Summary: The Brookings' Foreign Policy program released a set of 20 memos to the president, Big Bets and Black Swans: A Presidential Briefing Book, which both outlines these key issues and offers innovative policy recommendations that the administration might pursue. Brookings Foreign Policy experts have created a series of memos addressing "big bets"—policies in which the president should invest his power, time and prestige—and "black swans," the low probability, high-impact events that could derail the administration’s priorities. In response to these and a host of other international crises, the president can choose to place some “Big Bets” that could define his foreign policy over the next four years. However, a number of “Black Swans” –low probability, but high-impact events –may derail President Obama’s second term foreign policy agenda. Brookings’s Foreign Policy experts have released a set of 20 memos to the president—Big Bets and Black Swans: A Presidential Briefing Book—offering innovative policy recommendations that the administration might pursue.
The Project on U.S. Middle East Nonproliferation Strategy Mark Dubowitz, Orde Kittrie, David Albright (ISIS), Leonard Spector (Monterey), and Michael Yaffe (NDU) 16 January 2013
Summary: It is imperative for the United States to develop and implement a comprehensive nonproliferation strategy for the Middle East (defined by this report to include North Africa). Factors lending urgency to this need include the threat of proliferation in and by Iran, the vulnerable Syrian chemical arsenal, the challenges and opportunities posed by the Arab revolutions, the relatively frequent prior use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the Middle East, several regional states already possessing WMD, and a tense and unstable regional security situation.
The U.S. government has in recent years invested considerable resources on intelligence community, diplomatic, military, and other nonproliferation efforts to detect, interdict, deter, and defend against proliferation in the Middle East. Relevant treaties; high-level diplomatic initiatives; U.N. Security Council, coalition, and unilateral sanctions; strategic trade controls; and military measures (both defensive and, potentially, offensive), are all in play. Intelligence capabilities of the United States and its allies are an instrument of crucial, crosscutting importance, providing both essential knowledge regarding activities of concern and tools for disrupting them. This report reviews these nonproliferation efforts in light of the paradigm shifts sweeping the region and recommends a comprehensive set of improvements, adjustments, and innovations designed to maximize U.S. (and allied) effectiveness in achieving these nonproliferation goals in the evolving Middle East.
These U.S. nonproliferation efforts in the Middle East have been complemented by a set of poorly funded (and sometimes uncoordinated) collaborative and cooperative programs to promote nonproliferation norms and practices among Middle Eastern governments, civil society, and other local partners. Obstacles to spending Department of Defense funds on such cooperative threat reduction and related efforts in the Middle East were recently removed, permitting significantly expanded U.S. activities in this sphere. The report therefore also includes a comprehensive set of recommendations for how the United States can and should more effectively assist Middle Eastern governments and other local partners to develop their own nonproliferation capacities, cultivate a culture of nonproliferation responsibility, and enhance regional cooperation on nonproliferation issues.
Summary: Whether you are an NGO active on human rights at local or regional level, wandering through the complex maze of EU and its obscure machinery, this guide is designed as an excellent tool that will navigate you through the latest developments in the EU sphere and is jam-packed with useful tips to help you make the changes that really matter to you. Written in clear and simple language, our guide brings to you every EU tool available, and helps you spot the most appropriate actors for the type of action you are planning to take. This guide comes with a toolkit that provides you with a compilation of good practices showcasing how other NGOs have achieved the desired impact. This manual lists the challenges commonly faced by local NGOs face, often feeling alienated from decision-making processes. Our guide offers valuable tips on how to make optimal use of the EU missions in their respective countries.
Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) IAI Working Papers 1301 Cecilia Emma Sottilotta January 2013
Summary: History abounds with instances in which Western countries have pursued policies supporting authoritarian regimes, while lukewarmly investing in democracy promotion. The EU and US attitudes vis-à-vis the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region has followed this pattern. By looking at political discourse and practice, this paper explores the conceptual loopholes into which Western policymakers have often fallen when choosing stability over democracy in the southern Mediterranean region. This paper focuses on US and EU attitudes towards MENA countries before and after the start of the Arab Spring with the goal of reappraising mainstream approaches to political stability amongst both governmental and non-governmental actors.
