2010-2011 PIPS Projects
For an electronic copy of the 2010-2011 PIPS Policy Briefs, please click here.
Multicultural Diplomacy: A New Approach to Embassy Outreach
By Bridget Carr
Since 2001, U.S. public diplomacy to the Arab world has largely focused on expanding access to U.S.friendly news stories and increasing exposure to American youth culture through traditional media. These efforts have largely failed and are viewed by many as propagandistic and culturally insensitive.
This brief proposes an alternative model for public diplomacy that promotes multiculturalism to help Arab immigrants in Europe integrate into their host societies. Building on current U.S. Embassy efforts in Paris, multicultural public diplomacy would involve cultural and educational initiatives that: (1) highlight and celebrate immigrant culture on its own merits and as it contributes to the host nation; (2) promote dialogue and mutual respect among communities; and (3) promote the benefits of democratic multiculturalism by highlighting the successes of minorities and immigrants in the United States. The goal of multicultural diplomacy is to engender positive feelings toward the United States among Arab immigrants – and, through those immigrants, their relatives in their home countries – by supporting much needed outreach initiatives that aid integration.
Energy Security through Wild Diatomic Microalgae Cultivation in Latin America
By Eleanor Hansen
Dependence on petroleum imports from a small clique of potentially unfriendly and unstable countries jeopardizes U.S. security by granting these nations unprecedented political leverage, draining U.S.financial resources, and funding international terrorism. U.S. alternative fuel policy has centered on the use of corn ethanol, a highly inefficient and costly biofuel. This brief proposes that the United States instead encourage the development of wild diatomic microalgae cultivation in Latin American through a pilot program in Panama. Wild algae have high oil content, are an easily cultivated, and place little strain on fresh water resources and arable land, while also cleansing water of pollutants. By developing a wide algae supplier base in the Americas, the United States can contribute to regional economic development and environmental quality, while also moving in the direction of energy security.
Building the Indian Counterweight: A U.S. – India Division of Labor in the Indian Ocean
By Lindsay Hundley
China’s rapid development of a blue water navy threatens U.S. access to the Indian Ocean, a region vital to commerce and energy security. To counter this threat, the United States has sought an alliance with India based on joint training and the sale of advanced weapons technology, facilitating India’s quest for sea control capability.
This brief argues that an Indian naval doctrine premised on sea control is shortsighted and undermines its ability to balance against China by accelerating a costly arms race. Instead, the United States and India should agree to an interim division of labor. The United States would provide the bulk of “bluewater – SLOC” maritime public goods in the Indian Ocean in the short-to-medium term. India, in turn, would focus on economic growth, leading regional efforts to secure the littorals, and develop the ability to impose cost effective sea denial at strategic chokepoints to deter any potential aggression. This proposed partnership is a proactive intermediate step for achieving long-term stability in the Indian Ocean by fostering the emergence of India as an economically and militarily robust counter to China through focusing and curtailing Indian naval expenditures in the near term.
Aerostats and Maritime Piracy: Providing Cost Effective Situational Awareness Off the Horn of Africa
By Robert Snyder
Widespread maritime piracy off the Horn of Africa constitutes a threat to international shipping and perpetuates instability in Somalia. The international community has judged this threat severe enough to deploy a multilateral naval coalition to the region. Current efforts, however, rely on inadequate and costly aerial surveillance to monitor a vast area, resulting in a relatively ineffective naval response to pirate attacks.
This brief proposes that the United States augment maritime situational awareness through the use of existing aerostat technology to deploy a low cost persistent radar surveillance network off the coast of Somalia. This maritime awareness network would provide real time tracking of shipping off the Somali coast and facilitate the identification of suspicious vessels or activity. Using low cost aerostats will allow the international community to employ its scarce naval resources in a more effective manner and will help commercial shipping avoid potential threats. The use of aerostats also will allow the United States to cost effectively deploy its limited and expensive manned and unmanned winged surveillance platforms to areas of greater strategic importance.
Clean-Tech Mineral Security: A Three-Pronged Strategy for Supply Diversification in Latin America
By Julia Zamecnik
In order to decrease dependence on fossil fuels, the U.S. military and private sector are increasing investment in clean-technology energy sources, such as solar, wind, and electric power. Clean energy development, however, is promoting dependency on a small set of states who currently supply the majority of clean-technology minerals. Competition for these minerals will grow as global energy demands increase and more countries adopt clean energy policies.
To prevent mineral shortages, costly price increases, and political costs associated with this dependence,the United States should adopt a three-pronged clean-technology mineral policy in Latin America. To diversify and stabilize the supply of these crucial minerals, this policy combines repayable contributions for American mineral exploration, conditional export-based development aid, and foreign fellowships in geology and mining technology.
