods to their people.
Spring 2002
"The Need for Praxis: Bringing Policy Relevance Back In"
Journal Article, International Security, issue 4, volume 26
The author asks where political scientists and international relations scholars should turn to find answers to a variety of questions emerging from the attacks.
Spring 2002
"A Global Coalition against International Terrorism"
Journal Article, International Security, issue 4, volume 26
While noting that much of this burden will continue to fall on the United States (given its overwhelming military capabilities), the author cautions the U.S. leadership from going it alone. The breadth and depth of the terrorist threat, he argues, require a global coalition that can tackle the problem on a variety of fronts: political, economic, intelligence, and legal.
Fall 2001
"The Rise and Fall of the South African Bomb"
Journal Article, International Security, issue 2, volume 26
The author examines South Africa's decision to build nuclear weapons in the 1970s and 1980s and then the unprecedented decision to dismantle them in 1990–91.
Summer 2000
"The Banality of "Ethnic Conflict""
Journal Article, International Security, issue 1, volume 25
By John Mueller
The author considers some of the implications that the mischaracterization of much internal conflict as ethnic violence could have on future peacekeeping missions.
Spring 2000
"The Commitment Trap: Why the United States Should Not Use Nuclear Threats to Deter Biological and Chemical Weapon Attacks"
Journal Article, International Security, issue 4, volume 24
By Scott Sagan, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 1981-1982; Editorial Board Member, Quarterly Journal: International Security
The author examines Washington's "calculated ambiguity doctrine," which holds that the United States does not rule out the use of nuclear weapons in response to a chemical or biological weapons attack. The author argues that the risks associated with this doctrine outweigh the benefits.
Spring 2000
"The War for Kosovo: Serbia's Political-Military Strategy"
Journal Article, International Security, issue 4, volume 24
By Barry Posen, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 1979-1981; Former Associate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, 1995-2000; Editorial Board Member, Quarterly Journal: International Security
Questions continue to swirl around Slobodan Milosevic's decision to pit Serb troops against NATO forces in the 1999 battle over Kosovo. Given NATO's overwhelming military superiority, what motivated the Serb leader to reject the Rambouillet accords and to fight a war that, at least on the surface, Serbia stood no chance of winning? Moreover, why did Milosevic agree to negotiate an end to the war when he did? The author addresses both questions through the "lens of strategy."
Spring 2000
Kosovo and the Great Air Power Debate
Journal Article, International Security, issue 4, volume 24
