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Transition 2005
In the March/April 2005 Issue

In Memoriam

George Frost Kennan
Photo: CFR archive (undated)

George Frost Kennan

Feb. 16, 1904 — Mar. 17, 2005

Diplomat, Scholar, Friend

July 1947
The Sources of Soviet Conduct
July 1977
Containment: A Reassessment
Spring 1987
Containment 40 Years Later: Containment Then and Now
 
More selected writings  >>

Taking on Tehran
If Washington wants to derail Iran's nuclear program, it must take advantage of a split in Tehran between hard-liners, who care mostly about security, and pragmatists, who want to fix Iran's ailing economy. By promising strong rewards for compliance and severe penalties for defiance, Washington can strengthen the pragmatists' case that Tehran should choose butter over bombs.


The Overstretch Myth
The United States' current account deficit and foreign debt are not dire threats to its global position, as would-be Cassandras warn. U.S. power is firmly grounded on economic superiority and financial stability that will not end soon.


The Choice
Jared Diamond's Collapse is a catalog of past environmental ruin. But despite the abundance of bad news, its message is one of cautious optimism: if modern society can learn from the failures of its predecessors, it can avoid their fate.


Red-Handed
Mitchell Reiss, Robert Gallucci, and Richard Garwin allege that in questioning the Bush administration's case against North Korea, Selig Harrison misstated the facts; Harrison responds.

Complete March/April Table of Contents

Background on the News

Hezbollah's Dilemma

Posted April 13, 2005

As an increasing number of Lebanese have been pushing for Syria to end its occupation of their country, Hezbollah has found itself caught between the demands of its patron in Damascus and the necessities of domestic politics in Beirut. The Party of God, long both a revolutionary terrorist group and a Lebanese political and social movement, may be forced to choose a single identity once and for all. . . .
Read More

Proud to Be a North American

Posted March 30, 2005

Last week, the leaders of the United States, Canada, and Mexico committed their nations to an extension of NAFTA called the North American Alliance for Prosperity and Security. The leaders' pledge for greater cooperation in a range of different areas could be an important step toward a true North American community. . . .
Read More

Is Palestine the Pivot?

Posted March 16, 2005

Does the Bush administration deserve credit for the recent democratic flowering in the Middle East? Writing in Foreign Affairs two years ago, Princeton University's Michael Scott Doran argued against those who claimed that the Palestinian issue was the crucial pivot on which Middle Eastern events turned. . . .
Read More

Pharaoh Blinks?

Posted March 2, 2005

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced last week that for the first time in the country's history, the next presidential elections would be open to candidates from several different parties. Given Mubarak's 23 years of soft authoritarian rule, the statement came as a surprise and might constitute a first step toward democratic reform. Or it might not. . . .
Read More

More of Background on the News

Academic Resource Program

Foreign Affairs' Academic Resource Program offers a variety of materials to enhance the educational experience.

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Foreign Affairs Books

Current Bestsellers

Posted April 1, 2005

The topselling books on international affairs based on national sales at Barnes & Noble stores and barnesandnoble.com.

  1. Collapse
  2. China, Inc.
  3. The Case for Democracy

Complete list

Browse by Topic


Africa
The Americas
Asia
Europe
Middle East
Russia, CIS, & Central Asia
More topics . . .

Books

Book Review Essay

March/April 2005

The Choice
by Donald Kennedy

The Year in Books

April 2005

Each month a different member of our distinguished panel of book reviewers recommends the best books discussed in Foreign Affairs in the past year. For April 2005, L. Carl Brown gives his picks for the best books on the Middle East.
Read

Outstanding New Books

March/April 2005

Plaudits from our book review panel in the March/April issue of Foreign Affairs.
Read

• ISRAEL/PALESTINE: Who are the key Israeli and Palestinian political leaders?
Q&A | April 11, 2005

• IRAQ: Nathan Brown, an expert on Arab politics, says Iraq's new government probably won't make an August 15 deadline for drafting a new constitution.
Interview | April 7, 2005

• IRAQ: How much influence will ex-Baathists have in the new Iraqi government?
Q&A | April 7, 2005


Learn more about foreign policy in the second Bush administration at the Council on Foreign Relations Transition 2005 Web site.

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