Political Theory Daily Review

[May 30] From Japan Focus, Reins of Liberation: An article on geopolitics and ethnopolitics of China, Central Asia and the Asia Pacific. They loom, desolately incandescent, over the city that was. Glowing spikes claw at the sky, reaching ever upward, wilfully ignorant of what lies beneath. This is modern Shanghai. From Defense News, an essay on US and Chinese nuclear and missile development, and the risk of accidental nuclear war. Why Japan won't save the whales: The Japanese government is expanding its whale catches and winning international support with pseudoscience. It's all about me: Have today's Japanese lost their empathy? Thomas Palley on how Japan fuels global financial instability. Buy American! China does. The Saudis too. Loaded with dollars, they are buying U.S. assets. Is that good? A review of The Emerging Markets Century by Antoine van Agtmael. Design that solves problems for the world’s poor: The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum is honoring inventors dedicated to helping the billions of people living on less than $2 a day. "Food Force", the world’s first humanitarian video game for children, is celebrating the launch of three new language versions. From The Economist, a question of life and death: The struggle between “pro-choice” and “pro-life” forces around the world. Johann Hari on the tricky question of Gordon Brown's God. The New Alliance, a new political party challenging the role of religion in public life, has been an instant hit in Denmark. The pope's half-hearted apology to indigenous groups in the Americas shows he has a long way to go in understanding history. For a man with such strong convictions, Pope Benedict has shown a surprising penchant for verbal missteps. Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to expand permission to use the pre-1960s Latin Mass will be hyped beyond all recognition, because doing so serves the purposes of both conservatives and liberals within the church, as well as the press. A review of Full Circle: Death and Resurrection in Canadian Conservative Politics by Bob Plamondon (and an excerpt) pdf. An article on the perfect slogan for Toronto, coined by a citizen genius. They Came, They Toured, They Offended: It may be time to retire the term "ugly American". When it comes to tourists, bad manners may be a global phenomenon. To many critics, US embassies are like the US itself: remote, foreboding and impenetrable. Andrew J. Bacevich lost his son to a war he opposes. They were both doing our duty. From Public Opinion Pros, a special issue on terrorism and the media. A review of If They Only Listened to Us: What Women Voters Want Politicians to Hear by Melinda Henneberger. Hillary Clinton’s competence based campaign has been stealthily making progress. But two bios put her persona back in the spotlight. From New York, five teams compete to make Governors Island an urban paradise. Only one will survive; and The Vandalism Vandal: Who’s been splashing the city’s most prized graffiti? The hunt for the radical, young and possibly lovelorn conceptual-Marxist street-art supervillain. Howard Kurtz on Celeb Rag Shocker: Us's Exposé Exposé! And look out Paris, Britney: Perez is watching you

[May 29] From Ovi, an article on Levinas' challenge to the modern European identity (and part 2 and part 3). From Eurozine, an essay on the city as stage for social upheaval; and on fish 'n' freedom fries: On regeneration and other London Olympic myths. The French Correction Christopher Hitchens on how Bernard Kouchner, the principled new foreign minister, shows how much France has changed of late. From Logos, a series of articles on the Sudan crisis, including essays by Stephen Eric Bronner, Alex de Waal, and Douglas H. Johnson. Forget the handwringing over "genocide" in Darfur. What's happening in southern Sudan is enmeshed in a fight to control Sub-Saharan Africa's oil riches. Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka argues passionately for an end to fence-sitting over Darfur. A dearth of politics in booming Dubai: Rapid change, emphasis on business overshadow concerns on rights. A review of The Khyber Pass: A History of Empire and Invasion by Paddy Docherty. An interview with Sonali Kolhatkar, author of Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warlords, and the Propaganda of Silence. A review of A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini and The Kabul Beauty School: the art of friendship and freedom by Deborah Rodriguez. From the Journal of International Affairs, the untold story of the Iranian revolution is the slow economic decline of the country. A country that once boasted per capita income levels akin to Spain, now ranks ninety-seventh on the United Nations 2006 Human Development Index. Shirin Ebadi and Muhammad Sahimi on the follies of Bush's policy toward Iran. An interview with Benjamin Netanyahu on dealing with Iran. An interview with Ed Husain, author of The Islamist: Why I Joined Radical Islam in Britain, What I Saw Inside and Why I Left. A review of City of Oranges: An Intimate History of Arabs and Jews in Jaffa. A review of Law, Violence and Sovereignty Among West Bank Palestinians. Struggling with Zionism: Can a nationalist people be a light among the nations? A review of The Struggle of Democracy Against Terrorism: Lessons From the United States, the United Kingdom, and Israel. A review of The Power of Israel in the United States by James Petras. A review of The Occupation of Iraq: Winning the War, Losing the Peace. Gathering the Tribes: U.S. field commanders are finally beginning to tap the traditional networks that helped Saddam to stay in power. Laura Rozen on Kurdistan's man in Washington: Q ubad Talabani is one of those cultural anomalies who somehow seem like natural creatures of Washington. From GQ, War, A Love Story: Falling in love across enemy lines. It sounds like something out of a fairy tale. But nothing in war is simple. As this American soldier and his Iraqi wife found out, love in a war zone is difficult, it’s dangerous, and it really pisses off the brass. From Slate, Suffer the Children: Now that Bush has talked about our kids, can we ask about his? Bush the Neoliberal: George W. Bush is more liberal than you might think. From National Journal, a public's right to know? Recent political campaigns have had their share of mudslinging, but it is only going to get worse as the Internet and dirty politics collide. Noam Scheiber on populist poseur Fred Thompson. The conservative Free Republic purges Giuliani supporters from its website. And on The Paul Paradox: Can a libertarian only win by losing?

