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June 2005
| Author: | Richard N. Haass, President, Council on Foreign Relations |
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The Opportunity: America’s Moment to Alter History’s Course offers a concise and engaging analysis of international relations and American Foreign policy in the post-Cold War era. A veteran of several presidential administrations, author Richard Haass argues that the United States sits at a unique juncture in world history, one in which much of what it seeks to achieve in the world has the potential to be broadly acceptable to other major powers. To make the most of this moment, and to help prevent a return to a world of great power rivalry, the United States should rely on the concept of integration as the guiding doctrine for its foreign policy.
What is a CFR Academic Module?
Academic Modules—featuring teaching notes by the authors of CFR publications—are designed to assist educators in creating or supplementing a course syllabus. The modules are customized packages built around a primary CFR text, such as a book or report, and include teaching notes; additional readings; video, audio, and transcripts of CFR meetings; Foreign Affairs articles; and other online resources. Use of these modules is free of charge. They may be used in part or in their entirety.
June 2005
This is a book that describes an unprecedented moment in which the United States has a chance to bring about a world where most people are safe, free, and can enjoy a decent standard of living.
The Opportunity describes an unprecedented moment in which the United States has a chance to bring about a world where most people are safe, free, and can enjoy a decent standard of living. The book is suitable for:
The Opportunity will help students in an introductory undergraduate course understand the major issues and challenges in international relations and American foreign policy today. It identifies the trade-offs and dilemmas that American policymakers will confront as they decide how the United States should engage the world.
The Opportunity will enable students in upper-division courses to explore the nature of international relations and to assess the merits of contending strategies for guiding American foreign policy. It also provides students with the chance to evaluate contending theories of international relations.
A. General International Relations or American Foreign Policy Courses
Discussion Questions
Debate
Mock National Security Council Meeting
Assign the various positions on the President’s National Security Council team. Discuss the merits of various possible approaches the United States could pursue in response to the nuclear challenges posed by Iran and North Korea.
B. Advanced Courses in the Theory and Practice of International Relations
Discussion Questions
Debate
Exercises
Assign students one of two roles. Group A will be assigned the role of National Security Council staffer and will have the responsibility of drafting the foreign policy aspect of the president’s State of the Union address presenting to Congress, the American people, and the world the new U.S. policy of integration. Group B will be assigned the role of a Congressional foreign policy staffer responsible for drafting a response for their respective representative or senator presenting the argument against integration and making a case for an alternative. Students present their arguments in class, opening with the State of the Union and followed by Congressional rebuttal, after which students can discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each position.
September/October 2005
Summary
U.S. policymakers debate how to wield American power; foreigners debate how to deal with it. Some make their peace with Washington and try to manipulate it; others try to oppose and undercut U.S. interests. The challenge for the United States is how to turn its material dominance into legitimate authority.
Updated April 4, 2006
The UN Security Council is debating how to restrict Iran's nuclear program. Western states seek a firm statement and the threat of eventual sanctions if Iran does not suspend its uranium enrichment work. But Russia and China oppose sanctions, leading to talk about economic penalties outside the United Nations' authority.
March 17, 2006
The U.S. government has several channels for promoting democracy, but a plethora of independent U.S. organizations with that same mandate also exist, with varying degrees of financial dependency on the government.
Updated: October 31, 2006
Foreign policy is dominating U.S. political discourse for the first time in years. This backgrounder looks at the leading schools of foreign-policy thought on both sides of the political aisle.
March 16, 2004
March 10, 2006
Listen to Economists Stephen Roach, Peter Hooper, and John P. Lipsky discuss the vulnerabilities to the U.S. economy as part of CFR's regular World Economic Update series.
March 13, 2006
Congresswoman Jane Harman (D-CA) discusses the eroding rule of law with which the United States government operates regarding intelligence-gathering, torture, and surveillance. By establishing a fair and clear legal framework, all branches of government may work together through bipartisanship in fighting terrorism and apprehending suspected terrorists.
March 7, 2006
Professor Michael Mandelbaum discusses his book, The Case for Goliath, in which he explains how the United States uses its enormous power to provide the world with the services of a government. The U.S. plays this role with the tacit consent of many of its critics, he says.
March 27, 2006
Julia Sweig, Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow for Latin American Studies, is author of a new book on what she calls "the Anti-American Century." She says there are many ways the United States can begin to turn around the strong anti-American sentiment sweeping the world. Forcing high-level officials like Secretary of Defense Donald M. Rumsfeld to resign because of detainee abuses is one of them. Reviving Cold War-era cultural diplomacy programs is another.
March 14, 2006
Richard N. Haass, president of CFR and head of policy planning at the State Department during the outbreak of the Iraq war three years ago, says that in hindsight, while history's judgment will depend on how things turn out in Iraq, the impact on U.S. foreign policy at this point is "clearly negative."
March 14, 2006
NATO must decide whether to begin what we would call the third phase of its history, and must answer a fundamental question: Should it play a role in dealing with problems outside its historical "space"?
March 2006
What would it take to produce a global trade agreement that addresses the interests of both developed and developing countries?
February 26, 2006
This essay argues that there are strict limits on what outsiders can do to help poor countries—the internal development of functioning legal systems and states must take a leading role.
January 18, 2006
Speech
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Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion-dollar question: How is it that Israel—a country of 7.1 million, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies— produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the UK? With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine this nation’s adversity-driven culture to answer this question and offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.
In Forces of Fortune, Vali Nasr presents a paradigm-changing revelation that will transform the understanding of the Muslim world at large. He reveals that there is a vital but unseen rising force in the Islamic world—a new business-minded middle class—that is building a vibrant new Muslim world economy and that holds the key to winning the cold war against Iran and extremists.
In Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know, Julia E. Sweig presents a remarkably accessible portrait of Cuba's unique place on the world stage over the past fifty years, including its internal politics, its often fraught relationship with the United States, and its shifting relationship with the global community.
Complete list of CFR Books
The report of this bipartisan Task Force of distinguished leaders and experts represents a strong consensus on the importance of repairing America's immigration policy. It makes the case that maintaining America's political and economic leadership depends on attracting talented and hard-working immigrants, and on securing the country's borders in a smart, effective, and humane way.
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Complete list of Council Special Reports
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