At last night’s Republican presidential debate on foreign policy, Paul Wolfowitz, former Deputy Secretary of Defense, put the candidates on the spot on development assistance. After last week’s floating of “zero-based” foreign assistance (and the media buzz that followed), it wasn’t clear what direction the debate would take, but, there was no repeat performance challenging [...]
With the GOP primary field apparently settled, several candidates are providing more details about their foreign policy views, with Mitt Romney delivering a major speech today and Jon Huntsman set to do so on Monday. In his remarks at the Citadel, Romney called for a future where, “America leads the free world and the free [...]
President Obama delivered a much anticipated address on U.S. policy in North Africa and the Middle East this afternoon, timing it to broadcast prime time in cities like Cairo and Damascus and to reach beyond just a U.S. audience. By giving his address at the State Department, President Obama underscored the leadership of American diplomacy [...]
As lawmakers debate additional budget cuts in exchange for raising the debt ceiling, there are a number of proposals that Congress is considering that could critically impact funding for smart power. Virtually all the budget cuts made this year have come from discretionary spending, programs funded annually through the Congressional appropriations process that include the [...]
President Obama announced changes to his national security senior leadership last week, prompting speculation about the impact on the smart power agenda moving forward. Here is an initial snapshot of the players. The most significant impact may not be who is coming in, but who is leaving. Secretary of Defense Bob Gates has been one [...]
A recent report from the Chinese State Council’s Information Office revealed that nearly half of China’s total foreign assistance went to African nations in 2009, calling attention once again to China as a potential competitor and alterative to U.S. and Western development donors. Visiting Beijing last week for a conference comparing China’s 2010 Defense White [...]
A new “national strategic narrative” written by two actively serving military officers* calls for the United States to reorient its national priorities and investments for the 21st century and move from a Cold War posture of “containment” to one of “sustainability.” Linking America’s security and prosperity to engagement with the world, the authors tie “smart [...]
Is Yemen the next Egypt or the next Afghanistan? In the wake of recent protests across North Africa, the debate on fragile states has re-emerged with new questions. The Bipartisan Policy Center recently released a report on Yemen highlighting the “smart power” challenges of fragile states. As the QDDR observed, fragile states pose a potential [...]
The problem isn’t that we are spending too much on promoting global development, strengthening our alliances, and dealing with global threats. Rather, we must do a better job communicating the actual size and importance of our International Affairs budget.
“Can U.S. foreign aid reform and a Republican-led House of Representatives coexist?” asks John Norris of the Center for American Progress. Where some see gridlock, Norris suggests the chances may actually be good. In a recent report, he points out that there is actually a good deal of common ground between President Obama’s Policy Directive [...]