[May 28] From The Wilson Quarterly, Sam Rich on Africa's Village of Dreams: Sauri must be the luckiest village in Africa. "I thought I was lucky because I escaped": An impassioned talk by Mary Kayitesi Blewitt, the charity founder whose family was killed in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide. A review of The Invisible Cure: Africa, the West, and the Fight Against AIDS and 28 Stories of AIDS in Africa. From Reset, “Let Tariq Ramadan speak”: An interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali; an article on Ian Buruma, Euroislam and the Enlightenment fundamentalists: An international debate; an interview with Augustus Richard Norton, author of Hezbollah: A History; and Nixon in Egypt: If Richard Nixon were still President of the United States, would he enter into dialogue with the Muslim Brotherhood? An excerpt from Islamic Imperialism: A History. From Reason, an article on Liberal Lebanon: Worth saving, or the hell with it? A review of Once Upon a Country: A Palestinian Life by Sari Nusseibeh. From New Statesman, an article on Gaza, the jailed state: The world cannot afford to stand by while the Israeli army and Palestinian militias fight their unwinnable and bloody war. Already, al-Qaeda is exploiting any power vacuum. A review of Peace in the Promised Land: A Realist Scenario, ed. by Srdja Trifkovic. Israel's wasted victory: Six days of war followed by 40 years of misery. How can it ever end? From Logos, is there a new anti-Semitism? An interview with Raul Hilberg; and Lawrence Davidson on Israel's Palestine: Apartheid not Peace. A review of Resurrection and the Restoration of Israel: The Ultimate Victory of the God of Life. An essay on Turkey, Islam and Pope Benedict. Where every generation is first-generation: As Turks long established in Germany continue to find and marry spouses from the old country, assimilation and modernity are thwarted. Is this the making of a social crisis? The heirs of Turkey’s great secularist couldn’t join Europe. But Muslim reformers may. Europe must let Turkey in: It is in everyone's interest to welcome Ankara into the stagnant club of the EU. In Sarkoland: William Pfaff on the New France; and how long will Kouchner stay in his post? Is his appointment just a move by Sarkozy to destabilise the left ahead of parliamentary elections? Bernard-Henri Levy investigates. Switzerland's reputation as a haven of tolerance for immigrants has been undermined in recent weeks by calls for a ban on new minarets, a mysterious synagogue blaze and neo-Nazi threats. A review of A Tragedy of Errors: The government and misgovernment of Northern Ireland. And after Tony Blair's flawed mission to save the globe, a new pragmatism will dictate Gordon Brown's approach to war and terror

[Weekend] From The Economist, anxiously watching a different world: Climate and other changes draw new interest and new misunderstandings to the Canadian north. Global warming's boom town: A town in Greenland attracts rich green globetrotters. Mexico's arid north -- 54% of the nation's land surface -- is drying out and blowing away in the wind at an alarming rate as desertification transforms this always-hardscrabble terrain into an American Sahara. Fission: A look at how small states the Caribbean get smaller still. From TAP, for a Global FDA: If we're going to globalize the food we eat and wish to be safe, we need to get serious. A review of The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy. North Korea as the world's worst holiday destination: All the misery of Maoism with none of the redeeming features. A review of Charm Offensive: How China’s Soft Power Is Transforming the World, by Joshua Kurlantzick. An article on the language of Chinese soft power in the US. How can Americans understand China as it is — not as politicians and pundits prefer to depict it? (and part 2 and part 3 and part 4). A look at why Washington needs to embrace a new diplomatic geometry with China. A review of The China Fantasy: How Our Leaders Explain Away Chinese Repression and Charm Offensive: How China's Soft Power Is Transforming the World. From Desicritics, an article on Deconstructing Martha Nussbaum: The Hindu Right Revisited. From Open Democracy, Western variants of multiculturalism and secularism are being challenged by religious demands for public recognition of faith. Instead of reinventing the wheel, the world should learn from India. Europeans have gone cold on the idea of a European Constitution. Could they learn something from that other Asian peninsula? Gandhi’s ideals a model for Europe. Constitutional conundrums: The battle over the EU constitution is likely to be won by the minimalists. The argument for a written constitution in the United Kingdom in 2007 requires a sense of history and of the scale of the challenge. From The Spectator, Boris Johnson on the pursuit of happiness: "The real trouble is that our rulers are Puritans". The Soviet occupation of Austria, 1945-1955: While Austria did not fall within the direct sphere of Soviet influence during the postwar period, it was earmarked for heavy economic exploitation. Siegfried Beer summarizes new perspectives gained after the opening up of the Russian state archives. An interview with Tatiana Tolstaya, the great-grandniece of Leo Tolstoy, and one of Russia's most popular novelists and TV hosts: "Democracy has nearly disappeared in Russia". Whose side can we be on? The real story of the Chechen war defies simple good-versus-bad explanations. And judging from the tabloids, you can barely rollerskate along Miami Beach without tripping over a Russian pop star

