In the Issue

• The Hardheaded Case for Human Security
• A New President's Plan for the US Military
• Lessons From the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
• Russia's Population Crisis
• Burma 101

Features

The Hardheaded Case for Human Security. The next president of the United States has a choice between isolationism and cooperative engagement on human security issues according to Richard Gowan. "The next US president will be in a position to create momentum on human security," says the research associate and program coordinator at the Center on International Cooperation at New York University. Learn more about why Gowan feels that US foreign policy should not just be about defending its national interests but also protecting vulnerable people worldwide.

A New President's Plan for the US Military. What will America's Army and Marine Corps look like in 2020? Is bigger really better, or can the existing force be reshaped for the irregular warfare and stability operations it will likely face in the future? Outside of their thoughts on Iraq, the 2008 presidential candidates have yet to have a substantive debate about restructuring America's ground force. A new policy analysis brief from the Stanley Foundation by Frank Hoffman and Steven Metz lays out why this issue must be addressed and offers three options to restructure the force.  It's a useful resource by which to measure the ideas of those vying to become the next commander in chief.

Lessons From the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. After years of indifference to the spread of nuclear weapons, multilateral negotiations in the 1960s brought the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Stanley Foundation Executive Vice President Jeffrey G. Martin looks at how controlling the proliferation of nuclear weapons is one of the great achievements of multilateral diplomacy while at the same time it provides an object lesson in the need to guard against complacency and adjust to the shifting global political landscape of the 21st century. This is the third in a series of articles written by foundation staff that examines the cases where principled multilateralism has been successful.

Beyond the Headlines

Russia's Population Crisis. With all the warnings against overpopulation and the rapid depletion of natural resources, Russia, the largest country in the world, faces an almost opposite concern: the fear that it will soon not have enough people to control and maintain itself. With a population density of only 22 persons per square mile, Russia is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world; and with a negative growth rate of 0.5 percent annually, Russia's population is declining by about 750,000 to 800,000 people per year. President Vladimir Putin focused on the population decline in his 2006 address to the nation, and the government has implemented several measures to try to reverse the trend, such as subsidies for families who have more than one child and even extra time off of work for couples to try to reproduce. Still, most experts point out that the main problem is not the birth rate, but the death rate. While the fertility rate is low at 1.39 children born per woman (below the replacement rate of 2.1), it is estimated that there are more abortions than live births in the country, and the death rate has skyrocketed, due to poor living conditions and extremely high levels of substance abuse, traffic accidents, and suicide. The average life expectancy for a Russian male is now only 59 years; and while some deny that this decline is actually problematic, the Russian government continues to look for ways to increase its population, while international bodies such as the WHO have called on the Russian government to seriously consider the health of its current citizens and to look for ways to improve health care and lifestyle choices in the country.

Burma 101. The recent events in Burma have sent many to reexamine the global map. Burma, renamed Myanmar by the current junta regime, is an ethnically diverse country embedded in Southeast Asia. Ruled by Great Britain from the 1820s to 1948, the Burmese people gained independence through extensive efforts led by General Aung San. The 1947 Panglong Agreement sought to join the country’s ethnic populations, and recover from colonial divide and conquer politics that effectively shattered any sense of unified Burmese identity. However, constitutional unity did not last long. A 1962 coup d'état, staged under the auspices of a socialist revolution, overthrew constitutional efforts in the country, and marked the beginning of the desperate economic and political situation that spun Burma off the global map. The State Law and Order Restoration Council (now called the State Peace and Development Council) seized power after a 1988 uprising that protested the government's refusal to recognize the people's elected representative, Aung San Suu Kyi. Thousands were gunned down in the streets. Countless human rights violations have seared the country's history, and a steady erosion of the once-thriving economy has lead Burma into a desperate situation. 

While ethnic divisions fracture Burmese history, a popular observance of Theravada unifies it. According to the Burmese government, 89 percent of Burmese observe this ancient sect of Buddhism, which promotes spiritual understanding through critical internal examination rather than unquestioned faith. This extraordinary reverence fuels Burmese clergy with a tremendous social and political power, unique in comparison to many other countries. Many rally in hope that this power, in hand with international pressure, will be enough to stop the terror gripping Burma.