Richard N. Haass
Richard N. Haass, formerly Director of Policy Planning in the US State Department, is President of The Council on Foreign Relations.
-
2010-02-18
| Hisotry tends to be punctuated by major developments – battles, assassinations, breakthroughs – that have consequences that are felt for years. Thirty-one years after the revolution that ousted the Shah and brought Islamic rule to Iran, we are at one of those turning points.... read |
-
2009-12-07
| The basic outlines of Barack Obama’s approach to foreign policy became clear in 2009, and they contrast starkly with those of the Bush administration. Nevertheless, 2009 was a year of frustration as much as accomplishment for US foreign policy, and that balance is unlikely to change in 2010.... read |
-
2009-11-18
 |
The Cold War was won as a result of military "containment" of Soviet expansion, the Soviet bloc's own internal weaknesses, and efforts to provoke a crisis of confidence among communist leaders. The same combination of factors should be considered when confronting regimes like those in Iran and North Korea.... read |
-
2009-08-18
| As world leaders prepare for the December's summit on Climate change in Copenhagen, it should come as no surprise that there is little consensus on a comprehensive accord that would have a meaningful impact. But, while a universal agreement with binding limits on carbon emissions seems out of the question, smaller steps can, and should, be taken.... read |
-
2009-05-01
 |
In contrast to George W. Bush's “idealist” advocacy of making democracy promotion the main priority for US foreign policy, the Obama administration is engineering a return to "realism" that is both desirable and necessary. While encouraging the rule of law and the growth of civil society, the US still needs to work with other governments, democratic and otherwise.... read |
-
2009-01-19
| Now that George W. Bush is gone, other countries will find that genuine multilateralism requires their willingness and ability to commit resources to deal with pressing challenges. Obama is likely to be more diplomatic than Bush, but he is also likely to be more demanding.... read |
-
2008-12-01
| Iran and its nuclear program may well constitute the Obama administration’s first foreign policy crisis, because it is possible that Iran will reject any diplomatic compromise. In that case, the US would have to decide whether to live with a nuclear Iran or attack it – the worst sort of choice, because both options carry high risks and costs.... read |
-
2008-10-17
| Much attention is focused on foreign policy differences between John McCain and Barack Obama. But there are also key similarities between them, in part because some of their disagreements are not as pronounced as they seem, and in part because the constraints that the next US president will face are certain to limit what either man could do in office.... read |
-
2008-07-18
| Rather than boycott the Beijing Olympics, the world’s leaders should embrace the Games and what they represent. The Olympics are a venue in which individuals and countries compete, but in conformity with a set of rules – which is exactly what we want from China in the twenty-first century.... read |
|
Living in a Non-Polar World
|
Richard N. Haass 
|
|
Today’s world is dominated not by one or two or even several powers, but rather is influenced by dozens of state and non-state actors exercising various kinds of power. Such a non-polar world will become increasingly dangerous unless important steps are taken to shape it.... read
|
-
2009-01-19
| Now that George W. Bush is gone, other countries will find that genuine multilateralism requires their willingness and ability to commit resources to deal with pressing challenges. Obama is likely to be more diplomatic than Bush, but he is also likely to be more demanding.... read |
-
2008-10-17
| Much attention is focused on foreign policy differences between John McCain and Barack Obama. But there are also key similarities between them, in part because some of their disagreements are not as pronounced as they seem, and in part because the constraints that the next US president will face are certain to limit what either man could do in office.... read |
-
2006-02-14
| For 350 years, sovereignty – the notion that states are the central actors on the world stage and that governments are essentially free to do what they want within their own territory but not within the territory of other states – has provided the organizing principle of international relations. The time has come to rethink this notion.... read |
-
2005-10-17
| At first glance, Russia bears many of the hallmarks of a great power. It possesses a large arsenal of nuclear weapons, a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, enormous reserves of oil and other minerals, a recent record of robust economic growth, and more territory than any other country despite being only three-fourths the size of the former Soviet Union.... read |
-
2004-07-01
| Disputes between the United States and Europe are nothing new, as past tensions over Korea, Suez, and Vietnam demonstrate. But these earlier disputes occurred within a very different geopolitical context – the Cold War – and the bygone intellectual and political framework of containment. This context and framework disciplined transatlantic ties. Europeans and Americans alike recognized the need to limit and manage their differences in order to conserve their ability to deter and, if necessary, to defeat the Soviet Union.... read |
-
2005-04-07
| Mention the United Nations and the first reaction is likely to be the ongoing oil-for-food scandal and what it will mean for Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s ability to lead the organization for the remaining year and a half of his tenure.... read |
-
2005-07-15
| The recent G-8 meeting in Scotland, as well as concerts and celebrity activism, has put a spotlight on the amount of international assistance reaching the countries and peoples of Africa. This is understandable in light of the continent’s persistent poverty, seemingly endless conflicts, and the prevalence of HIV-AIDS and other infectious diseases. If properly targeted and conditioned on reforms, international aid can make a positive difference.... read |
-
2005-01-31
| It has been a long time since the words “opportunity” and “Middle East” appeared in the same sentence. But now they are. Even better, this optimism may have some basis in reality.... read |
-
2004-10-31
| Darfur is shorthand for the latest example of a recurring international problem, one that gained headlines a decade ago in Rwanda. What should the world do when a large number of people are the victims of violence originating from within their own country? ... read |
-
2006-05-12
| All but lost in the controversies surrounding Iraq and Iran is a major initiative involving a third “I” country: India. Sometime this year, the United States Congress is likely to vote on the “US-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation Initiative,” signed when President Bush visited New Delhi in March.... read |
-
2008-04-18
| Today’s world is dominated not by one or two or even several powers, but rather is influenced by dozens of state and non-state actors exercising various kinds of power. Such a non-polar world will become increasingly dangerous unless important steps are taken to shape it.... read |
2009-11-18