[May 25] From Guernica, an interview with Stephen Kinzer, author of Overthrow: America’s Century of Regime Change; and first victims of freedom: An interview with Iraqi feminist Yanar Mohammed; an interview with Ali Allawi, author of The Occupation of Iraq: Winning the War, Losing the Peace. An interview with Yanar Mohammed, founder of the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq, on how Iraq is into “an Afghanistan under the Taliban, where oppression and discrimination of women is institutionalized". Who says American feminists have ignored the plight of Muslim women? Katha Pollitt wants to know. From The Nation, The Secret Air War in Iraq: Bombs from American planes are killing tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians, and no one in the mainstream media is talking about it; and Iraq has prompted the fastest-growing refugee crisis in the world, and it's threatening to destabilize the entire region. From The Washington Monthly, Democrats are right to push for an end to the Iraq war. But don't expect the troops to be grateful. "How a Democrat Can Get My Vote": Advice from seven recent war veterans. The Deja Vu to Avoid on Iraq: If any of the domestic political elements that led us to go into Iraq influence the fight over getting out of it, we're in trouble. From The Weekly Standard, liberal hawks, an endangered species: What Iraq has done to the interventionists of the Democratic party (and a response by Jon Chait). Ron Paul had a point: Non-interventionists have been remarkably prescient. So why are they still shunted to the fringe? From TNR, she may be a witless fool. She may be a partisan hack. But Monica Goodling gave the best testimony yet about the U.S. attorney firings. Corleones of the Right: Bush's choice for Consumer Product Safety Commission chief is from a family of right-wing hustlers. Wanted: A Liberal Dick Cheney: Why a progressive vice president should follow the Cheney model. Dancing With Ghosts: American politics plays with the dangers of permanent opposition. Our unfinished Constitution: After 220 years of the electoral college, it's time for Americans to elect their president directly. Thumpin' to Conclusions: Republicans are drawing all the wrong lessons from their midterm loss. An article on the surprising relevance of Ron Paul, the GOP's libertarian gadfly. The Ron Paul campaign hopes "Reading for Rudy" will educate Giuliani. A look at how missionary work trains Mormons to stump for Mitt. Can John McCain tell a joke? Michelle Cottle investigates. From GQ, an article on the Honorable, Enraged Man from Virginia, Senator Jim Webb: It’s been a busy few months for the straightest talker in DC. An interview with Bay Buchanan, author of The Extreme Makeover of Hillary (Rodham) Clinton. A review of A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton by Carl Bernstein and Her Way: The Hopes and Ambitions of Hillary Rodham Clinton by Jeff Gerth and Don Van Natta Jr. And you do what, exactly? If Hillary wins the White House, Bill becomes "First Gentleman". An expert on First Ladies explains just how that would work. A review of No Excuses: Concessions of a Serial Campaigner by Robert Shrum. And The Candidate Killers: There is one question that haunts every campaign. This is it

[May 24] Anil Hira (Simon Fraser): The World Is Round: A Real Plan to Solve Global Problems in this Generation. From TAP, the costs of UN peacekeeping missions across the globe have ballooned -- and, along with them, so have America's arrears. A vast swath of the Pacific, twice the size of Texas, is full of a plastic stew that is entering the food chain. Scientists say these toxins are causing obesity, infertility and worse. While the developed world deals with a "birth dearth," populations are exploding in developing nations. What the first world should do to help. Cracks in the Financial Foundation: The World Bank, the IMF and the WTO are now facing questions about their relevance in a global economy. How should the new and growing phenomenon of outward FDI from the South be assessed? Should South-South investment be promoted as an alternative to North-South investment flows? The Asian Development Bank has told itself it needs to change but can its slow-moving bureaucracy respond? A review of Aid Effectiveness in Africa: Developing Trust between Donors and Governments. From American Diplomacy, more on Dangerous Nation, by Robert Kagan. The most troublesome Mideast state has signaled its desire to deal with us. How should America respond to Iran. Whenever the administration shifts toward engagement, one figure is there to stop it. How Dick Cheney ensures diplomatic failure with Tehran. Resistance, not terror: An interview with the Grand Ayatollah Ahmed Alhasani al-Baghdadi of Iraq. Exit Stage Right: Phillip Carter on a step-by-step plan for withdrawing from Iraq. We have to stay in Iraq for a decade: Here's how to do it. The Politics of Intelligence: Bush made a dramatic announcement about bin Laden plans to attack the US. But some counterterrorism experts say it was just another selective leak, designed to bolster support for the war in Iraq. From TNR, Bob Shrum v. John Edwards: No one comes in for rougher treatment in the famed political consultant's forthcoming memoir, No Excuses, than his former client. No Democratic nominee will be immune to all of the GOP’s attacks. But it’s worth asking whether John Edwards is vulnerable to too many of them. If not money or looks, what else pre-determine the likelihood of success for a candidate attempting to woo today’s voters? Power to the people, 2.0: Barack Obama and John Edwards are boldly abandoning me-first campaigns for online "political movements". Howard Dean, anyone? John Zogby on Gore, Gingrich, Bloomberg scenarios in '08. And from The Politico, a look at why a Bloomberg run could matter, and why the Bloomberg fantasy won't come true

