The USA in the Global Financial System

         The US trade and budget deficits as well as the high public debt are commonly viewed as signs of America's economic vulnerability. These imbalances, however, are natural results of the US' economic preponderance and unrivaled potential for innovation and development. Exports to US markets fuel economic growth in many countries and at the same time free labor and capital within the United States for use in advanced sectors of the US economy. Largely because of this trend, the United States remains at the head of world economic progress. The inflow of capital in the American economy - the flip side of its trade deficit - helps to create new sectors and generate jobs. The high demand for US Government bonds reflects a virtually absolute confidence amond investors; none of them is in any way cajoled into purchasing these bonds. The US financial market has a unique ability to "absorb" vast amounts of money and offers investors a wide and flexible array of borrowing instruments. Apart from the Federal Reserve, no other central bank is capable of offering a discount rate in the range of 5 percent. The recent weakening of the dollar does not testify to the weakness of the US economy. It results largely from the growth in oil prices. An increase of 30 dollars per barrel leads to an injection in the world economy of almost an additional trillion dollars and a subsequent fall of the dollar exchange rate. Once oil prices begin declining, the US and other developed countries will reclaim that cash through the sales of finished goods and expensive services so that the dollar will become strong again.

Fighting to Control the Space

         The current US security strategy is premised on deterring potential threats by means of preventive defense and by maintaining America's absolute preponderance in information technologies. A crucial dimension of the US information technology development is spreading elements of American information infrastructure into space and preventing other states from doing the same. Washington seeks to complement its military preponderance by domination in space technologies with a special emphasis on the use of space for the collection and dissemination of information. One of the notable projects undertaken by the US for this purpose is developing a Global Information Grid - an overarching module that is to integrate all American defense-related information systems. However, as recent studies have demonstrated, any space-based elements are particularly vulnerable to attack by mechanical means. Therefore, the Bush Administration has launched several projects to protect the space-based information infrastructure by conventional means. It also intends to make the aerospace industry a motive force for the growth of the US economy. This, however, creates grave risks of militarization of space. An alarming sign has been the US Administration's refusal to further discuss measures to prevent the military use of space. On this issue, however, Washington finds itself opposed to most of the international community.

On Legal and Political Foundations of Global Information Security

         States are becoming increasingly concerned with enhancing their information security. The era of global information flows and rapid dissemination of information has created new risks for the stability of many governments worldwide. At the global level, the unleashing of information warfare technologies can result in a new "material" arms race among nations. It is therefore essential that states undertake to refrain from actions that can harm other states' information infrastructure or inflict psychological or socio-economic damage on these states' population. One important venue for addressing global information security has been the United Nations. Over the past six years, 33 reports on this subject matter, including four by the Russian Federation, have been discussed in UN bodies and task groups. A general understanding was achieved that information security cannot be ensured through government measures; NGOs and businesses need to take their part of responsibility in this field. Until 2005, resolutions on information security proposed by Russia were unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly. Over the last two years, however, the United States has established itself as a major critic of the Russian approach to information security. Washington resorted to information warfare in all of the armed conflicts in which the US was involved after the end of the cold war. The United States is therefore interested in retaining the freedom of hands to employ information warfare technologies as Washington deems necessary. The US objects to international legal regulation of the information sphere.

International Law: Judicial and Extrajudicial Dimensions

         The meaning of justice has two main interpretations. On one hand, it can be understood as objectivity, impartiality and observance of the generally accepted norms and procedures. On the other, justice is perceived as a ruling based on an underlying truth. These two interpretations were bridged by ancient philosophers through the concept of law. Law was regarded as a means to achieve justice in relations between people. In relations between nations, justice is embodied in international law. International humanitarian law (IHL) is a part of the body of international law aimed at overcoming the traditionally national character of norms regulating the use of violence. The development of IHL, which began in the mid 19th century, was subsequently accelerated twice - in the aftermath of the First and Second World Wars. The atrocities committed in each of these wars demonstrated the need to codify humane treatment of armed conflict victims in a number of widely recognized international legal documents. In addition to that, IHL drew a line dividing legitimate and illegitimate actors and goals in warfare. Another dimension of IHL is the extension of legal responsibility in war to the level of individuals. This principle was first implemented by the two post-World War II tribunals. At the end of the century, international tribunals were established to rule on war crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. International Criminal Court - a body entrusted with investigating any war crime - was established in 2003 and focused on Congo, Uganda and Sudan. An extrajudicial way of restoring justice is practiced through Reconciliation Commissions. Their main function is to make an authoritative judgment on the responsibility for past conflicts or atrocities. Such judgments do not necessarily result in legal action against guilty parties. Notable examples are Reconciliation Commissions established in Germany in 1992 and Serbia in 2002.

