In the Issue

• Avoiding an Accidental Nuclear War
• Brazil and the Changing Global Order
• A Renewed Approach to Mideast Policy
• Summer 2008 Courier Now Available
• A Detente Between US and ICC?
• Notable Collaborations

Features

Avoiding an Accidental Nuclear War. Presidents Bush and Medvedev recently met for the first time at the G-8 summit in Japan. While their relationship appears to be off to a cordial start, it’s yet to be determined how they will work together on crucial global issues. Stanley Foundation Program Officer Matt Martin examines two areas of US-Russian nuclear policy that need to be addressed by the two leaders.

Brazil and the Changing Global Order. Across politics, economics, culture, military strength, and more, a new group of countries have growing influence over the future of the world. Brazil is one of nine countries that the Stanley Foundation sees as changing the global scene. Learn about its influential role in international affairs and the challenges it faces as a rising power. This article is part of a series related to the Stanley Foundation effort "Rising Powers: The New Global Reality."

A Renewed Approach to Mideast Policy. The United States is pursuing a national security strategy that assumes US opponents in the Middle East can be decisively broken and defeated through financial, military, and political isolation, eventually leading to regime change and wholesale transformations of the offending societies. This divide-and-weaken strategy has been the approach since 1992, across quite different administrations. Michael Kraig, director of policy analysis and dialogue at the Stanley Foundation, examines the delusions in which US policy has been rooted and suggests that an integrative approach to Middle East policy would better serve America’s interests. 

Summer 2008 Courier Now Available. Read about what six American journalists experienced in a recent trip to Mumbai, India, as part of the Stanley Foundation’s collaboration with the Reuters Foundation. This latest Courier also includes a preview of the foundation’s new radio documentary "Brazil Rising." An interview with Dr. Odair Goncalves, president of Brazil’s national nuclear energy center, is also included. Plus, in this issue: a report on how a historic St. Petersburg nuclear dialogue provided a rare opportunity for interaction with Russian scientists, and an argument against the US divide-and-conquer strategy in the Middle East. Read the full issue in HTML or PDF.

Beyond the Headlines

A Detente Between US and ICC? The roller coaster relationship between the United States and the International Criminal Court (ICC) continues. The treaty forming the International Criminal Court was adopted in 1998 with only a handful of countries (including the US) voting "no." But US President Bill Clinton signed the treaty in 2000, just days before leaving office. However, President George W. Bush "unsigned" the treaty in 2002. Since then, the US has sought bilateral agreements with dozens of countries preventing any ICC cooperation on matters of US interest. At the United Nations, the US has formally and informally stopped all measures that would give legitimacy to the ICC…until now. On June 16, the US played a key role in passing a UN Security Council statement calling on Sudan to "fully cooperate with the International Criminal Court" in regard to potential crimes in Darfur. "These days, it seems that the United States is finding the ICC to be a useful tool of international relations. I, for one, warmly welcome this detente between the United States and ICC," says Mark Leon Goldberg, a writer for UN Dispatch. This "detente" is likely to be a topic of discussion in Los Angeles on July 17 when the International Criminal Court Alliance marks the tenth anniversary of the ICC treaty with a discussion featuring a number of international law experts connected to the court and related international tribunals. More information on the public event is available here.

Notable Collaborations. In the past few weeks there has been some notable collaboration between nations in Asia and the Middle East, moving them beyond age-old disputes to new cooperative territory. After politely rebuffing dozens of international offers of assistance to help with its earthquake relief operation, China accepted Japanese aid for quake relief. Additionally, President Hu’s visit to Japan in May, the first by a Chinese head of state in a decade, was significant. Finally, Japan and China have also agreed to jointly develop gas deposits in the East China Sea, raising hopes for a breakthrough on one of the most contentious issues dividing the two most powerful nations in East Asia. In May, Qatar played a lead role in diplomacy and peacemaking. Qatar resolved a conflict between feuding Lebanese factions that was threatening to break out into another civil war. Also in the Middle East, Israel and Syria are "extremely satisfied," according to Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babaca, with a recent round of indirect peace talks. As a result, they will hold further talks this month in Turkey. For Qatar and Turkey to be successful in these mediator roles, a certain amount of trust and respect for them as regional powers was essential.