[May 23] From Prospect, there are worrying signs that the International Criminal Court's approach to justice may be jeopardising peace in Africa. Index on Censorship: Slavery 2007 is a salutary reminder of the presence of slavery. A review of The Door of No return: The History of Cape Coast Castle and the Atlantic Slave Trade. From National Geographic, the Niger Delta holds some of the world's richest oil deposits, yet Nigerians living there are poorer than ever, violence is rampant, and the land and water are fouled. What went wrong?; as Mumbai booms, the poor of its notorious Dharavi slum find themselves living in some of India's hottest real estate; how one supercharged province in China cranks out lightbulbs, buttons, and bra rings, as well as instant cities for the factory workers; and fences may make good neighbors, but the barriers dividing the U.S. and Mexico are proving much more complicated. From Vanity Fair, an excerpt from Are We Rome? The Fall of an Empire and the Fate of America. Give me back my legions! Cullen Murphy on Rome's most humiliating defeat -- and a lesson for America. From The Potomac, must we become the darkness? Don Thompson reminds us of Cicero's rules of law, and the very foundation of civilization so recently corrupted by Bush; Barry Frye on America's Cult of Simplification; and if one of us were to read "Stupidity Street" to President Bush today, he would first of all apply it to other nations and not to the US. Why Bush hasn't been impeached: Congress, the media and most of the American people have yet to turn decisively against Bush because to do so would be to turn against some part of themselves. Britain is losing Blair, but America is stuck with Bush, and that's because the British system is much better at getting rid of a discredited chief executive. From Government Executive, an article on how government's personnel issues are more complicated than they look. From Governing, the disability dilemma: Police officers and firefighters injured in the line of duty receive generous benefits. Can localities afford to keep paying for them? Protect government watchdogs from politics: Washington's in-house inspectors general often fall victim to the officials they investigate. Daniel Gross on the silly effort to stop senators and bureaucrats from trading on their inside knowledge. How can politics recapture the ability to inspire us? Hard action and clear choices? Polling the populace: Citizen surveys are an increasingly popular tool for soliciting feedback on policies, programs and priorities. From Public Opinion Pros, an excerpt from Questions & Answers in Attitude Surveys: Experiments on Question Form, Wording, and Context, by Howard Schuman and Stanley Presser; the public's lack of confidence in the press appears to be related to a superficial dissatisfaction with current political events, not a deep disaffection; and is the internet a boon for or a bane to democracy? Changes in the internet’s audience indicate that, contrary to the dark murmurings of some, this new technology may be a welcome development. And a political device goes corporate: Political veterans increasingly are taking their mastery of sophisticated new campaign techniques into the corporate world, though not all techniques will translate smoothly

[May 22] From H-Net, a review of The 'War on Terror' and the Framework of International Law. A review of Bad Men: Guantanamo Bay and the secret prisons. A review of Dangerous Nation by Robert Kagan. America, the world's arms pusher: No one is paying much attention to it, but our top export is the deadliest. The world as Shakespearean tragedy: Judging by the body count, modern global politics look headed for the bloody final act of a Bard tragedy. A review of The Atomic Bazaar: The Rise of the Nuclear Poor by William Langewiesche (and more and more and more and more and more and an excerpt). From Jewcy, should we bomb Iran? Michael Freund and Justin Raimondo hash it out. Across the divide: Iran, in its effort to become a regional and global power, is reaching out across the Sunni-Shi'ite divide, exhorting Muslims worldwide to tolerate their differences -- and march under one Islamic banner. David Remnick on why the Six-Day War is still being fought: A review of books. The professed goals of terrorists -- aspirations for equality or justice, for example -- may well be legitimate. However, the fact that terrorists act in isolation may actually set back their cause. A Shining Model of Wealth Without Liberty: The Iraq war isn't over, but one thing's already clear: China won. A review of The Occupation to Iraq: Winning the War, Losing the Peace by Ali A. Allawi. Lt. Gen. Douglas E. Lute of the Army will now oversee operations in Iraq and Afghanistan — the so-called war czar. But is it a title worth having? America wants progress reports. What’s lacking in Iraq is good information. Soldiers’ Stories: What fires up the journalists at Military Times is the vulnerability of the community they cover. Online, GOP is playing catch-up, as Democrats get an edge on the Web (and more by Jeff Jarvis). Hello, I’m a Democrat: Meet the netroots activists who have moved online and into political office. A review of The Thumpin': How Rahm Emanuel and the Democrats Learned to Be Ruthless and Ended the Republican Revolution by Neftali Bendavid. A review of No Retreat, No Surrender by Tom DeLay. From The Politico, here a user's guide to Gore fever. Another book, another slide show, another global rock concert — another run? Al Gore has big plans. Where are you, Dream Candidate? Dream candidates always look, well, dreamy. Until they decide to run. Nader Redux: Should Dems fear Mike Gravel? Thirty years ago, he put the Pentagon Papers into the Senate record. Now he's back with a presidential campaign—and a bid to end the war before the election. Should the libertarian Republican Ron Paul be kept out of the presidential debates? What Ron Paul said in this week's debate is utterly uncontroversial and true. If he was "blaming the victim" then he is in the company of many, many conservative pundits and intellectuals. And Land of the Giants: In the race for president, do the little people still matter?

