The US Approach toward Islamic Militancy: Current Policies in Historical Perspective
Following the events of 9/11, the US declared a global war on terror and a new strategy based on preemption for defeating Muslim extremism and terrorism. However, the new US strategy so far has not been more successful than earlier strategies in combating either Muslim extremism or international terrorism. Arguably, it may even have contributed to the strengthening of the appeal of Islamic extremism and certain terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda. The principal reason for this lack of success has been the historically inconsistent and contradictory approach of the US to dealing with the problem of Muslim militancy and its manipulation of it for short-term objectives.
Islam in Russia: The Politics of Identity and Security
Foreword, Ambassador James F. Collins Part I. Islam in Russia, Past and Present: An Overview 1. Islam in Russia: The Historical Background 2. Islam in Post-Soviet Russia: A Demographic, Geographic, Institutional, Socio-Economic, Ideological, and Political Profile Part II, Identity Politics in the Russian Federation: The Islamic Factor 3. The Evolution of Russia's Post-Soviet National Identity: The Impact of the Islamic Factor 4. The Evolution of Russian Federalism: The Islamic Factor 5. Democratization and Multi-Party Politics in Post-Soviet Russia Part III. Russia and Islam: The Islamic Factor in Russia's External Relations 6. The Evolution of Russia's Foreign Policy Perspectives in the Post-Soviet Era 7. The Role of Islam in Shaping Russia's Post-Soviet External Relations 8. Russian Policy Toward Central Asia and the Transcaucasus 9. Russia's Relations with the Northern Tier Countries 10. Russia's Relations with the Arab World and the Balkans 11. Russian-Western Relations Conclusion
The Roots of the Bush Doctrine: Power, Nationalism, and Democracy Promotion in U.S. Strategy
mocracy is central to the George W. Bush administration’s prosecution of both the war on terrorism and its overall grand strategy, in which it is assumed that U.S. political and security interests are advanced by the spread of liberal political institutions and values abroad. In an approach variously characterized as “democratic realism,” “national security liberalism,” “democratic globalism,” and “messianic universalism,” the Bush administration’s national security policy has centered on the direct application of U.S. military and political power to promote democracy in strategic areas. In a summer 2004 interview, Bush expressed his “deep desire to spread liberty around the world as a way to help secure [the United States] in the long-run.”1 According to Bush, “As in Europe, as in Asia, as in every region of the world, the advance of freedom leads to peace.”2 This generic statement of cause and effect is also applied speciacally to terrorism: “democracy and reform will make [Middle Eastern states] stronger and more stable, and make the world more secure by undermining terrorism at its source.”3 More broadly, the Bush administration proposes a liberal international order grounded in U.S. military and political power; as its 2002 National Security Strategy (NSS) contends, the unparalleled U.S. position of primacy creates a “moment of opportunity to extend the beneats of freedom across the globe . . . [the United States] will actively work to bring the hope of democracy, development, free markets, and free trade to every corner of the world.” This view appears to be contingent on the belief that U.S. power is “the sole pillar upholding a liberal world order that is conducive to the principles [the United States] believes in.”4 The Roots of the Bush Doctrine