2009-2010 PIPS Projects
For an electronic copy of the 2009-2010 PIPS Policy Briefs, please click here.
Shifting Paradigms: Taiwan's New Asymmetric Strategy to Deter Blockade
By Alexander Bellah
Growing economic interdependence and China's development of effective anti-access technology raise the cost for the United States of intervening on Taiwan's behalf in a Cross-Straight conflict. Additionally, China's growing military power challenges Taiwan's ability to unilaterally break or deter a PRC naval blockade. These trends call into question the U.S. commitment to Taiwan and increase the risk of Chinese adventurism, which would force the United States to choose between two poor options – direct and costly military intervention against a needed international partner, China, or abandonment of Taiwan.
Given these considerations, the United States must help Taiwan develop a self-sufficient means of deterring or defeating a Chinese blockade without seriously harming U.S.-PRC relations. To this end, this brief proposes that the United States encourage and help Taiwan to adopt a "Focused Lifeline" strategy, in which Taiwan has the capability to maintain at least one sea line of communication open out to twelve nautical miles. This strategy requires that the United States provide Taiwan with capable – but degraded – destroyers, contingent on Taiwan's building stockpiles of critical supplies and improving the capacity of its East Coast harbor at Hualien.
Modifying the Madrassa: Promoting Moderate Islamic Education
By Raymond Ciabattoni
Radical Islamists exploit weak education systems in the Middle East and around the world to promote fundamentalist forms of Islam through economically self-sustaining private religious schools. These schools are created with a one-time capital outlay and are sustained by a constant flow of revenue from community businesses built around the madrassa. Graduates of radical madrassas frequently fail to learn useful vocational skills, remain poor, and practice intolerant ideologies, making them ready recruits for radical organizations. Current top-down approaches to reforming education systems in the Middle East have been unable to combat this grassroots problem. This brief – using Pakistan as a case study – proposes the creation of a micro-financing institution to fund economically self-sustaining, moderate schools based on the same economic approach currently used by radical Islamist groups.
A Different Fight: Narco-Commercialist Insurgencies in Mexico
By Levent Kiran
The United States and its allies increasingly confront commercialist insurgencies that seek to control territory for economic rather than traditional political reasons. These groups render the established "clear-hold-build" approach to counterinsurgency ineffective. To respond effectively to this evolving threat, U.S. officials must take into account lessons learned from previous experiences with commercialist insurgencies. This brief applies the lessons learned from the Colombian insurgency to the contemporary case of northern Mexico and argues that a fragmentation approach is required to disrupt the planning, preparation, and conduct of such groups.
Afghanistan and the Search for a Sustainable Economy
By Megan Liaboe
For almost a decade, the United States and much of the industrialized world has committed its wealth and power to establish a secure Afghanistan; yet, in spite of these efforts, the Afghan government remains heavily dependent on the international community and foreign aid. In order to secure a strong central government independent of international assistance, Afghanistan must develop a stable source of domestic revenue to cover its expenditures. Absent such a domestic source, the government will remain dependent on the international community and, should foreign assistance decline, risk devolving into a failed state. This paper argues that the most effective means for the Afghan government to generate the needed domestic revenue is to tax countries and corporations seeking access to Afghanistan's vast mineral deposits, including copper, iron ore, gold, and uranium.
America and the Arctic Superhighway: Developing Economic Opportunities in a Warming Arctic
By Kris McClellan
Climate change and shrinking sea ice in the Arctic create new opportunities for cheaper commercial shipping and increased access to new oil reserves. Russia and Canada are already exploiting new oil and shipping prospects in the High North. The United States can also benefit from these emerging opportunities by creating an "Arctic Superhighway" for safe and predictable commercial shipping and energy transportation. The "Superhighway" would overcome current obstacles like long range communications, limited disaster response capability, unresolved territorial disputes, and unregulated resource extraction practices and would serve as the cornerstone of U.S. strategy in an ice-free Arctic.
Countering Radicalism with a "Virtual Library of Freedom"
By Hannah Thornton
Terrorist organizations use the internet as a tool for spreading their ideology. The absence of an equivalent moderate presence online gives radical groups a significant advantage in the virtual war of ideas. To respond to this radical threat, this brief proposes the creation of a "Virtual Library of Freedom" to empower moderate voices. The library would contain historical and contemporary documents in a variety of languages addressing topics such as good governance and human rights. It would be targeted toward young, well- educated people – also the object of terrorist propaganda online – who have not yet chosen to turn to terrorism. The site would allow people to form networks and initiate discussion, giving them the tools to contest terrorist ideologies.