[May 21] From Canada, the agony of the executioner: How a Parkdale man became the country's first official hangman – and was destroyed by it; and how come this great product is so hard to brand? Spacing magazine's Leah Sandals weighs in on slogans for selling Toronto. Though Hackney is officially the worst place to live in Britain, the people of Albion Drive are riding a property rollercoaster. A review of Littlejohn's Britain by Richard Littlejohnm and more on Loudmouth with an instinct for the jugular, and home truths. From LRB, Andrew O’Hagan on the garbage of England and the things we throw away. As the Labour party prepares to change leaders, David Kynaston traces its evolution from post-second world war austerity and alleged disconnection with ’ordinary people’ to the populism of Tony Blair. A review of Austerity Britain 1945-51 (and more). In his new book, A History of Modern Britain, Andrew Marr turns his own idiosyncratic eye on the quests and quirks that have shaped the nation (and more and more). Paul Johnson on London as the epicenter of capitalism. From CJR, Superiority Complex: An article on why the Brits think they’re better. For Better or Worse: Eric Rauchway on the special relationship, reconsidered. A review of By Hook or by Crook: a journey in search of English, by David Crystal. ˇViva el espańol! The Spanish language may soon have more native speakers than English. A review of Mixed Signals: U.S. Human Rights Policy and Latin America. How concrete channelled the American dream: A review of Panama Fever by Matthew Parker. Tourism or cocaine? Caribbean economies depend on tourism. So why aren't the nations to the north encouraging an honest way to make a buck? From The Nation, if we are ever to solve the Israel/Palestinian conflict, learning each other's historical narratives is surely the place to begin. Israel is facing a challenge it never expected when it captured East Jerusalem and reunited the city in the 1967 war: each year, Jerusalem’s population is becoming more Arab and less Jewish. An excerpt from Dark Hope Working for Peace in Israel and Palestine by David Shulman. Whose Israel question?A review of My Israel Question by Antony Loewenstein. The writing cure Living in a war zone, Israeli writer David Grossman turned away from recording the conflict in his work. But after his son was killed in the army, he found it was the only way to come to terms with his grief.The introduction to On Suicide Bombing by Talal Asad. More on Buda's Wagon: A Brief History of the Car Bomb. Are we likely to get terrorism betting markets anytime soon? If we really wanted to know the score on terrorism, we’d listen to the experts. And regicide's risk: Killing a leader doesn't always work

[Weekend 2e] From Frontline, a review of Masks of Empire. Is imperial liquidation possible for America? Chalmers Johnson on the Evil Empire. From National Journal, is the American era over? The sun hasn't set on the American era, but a surprising number of foreign affairs experts see the United States in a fading light; and Jonathan Rauch on how President Bush is resolute about the war, but he's delusional about how long America is willing to wait for that outcome. From Harper's, an interview with Marc Lynch on Iraq, the surge, and Al Qaeda. There is no insurgency in Iraq: The United States has been trying to win the hearts and minds of Iraqis. Iraq expert Stephen Biddle says that is the wrong strategy. There is no insurgency, he says. Instead, we need to focus on ending the civil war. A review of Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency in Iraq. If Iraq has taught us anything, it is that facts are slippery little creatures, even when published in The New York Times. From Foreign Service Journal, many in the Foreign Service may hope that things will get back to "normal" once the Iraq War is over. Don't count on it. What do Dick Cheney and Jimmy Carter have in common? Redeeming Cheney: How can Vice President Dick Cheney salvage his historical legacy? From Slate, the Icing is Iglesias: His firing is reason alone for Congress to impeach Gonzales. When special interests talk, politicians listen and the rest of us suffer. But why do politicians listen? "Special-interest" legislation is popular. Was Henry Kissinger right when he said, “Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac”? Dems are bringing sexy back. Thomas Schaller on why single women a sleeping giant for Democratic Party. Could an independent Bloomberg-Hagel presidential ticket have a chance? Would such a pairing pull more from Democrats or Republicans? Charlie Cook investigates. Rudy Giuliani has the potential to split the social and economic conservatives who have constituted the Republican Party's base since Ronald Reagan united them a quarter-century ago. The Sane Fringe Candidate: Meet John Cox, Republican candidate for president. John Dickerson on the stupid GOP effort to silence Ron Paul. From McSweeney's, here are the pros and cons of the top 20 Republican presidential candidates. The Fraudulent Fraud Squad: An article on the incredible, disappearing American Center for Voting Rights. From First Monday, an essay on election bloggers and the methods for determining political influence. Battle of the Blogosphere: Which blogs deliver politics as unusual? Cavanaugh vs. Gillespie debate. The Internet has turned campaign news more and more into one-liners, weird exchanges, jaw-dropping flubs and other arresting moments. And from The Politico, an article on Politics 2.0: The rise of the netizen

