Showing papers in "Foreign Affairs in 2019"

ISIS Is Not a Terrorist Group

Abstract: An essay is presented on the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and U.S. counterterrorism. The author suggests that ISIS is not a terrorist group because of the group's large number of fighters and territorial acquisition. Emphasis is given to topics such as the connection between ISIS and the Al Qaeda network, the emergence of ISIS following the U.S. war in Iraq, counterinsurgency, and ISIS recruitment.

The Failure of Multiculturalism

Abstract: The article considers how the social policy of multiculturalism in Europe enacted in the 1980s has led to contemporary social problems and a rise in populist and right-leaning political parties. It explores how immigrants to Europe were encouraged to maintain their cultural identities as opposed to being expected to assimilate into the extant culture of their new countries. Topics considered include the shrinking size of the working class, racism and religious intolerance, national identity, and social identity.

Obama's Libya Debacle

Abstract: An essay is presented on U.S. military intervention in Libya during the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama. The author reflects on the devolution of Libya into a failed state following the death of dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi and the intervention of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Emphasis is given to topics such as human rights violations, the treatment of civilians under Qaddafi, and the growing threat of terrorism.

Reports of Belt and Road’s Death Are Greatly Exaggerated

Abstract: With the vast, ambitious investment project known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China meant to pull the world closer, making itself the political and economic center of gravity for more than 60 countries within the project’s sweep. But domestic and international opposition to the initiative has mounted in the five years since President Xi Jinping announced its start. Intellectuals within China [1] have expressed concerns about wasteful spending and overstretch. Several governments that were initially enthusiastic about Chinese investment have faced popular backlash to the terms of the loans and the potential for corruption. And the United States has recently joined countries in Europe and the Indo-Asia-Pacific region in an effort to counter the Chinese endeavor with an alternative investment scheme.

Blood for Soil: The Fatal Temptations of Ethnic Politics

Abstract: LARS-ERIK CEDERMAN is Professor of International Conflict Research at ETH Zurich. TH E N EW N A IO N A LISM the past. The rate of ethnic civil war has fallen, too. But now, ethnic nationalism is back with a vengeance. In 2016, British voters chose to leave the eu out of a belief that the postnational vision of that body undermined British sovereignty and threatened to overwhelm the United Kingdom with immigrants from Africa, the Middle East, and the less developed parts of Europe. Donald Trump won the White House that same year by tapping into fears that the United States was being invaded by Mexicans and Muslims. And in office, Trump has not only fanned the flames of ethnic nationalism; he has also denigrated and damaged the norms and institutions designed to save humankind from such forces. Other leaders around the world have eagerly embraced their own versions of ethnic nationalism. Across Europe, right-wing populist parties that oppose the eu and immigration have gained greater electoral shares. In Austria, Hungary, Italy, Norway, and Poland, among others, they even hold executive power. The brunt of ethnic nationalism has targeted migrants and other foreigners, but ethnic minorities that have long existed in countries have been on the receiving end of this wave, too, as illustrated by the resurgence of antiSemitism in Hungary and growing discrimination against the Roma in Italy. Brazil, India, Russia, and Turkey, once some of the most promising emerging democracies, have increasingly rejected liberal values. They are defining their governing ideology in narrowly ethnic terms and giving militants more room to attack those who do not belong to the dominant ethnic group. Ethnic nationalism Blood for Soil