International Security Journal Highlights

International Security

Vol. 24 No. 4     SPRING 2010

International Security isAmerica'sleadingjournalofsecurityaffairs.Itprovidessophisticatedanalysesofcontemporarysecurityissuesanddiscussestheirconceptualandhistoricalfoundations.ThejournaliseditedatHarvardKennedySchool'sBelferCenterandpublishedquarterlybytheMITPress.QuestionsmaybedirectedtoIS@harvard.edu.

"EndingCivilWars:ACaseforRebelVictory?"

Monica Duffy Toft

Since 1990, negotiated settlements have been the preferred method for ending civil wars. A new analysis of all civil war endings since 1940, however, shows that military victory can be more effective than negotiated settlements in establishing lasting peace. The case of Uganda illustrates how peace eludes negotiated settlements and how rebels might be more likely to allow democratization. If stability, democracy, and development are valued objectives, then policymakers should examine victories as well as negotiated settlements to understand the conditions most likely to achieve durable outcomes.

"SexandtheShaheed:InsightsfromtheLifeSciencesonIslamicSuicideTerrorism"

Bradley A. Thayer and Valerie M. Hudson

Conventional explanations for suicide terrorism, which center on international anarchy, U.S. intervention in Islamic nations, and religious approval for suicide terrorism, do not sufficiently describe this phenomenon. The life sciences offer explanations that explore the influence of high levels of gender differentiation, polygyny, and obstructed Middle Eastern marriage markets on Islamic suicide terrorism. Combining conventional and life sciences explanations offers greater insight into the causes of Islamic suicide terrorism and the motivation of suicide attacks, allowing policymakers to develop better approaches to counter this threat.

"StatusSeekers:ChineseandRussianResponsestoU.S.Primacy"

Deborah Welch Larson and Alexei Shevchenko

The United States needs multilateral support to carry out its foreign policy agenda, particularly from rising powers such as China and Russia. Typical strategies that appeal to common norms and values might not work, however, because China and Russia are not part of the liberal Western community. Social identity theory posits that China and Russia are both seeking to restore their great power status. Policymakers, then, should focus on status considerations and incentives to gain Chinese and Russian support to further U.S. foreign policy goals.

"BiosecurityReconsidered:CalibratingBiologicalThreatsandResponses"

Gregory D. Koblentz

The risks posed by biological threats are increasing, and biosecurity has risen higher on the international security agenda. Yet the lack of a common definition of biosecurity, the range of biological threats, and differences of opinion over the most important threats hinder the development of effective bioterrorism counterstrategies. A definition that includes naturally occurring, accidental, and deliberate disease outbreaks, combined with a taxonomy of threats that identifies the sources of and groups at risk for biological threats, would help policymakers assess and manage these risks, prevent and respond to biological threats, and further biosecurity research.

"TheDeceptionDividend:FDR'sUndeclaredWar"

John M. Schuessler

Although leaders are more likely to initiate wars they believe they can win, sometimes they enter conflicts where an easy victory is anything but assured. In such cases, leaders use deception to preempt domestic opposition by shifting blame onto the adversary. The United States' entry into World War II illustrates this argument: by 1941 Franklin Roosevelt welcomed U.S. entry into the war and manufactured events accordingly to avoid opposition that might have prevented the United States from entering the war. In some cases, then, deception may be in the national interest.

Compiled by International Security Journal staff