[Weekend] From Canada, the glass house is getting crowded: Why are so many MPs so fond of Neville Chamberlain?; an interview with Preston Manning, the former Reform leader, on what he thinks of Canada's new government; behind the razzle-dazzle, Expo '67 was a prototype for the kind of society Canada wanted to become, and by some measures it got there; a reviews Holding the Bully's Coat: Canada and the U.S. Empire; and civility and other such nonsense: In praise of well-meaning politicians saying increasingly crazy things. From Australia, a review of Detainee 002: The case of David Hicks, and a review of Rob Riley: An Aboriginal Leader’s Quest for Justice. An article on Fiji, 1987-2007: The story of four coups for 20 years. From Seven Oaks, a review of books on various Africas. African leaders recently chose Zimbabwe to chair the UN Commission on Sustainable Development: Why Africa won't rein in Mugabe. Economic freedom in Africa: Where has all the progress gone? A review of The Invisible Cure: AIDS in Africa by Helen Epstein (and more). Why Ethiopia parties like it's 1999: Well, because it is still 1999 according to the Julian calendar. The standoff between Anjouan's local authorities and the Comoros Union government remains unresolved. Upcoming elections and Comoran unity hang in the balance. An article on ideology in China: Confucius makes a comeback. Declassified Documents on the Malaysian riots of 1969 presents the view that 1969 race riots were instigated by ambitious Malay politicians. Now it seems the book will be banned by the government. From Radical Notes, an article on the growing revolt against disposability: New dimensions of resistance to corporate globalization in India. A review of In Quest of Jinnah, Jinnah: Creator of Pakistan, M. A. Jinnah and In Command of History: Churchill Fighting and Writing the Second World War. From Boston Review, a special section on Nukes, Democracy and Iran, including The View from Tehran: Akbar Ganji on changing Iran from within; Nuclear Freeze Hans Blix on the Middle East and global arms control; Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns on carrots and sticks; and Michael McFaul and Abbas Milani on how normalizing relations will help both sides. From Asia Times, an appeal for empire: A review of Theology of Discontent: The Ideological Foundation of the Islamic Revolution in Iran by Hamid Dabashi; and who will be the 21st century equivalent of Saladin, the greatest warrior of Islam? An interview with Augustus Richard Norton, author of Hezbollah: A Short History. An interview with Olivier Roy, author of Globalized Islam: The Search for a New Umma. From Open Democracy, a developed view of multiculturalism can complement democratic citizenship and nation-building. And darn it, and face up to the global village: Ever-more global communities are making increasingly strong claims on our lives over our immediate surroundings

[May 18] The Teflon Taoiseach: Bertie Ahern took office within weeks of Tony Blair and after 10 years toil, the pair have finally seen peace in Northern Ireland. Mr Blair is stepping down, but his opposite number in Dublin hopes for a second decade in power. What should Gordon Brown do to maximize the chances of Labour achieving a fourth term? Anthony Giddens has some ideas. How much is left of the left? Despite the lack of opposition to Gordon Brown, New Labour's roots are still shallow. A review of The Radical Right in Britain: Social Imperialism to the BNP. The super judge: Powerful French anti-terrorism judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere believes his country's tough justice system has much to offer other nations in fighting the war on terror. Sex, lies and politics, the French way: They're less prone to adultery than Americans but more forgiving when their politicians philander. A malaise-ridden France just elected the most pro-American president in its history. But Nicolas Sarkozy’s victory doesn’t mean the French are eager to see their socialist perks disappear in a flurry of Anglo-Saxon reforms. Friend or Faux? Olivier Roy on how Nicolas Sarkozy may not be what the French call a “libéral,” but he’s no neocon, either. Immanuel Wallerstein on France and the end of Gaullism. We want our Europe back! A comparison between the Berlin and the Rome Declarations. The burden of history: Its newest members offer the European Union some history lessons. America and Europe confront a new freeze in their relationship with Russia. Russia memorialized the victory over Nazi Germany, and Vladimir Putin raised his insults to the United States to a new level. Central Asia has long been squabbled over by outsiders. The latest manifestation of this old imperial “Great Game” is a proposed gas pipeline linking Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan with Russia. An article on the Asian giants' game of chess in Indian Ocean. An article on The Pat Buchanan of India. A map that does justice to the strangeness of the Cooch Behar enclave complex risks either to be too big or too small to show the intricacies of enclaves and counter-enclaves on both side of the Indian-Bangladeshi border. Did Pakistan's president provoke an ethnic war last weekend? A general state of disarray: A slaughter in Karachi, and a vengeful judge, are signs that Pervez Musharraf is struggling to remain in power. Anatol Lieven on why Pakistan must seek unity in the face of extremism. From Commentary, Norman Podhoretz on The Case for Bombing Iran. A look back at the day Iraq attacked America (accidentally?) twenty years ago. The Army's plan to professionalize Iraq's police could backfire, as militia-infiltrated squads become more effective killers. A truly national army? Iraq's Kurdish soldiers have been welcomed in parts of Baghdad. The Powder Keg Up North: Why Iraqi Kurdistan may be heading for deadly trouble -- and Kirkuk may be the flash point. An article on the risk of Turkish intervention in northern Iraq. Gangs of Iraq: Desperate to shore up its flagging ranks, the military is quietly enlisting thousands of active gang members and shipping them to Iraq. Will a brutal murder finally wake up the Pentagon. It's patriotic to criticize: Fred Kaplan on how our generals got so mediocre. Our government doesn't take care of its veterans. Steve Robinson does. And from TAC, this letter was sent to George Tenet by a group of former intelligence officers. Tenet reportedly received a $4 million advance for his new tell-all