2008-2009 PIPS Projects
Development Strategies for North Korea
By Michelle Burgess
Recent rumors of Kim Jong-il’s health problems have focused attention on the probability of imminent regime change or collapse in North Korea. Given the dire economic situation in the country, the United States is confronted with the question of what is the most effective way to economically stabilize and reintegrate a post-Kim Jong-il North Korea into the international system. This paper examines the cases of German reunification and Vietnamese economic reforms in 1990s. The paper then offers suggestions on the most effective way to develop the North Korean economy and reintegrate it into the international community.
The Geneva Conventions & Contemporary Asymmetric Security Threats
By Matt Dinan
The Geneva Conventions are a product of late 19th and early 20th century foreign policy experiences and are fundamentally concerned with interstate relations. As a result of their state-centric focus, many have argued that the Conventions have little applicability to asymmetric conflicts with non-state actors and should be amended. This paper argues that, from their inception, the Conventions were primarily a tool of soft power designed to enhance the political legitimacy of signatures. The Conventions, therefore, have significant applicability to the "counter-insurgency" against terrorism. Adherence to the Conventions increases the legitimacy of U.S. actions in the eyes of the international community and undermines the rhetoric of terrorist organizations. Concerns that adherence to the conventions will undermine intelligence collection and prosecution of terrorist detainees are unfounded and ignore the United States' extensive experience and success in prosecuting cases against members of organized crime.
Algae for Energy, Security, and Development
By Jeremy Meisinger
Algae-based biofuels offer the most promise as a future alternative source of energy. Algae are fast growing, do not require fresh water for cultivation, and have the potential of yielding more energy per acre than other biofuel crops. Given that the most favorable conditions for growing algae can be found in wet coastal areas with abundant sunshine, this paper looks at what states or regions will enjoy a comparative advantage in the production of algae. The paper then suggests how the United States should adjust its development policies to secure access to algae producing states or regions.
The Iranian Threat and a Reinvigorated Gulf Cooperation Council
By Andrew Noll
Iran's effort to acquire nuclear weapons has sparked fear that the regime will use its future arsenal to pursue a radical agenda in the Persian Gulf, thereby contributing to a regional arms race. Given the likely need to contain and lessen fears of a nuclear-armed Iran, this paper argues that the United States should reinvigorate the Gulf Cooperation Council. This "new" organization would formalize and facilitate cooperation among Arab air forces, navies, and intelligence services, allowing Arab states to coordinate their response to possible Iranian aggression. The United States also should encourage this organization to have an economic component to facilitate regional economic development, which would contribute to better economic conditions and lower popular discontent. Should Iranian intentions prove less radical, the organization could evolve into a comprehensive regional collective security organization that incorporates Iran.
Education Systems and Islamic Radicalism in the Arabian Gulf
By Rachel Walsh
Scholars and policy-makers have linked the rise of radical Islamic terrorism to a variety of factors including: repressive Arab regimes, the lack of democratic institutions in the region, stagnant Middle Eastern economies, and the presence of large numbers of foreign troops on Islamic land. Very little attention has been paid to the role of states' educational systems as a factor in radical indoctrination. This paper examines the educations systems in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. It argues that radicalism is the product of either weak public education systems or radicalized education systems.
In Yemen, the state education system is practically non-existent, forcing those who desire an education to attend radical religious schools. In Saudi Arabia, the state's primary education system has a radical leaning and the technical secondary system is exclusive, forcing recently urbanized men into religious schools. In Kuwait, the state education system is highly developed and emphasizes moderate Islam. The result of these arrangements is that Yemen and Saudi Arabia have significant problems with radical Islamic militants, while Kuwait has only minor problems. These findings have significant implications for U.S. counter-terrorism strategy. This paper argues that reforming and bolstering state education systems in the region should also be a key goal of U.S. policy.
Japan's Aging Population and the U.S.-Japan Security Alliance
By Alanna Whytock
The U.S. alliance with Japan is a linchpin of its security architecture in Asia. Japan's rapidly aging population, however, threatens the importance of this relationship. As Japan grays, it will increasingly find it difficult to maintain its current economic and military status in the region. This paper looks at the security implications of an aging Japan for the U.S. alliance system. It then argues that the best means of helping Japan compensate for this demographic shift is to sell advanced weapons systems, such as the F-22 fighter, to Japan. By selling these systems to Japan, the United States can help Japan compensate for the declining size of its armed forces by increasing the effectiveness of each service member.