Three Generations of Russia's Foreign Policy Doctrines

         Over the sixteen years of Russia’s statehood, its foreign policy has passed through three notable stages. The ideas that underlay foreign policy concepts of the early Yeltsin Administration were informed by the legacy of Soviet perestroika and “new political thinking”. At that time, Russia refrained from formulating its distinct national interests preferring instead to identify them with those of Western democratic states. Russia downgraded its relations with South Asia, the Arab world, Africa and Latin America. However, the implementation by the United States of the “democracy enlargement” concept in the 1990s only damaged Russia’s geopolitical positions.
The official phraseology somewhat changed in 1994 when Russia asserted its “special interests” in the neighboring states. More significant change occurred in 1996 when Evgeny Primakov was appointed Russian foreign minister. Primakov did not regard Russian interests as necessarily opposite to those of the West. Yet he wanted the West to take into consideration Russian opinion on the international issues affecting Russia. Russia’s international strategy in the late 1990s is best described as “selective partnership”. This idea was laid out in the 2000 version of Russian Foreign Policy Concept.
The first part of the 2000s witnessed a new major attempt at Russia’s partnership with the West after 9/11 and a new disillusionment which, in this case, did not result in a complete reversal of cooperative policies vis-И-vis the West. The hallmark of the 2000s became the rise in Russia’s foreign policy resource base. This trend resulted in a new version of Russian foreign policy doctrine which was formulated by President Putin in several public speeches in 2006 and 2007. The thrust of this new approach is to bring Russia’s influence in the world in line with its increased wealth and economic power. Most notably, Moscow declared its willingness to diversify its Russian foreign policy priorities, including directions of energy exports, and contribute to the shaping of “global agenda”. Moscow also returned to the positive view of globalization, characteristic of the early Putin Administration. Notwithstanding all the criticism of the United States, the new concept excludes a possibility of sliding into a new confrontation between Russia and the West.

European Unity Tested by the East

         The accession of twelve Central and Eastern European (CEE) states to the European Union in 2004 and 2007 significantly altered the EU's political landscape and patterns of foreign policy making. New members contributed only 6 percent to the EU's GDP, but claimed about 30 percent of votes in the Council and seats in the European Parliament. However, popular support for the EU in its new members has declined since their accession due to a certain disillusionment in the benefits of EU membership. The cohesiveness of European Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy has been jeopardized by the diverging approaches of EU members to the partnership with the United States and, to a certain extent, Russia. Within the CEE states, the "East-West" foreign policy compass has been replaced with a "Washington-Brussels-Moscow" triangle. While right-wing political forces lean towards closer relations with the US, the Left and centrists pin more hopes on the EU institutions in Brussels. As a rule, CEE states have not achieved fully democratic political systems - their major deficiency remains a high degree of manipulation of voters by the powers-to-be. Populist parties have succeeded in elections in several CEE countries as a result of such manipulation and the general "reform fatigue". The trends of political reform in CEE states often contradict the West European political tradition: many CEE countries have a major political party created "from above" by the incumbent authorities while the differences between party platforms become less principled. It is important for the EU to formulate a coherent policy vis-И-vis its new immediate Eastern neighbors, such as Ukraine, Belarus or Moldova. In the absence of agreement within the EU, this policy will be defined by strong East European actors, such as Poland, who pursue their own "partisan" agendas. Brussels needs to prevent CEE countries from swaying EU's relations with Russia as CEE states' approach to Russia is strongly affected by the "ghosts of the past".

Studies of State Identity in Contemporary Political Science

International Experience of Struggle against Money Laundering

The "Geopolitical Burden" in Mutual Perceptions of Russia and the Baltic States

"Overcoming Demons" in the Images of Georgia-Russia Conflict

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SCRIPTA MANENT

Reviews

War as a Legal Procedure
David Kennedy. Of War and Law. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 2006. 206 p.

Who Feels Threatened by China's Security?
Bates Gill. Rising Star: China’s New Security Diplomacy. Washington: Brookings Institution Press, 2007. 267 p.

State in the World Economic Governance Regimes
Daniel Drezner. All Politics Is Global: Explaining International Regulatory Regimes. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2007. 254 P.

International Security: A Liberal Interpretation
Кулагин В.М. Международная безопасность. М.: Аспект-Пресс, 2006. 318 с.

From "New Political Thinking" to "Sovereign Pragmatism"
Tsygankov A.P. Russia’s Foreign Policy. Change
and Continuity in National Identity. Oxford: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2006. 217 p.

History of World Transformations
Сидоров А.Ю., Клеймёнова Н.Е. История международных отношений. 1918–1939 гг. М.: ЗАО Центрполиграф, 2006. 640 с.
Дубинин Ю.А., Мартынов Б.Ф., Юрьева Т.В. История международных отношений (1975–1991 гг.). М.: Московский государственный институт международных отношений (Университет); Российская политическая энциклопедия (РОССПЭН), 2006. 336 с.

A Cheer for the United Nations
Paul Kennedy. The Parliament of Man: The United Nations and the Quest for World Government. London: Allen Lane, 2006, 361 p.

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