[May 17] William Langewiesche’s The Atomic Bazaar: The Rise of the Nuclear Poor insightfully examines the perils created by the illicit and unstoppable spread of nuclear weapons to some of the world’s most volatile nations. From CRB, an article on China as a rising nuclear power. A look at why China relaxed blogger crackdown. How far can China remain inside the world and outside it, embrace the west's market economy, while rejecting its political ideas? What's your China fantasy: A debate between James Mann and David M. Lampton on the uncertain political future of the world’s most populous country. Did it really help to be a Japanese colony? An article on East Asian economic performance in historical perspective. A push to legally enshrine Buddhism as Thailand's official creed could inflame sectarian discord. A review of The Khyber Pass: A history of Empire and invasion by Paddy Docherty. The United States has spent $2bn creating an Afghan army that it hopes will prove an effective anti-Taliban force. Some of its members seem keen to fight, but it is not easy to get any of them out of bed in the morning. Her son's death on 9/11 spurred Sally Goodrich to do the one thing she knows best: educate. The beneficiaries of her grief became young girls in war-ravaged Afghanistan. The uses and limits of soft power: A review of Charm Offensive by Joshua Kurlantzick. Sunnis break with Al Qaeda: A split among the Sunni insurgency in Iraq is creating new allies for the Shiite-led government. When you look at the history of human warfare, civil wars always stand out: Wariness, not hatred, keeps civil wars raging. Sometimes in war, you can put a price on life: When soldiers at war run amok, prosecution is only the first step toward justice. Legitimate compensation and a real show of contrition must also be offered. It's our cage, too: Assertions that "torture works" may reassure a fearful public, but it is a false security. If the United States spreads its Middle Eastern disaster into Iran, it won't be the fault of George W. Bush alone – a Democratic Congress will share some of the blame. Fortunately, the legislative branch has effective options for stopping war before it starts. From Slate, Bushies Behaving Badly: An illustrated guide to GOP scandals. The Enterprising American: A look at Bush policy guru Karl Zinsmeister's dicy past. From ePluribus Media, an article on the GOP, GeorgeWBush.com and the line that jumped the Congressional firewall; and resurrecting Jim Crow: The erratic resume of the voting section chief, and more on dismantling voting rights enforcement. With Election Day registration, all qualified voters can participate in the vital American tradition of voting without finding themselves hampered by arbitrary registration deadlines. A red state in 2004, Florida's in play once again. From LA Weekly, a special issue on LA People 2007. And Los Angeles’ many cultures are testing Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa—and his style of politics

[May 16] A majority of people around the world favour strengthening the United Nations to increase its role in peacekeeping, fighting terror and in stopping nuclear proliferation, a new survey has found, and an interview with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Who will win in the 21st century? In the IMD's World Competitiveness Yearbook, the US came in first once again. But other nations are closing the gap. Farmers in Kenya, Burkina Faso and Senegal used to be able to make ends meet. Today they have trouble selling their goods because of subsidized exports from industrial nations that are sold in Africa at dumping prices. But will the West ever change? A review of Poisoned Wells: The Dirty Politics of African Oil by Nicholas Shaxson. An interview with John Ghazvinian, author of Untapped: The Scramble for Africa's Oil. From Foreign Policy, a look at the fast-growing faiths that are upending the old world order. An ability to absorb conflict: A review of India after Gandhi by Ramachandra Guha. Martha Nussbaum on The Clash Within: The frictions that erode democracies are not between civilizations, but within ourselves. The experience of India is instructive, and deeply worrisome. Is freedom failing? Peter Beinart investigates. An ominous arrest in Iran: The unjust detention of an Iranian-American academic shows Ahmadinejad to be his US antagonists' doppelganger. Shlomo Ben-Ami on America’s suicidal statecraft. What price slaughter? In New York and Jalalabad, human life is valued differently -- by the US government. Interventionism's Last Hold-Out: Kanan Makiya, the Iraqi exile who convinced many liberal interventionists to support the war, now stands alone in saying invasion was the right decision. Form Truthout, Dean Baker on the economic costs of the Iraq War. Blowing Off the War: Paul Waldman on how conservatives know virtually nothing about Iraq or the Walter Reed scandal if they get their news from right-wing media. But they do know that Democrats are to blame. While Republicans try to figure out how to end their war, Democrats should begin thinking about how to secure some peace. That means pursuing Mid-East diplomacy themselves. Branding the Democrats: Staring down the president on the firing of U.S. attorneys sends a message of Democratic toughness. And an interview with anti-war Republican Rep. Wayne Gilchrest on Iraq, the Bush administration, and the "dissolving" GOP

[May 30] From Mother Jones, a message to you, Rudy Giuliani: How the zero-tolerance policies of "America's Mayor" set us up for the Patriot Act and Guantanamo. A review of Ghost Plane: the inside story of the CIA’s secret rendition programme. Pearl's wisdom: A new film about the murder of the American journalist raises the question: why doesn't more mainstream culture delineate radical Islam? From TNR, who's afraid of Tariq Ramadan? Paul Berman reviews To Be a European Muslim; Islam, the West, and the Challenges of Modernity; Western Muslims and the Future of Islam; and In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad; the cult of the Washington whistle-blower: Whistle-blowing has become a full-fledged personal identity--a scene with its own specialized lawyers, therapists, 40-odd advocacy groups, a publishing imprint, swag, and even a timeless philosophy; and how energy independence threatens the environment: Bradford Plumer on how Big Coal cozied up to Democrats, and a look at how the Bushies killed the EPA's clean-up program. Robert J. Samuelson on The Case for Gouging: Higher gas prices may be the best way to slow global warming. Even supporters of alternative energy agree that the easiest way to cut carbon emissions and air pollution is to focus more on efficiency. When it comes to energy sources, nuclear fusion used to be the wallflower. But now, scientists are working to see if it could be a safe and environmentally-friendly way of producing electricity. How to turn global warming into a tourist attraction: Celebrities are flocking to a small town in Greenland – helping to accelerate the very climate-change process they've come to witness. From FT, Gideon Rachman on Obama and the comforting myth of political consensus. In defence of the rich, sort of: Criticising candidates who fight for the poor while enjoying a life of personal excess misses the reality of American politics. Ezra Klein on giving bigger government a chance: For too long, we've bought the idea that government has failed us. For the record, it isn’t until the fourth page of the introduction to his new memoir, No Excuses, that Robert Shrum begins making excuses. Party Unfaithful: Jeffrey Goldberg on the Republican implosion. The Conservative Mind: Peter Berkowitz on how the American right is a cauldron of debate; the left isn't. From 3:AM, The Last Revolution in Town: An interview with Christopher Hitchens on the death of that other religion: liberalism. A review of Our First Revolution: The Remarkable British Upheaval That Inspired America's Founding Fathers by Michael Barone. A review of Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr. A review of Blood and Thunder: An epic of the American West; Crazy Horse: A Lakota life; and Violence Over the Land: Indians and empires in the early American west. A review of Mencken: The American Iconoclast (and part 2). A review of Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. An interview with Thomas Mallon, author of Mrs. Paine’s Garage and the Murder of John F. Kennedy. From New York, Cramer vs. Cramer: “Why does everybody hate me?” The Wall Street maniac explains his critics, the market, and himself. A review of The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Frčres & Co. And from The Brookings Institution, an article on economic mobility: Is the American Dream alive and well?

[May 29] The New Establishment: How evangelicals became part of Washington's fabric. A review of The Jesus Machine: How James Dobson, Focus on the Family, and Evangelical America Are Winning the Culture War by Dan Gilgoff. The Young and the Restless: Monica Goodling is merely an emblem of the conservative legal establishment's strange youth culture--one that offers extraordinary opportunities to people at bizarrely young ages. The Goodling Girl: Emily Bazelon and Dahlia Lithwick on how Monica Goodling played the gender card and won. Justice by a Lower Standard: Here are lessons from the U.S. Attorneys scandal. From Logos, a review of The History of Human Rights: From Ancient Times to the Globalization Era. Niall Ferguson on reviving the evil empire: There is no such thing as the future. There are only futures, plural. Historians are supposed to confine themselves to the study of the past, but by drawing analogies between yesterday and today, they can sometimes suggest plausible tomorrows. Fascism and America: Comparisons between Nazi Germany and today's US government are glib, inaccurate and unworthy. Matthew Parris on why the trouble with democracy is that you just can’ t trust it. A counsel of despair: The age of empires and foreign intervention is over, said Eric Hobsbawm at Hay, and it is far from clear what will replace them. As the Bush era reaches an undignified end, marred by the Iraq war, Americans are doing what they do best: Chasing their next dream. Come in, it's safe: Claims that illegal immigrants threaten national security are based on a misunderstanding of both immigrants and security. Black culture itself is in trouble: The greatest obstacle to success for middle-class blacks is not white racism but the allure of hip-hop culture. Frank Furedi diagnoses something rotten in the trend to label political or cultural views as phobias that must be treated. In this era of political correctness, any hint of male/female differences often leads to roaring anger among the masses and, if possible, the firing of a powerful male a la Harvard's Larry Summers - - unless, of course, the said sex difference makes men look animalistic or ridiculous. Beware of the "on ramp" myth currently being peddled to unwitting women. The road back to a full-time career after taking time off to raise kids is far from smooth. Crisis pregnancy centers focus on the woman -- and stretch the truth -- to save the child. A

Political Theory Daily Review is no longer being updated. Please visit Bookforum.com for the best of what you need to know.
news room	town square	ivory tower