STRATEGIC SPOTLIGHT

History in Motion

Gareth Evans

Are hypocrisy and double standards a necessary part of diplomacy? When and how should military force be used to stop or prevent mass atrocities? Can a sustainable peace and balance of power be built in Asia? Is a nuclear arms race in the Middle East unavoidable?

RECENT COMMENTARIES

FEATURED COMMENTARIES

Responsibility While Protecting

Gareth Evans Series: History in Motion

2012-01-27

Ten months ago, the UN Security Council, with no dissent, authorized the use of “all necessary measures” to protect civilians at imminent risk of massacre in Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi’s Libya. Now, however, the "responsibility to protect," applied for the first time in the subsequent NATO-led campaign, must be revised if it is to be used again.... read

Comments: 2 Recommended: 0 Read: 6719

A World of Gray

Gareth Evans Series: History in Motion

2011-12-26

Countries should pursue what the great international-relations scholar Hedley Bull called “purposes beyond ourselves.” But the real world is a place of gray shades, and more often than not the cause of human decency and security will be better served by recognizing and working around that constraint rather than challenging it head on.... read

Comments: 2 Recommended: 0 Read: 8015

Asia’s Month of Milestones

Gareth Evans Series: History in Motion

2011-11-22

In recent weeks, nervousness about the rise of China has seen a fundamental strategic repositioning by the Asia-Pacific region’s major players, with President Barack Obama vowing to reassert US power and interests there. But, while concerns about China's behavior should be a part of US allies' strategic planning, they should not be exaggerated.... read

Comments: 0 Recommended: 1 Read: 9953

The Responsibility to Protect Comes of Age

Gareth Evans Series: History in Motion

2011-10-26

To be optimistic about almost anything in international affairs is to run the risk of being thought ignorant, naïve, or demented. But, on the issue of mass-atrocity crimes – situations in which the international community has long had good reason for shame – real optimism is now justified.... read

Comments: 8 Recommended: 0 Read: 11887

Israel and America on the Wrong Side of History

Gareth Evans Series: History in Motion

2011-09-20

Being on the wrong side of history is never a comfortable position. But that is exactly where the US, Israel, and its closest friends will be if they resist the tide of international sentiment now in favor of recognizing Palestinian statehood.... read

Comments: 10 Recommended: 2 Read: 22141

The Asian Power Squeeze

Gareth Evans Series: History in Motion

2011-08-26

No one believes that the US-China relationship will end in tears any time soon, but the outlook a decade or two from now has already focused attention on the tensions that fester throughout the region. What, if anything, can the region’s other countries do to avoid the pain that they would certainly endure if US-China competition turned violent?... read

Comments: 4 Recommended: 0 Read: 17809

Taming Bigotry

Gareth Evans Series: History in Motion

2011-07-29

At a time when the horrific events in Norway remind us how much murderous bigotry there still is in the world, perhaps a story from the other side of it can restore a little optimism that some positive, historically significant, changes in attitude really are occurring. That example comes from Australian football.... read

Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 14396

Too Much Information

Gareth Evans Series: History in Motion

2011-06-28

Those of us who see significantly more potential for harm than good in WikiLeaks' ongoing disclosures are probably trying to resist an inexorable tide. We will all have to get used to more exposure and make the best of it, but that shouldn’t stop efforts to draw lines where they really matter.... read

Comments: 1 Recommended: 0 Read: 14164

Bombs Away

Gareth Evans Series: History in Motion

2011-05-26

One of the most dispiriting features of contemporary international debate is that the threat to humanity posed by the world’s 23,000 nuclear weapons has been consigned to the margin of politics. Indeed, Japan’s Fukushima disaster has generated a massive debate about the safety of nuclear power, but not about nuclear weapons.... read

Comments: 4 Recommended: 1 Read: 13426

Hypocrisy and War	Gareth Evans
When our common humanity is under threat, even if we can’t do everything we should, shouldn’t we at least do what we can? Libya and Côte d’Ivoire pass the five tests of legitimacy that any outside military intervention must meet, whereas Bahrain, Syria and Yemen do not, partly because other options have not been exhausted.... read

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The Responsibility to Protect Comes of Age

Gareth Evans Series: History in Motion

2011-10-26

Comments: 8 Recommended: 0 Read: 11887

Soft Power and Hard Batons

Chris Patten Series: History in Motion

2008-04-25

The motto of Bill Clinton's presidential campaign in 1992 was, "It's the economy, stupid." But if all we really want is economic prosperity, we'd better get used to a world that doesn't mind Leninism with its shopping malls.... read

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Two and a Half Cheers for the Mediterranean Union

Chris Patten Series: History in Motion

2008-07-23

Nicolas Sarkozy deserves credit for trying to revitalize European cooperation with the mostly Arab states to the south. But if the Mediterranean Union is to achieve more than was managed in the Barcelona Process of the 1990's, Europe must get serious about several key issues, from free trade to human rights.... read

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The World after Bush

Chris Patten Series: History in Motion

2008-06-25

Will anyone notice or care when Bush returns for good to Crawford, Texas? One reason we should is not what his departure will make possible, but what will remain absolutely the same.... read

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Tony Blair’s Palestine

Chris Patten Series: History in Motion

2008-03-28

Tony Blair is now backing proposals to jump straight to a final deal that would establish a Palestinian state immediately. But, while there is much to recommend that idea, it cannot be realized without an agreement on borders, inclusion of Hamas, and the creation of fundamental institutions of statehood.... read

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Putin's Gold-Medal War

Chris Patten Series: History in Motion

2008-08-21

There are several lessons of the “Olympics War,” otherwise known as Russia’s invasion of Georgia. One is that Vladimir Putin remains very much in charge in Moscow, and another is that the West - Europe and America - are unprepared to do anything to stop him.... read

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Living in History

Chris Patten Series: History in Motion

2008-11-27

Most countries fabricate at least some of their history; or they simply whitewash the bits that do not match their heroic idea of themselves. But getting the past wrong can skew a country's strategic choices and, worse, it can distort the development of its society.... read

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The American Leader We Need

Chris Patten Series: History in Motion

2008-10-28

Much as some may hate to admit it, anti-Americanism has been fed and nurtured during the Bush years. But the United States remains the world’s only superpower, the only nation that matters in every part of the globe, and the only country capable of mobilizing international action to tackle global problems.... read

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Bread and Bush-Bashing

Chris Patten Series: History in Motion

2008-05-27

Whatever his many other failings, President Bush has a pretty good record on aid to poor countries, and he recently announced a big increase in US food assistance. This was a faster response - and more rational - than some other countries have made to the global food crisis.... read

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Israel and America on the Wrong Side of History	Gareth Evans
Being on the wrong side of history is never a comfortable position. But that is exactly where the US, Israel, and its closest friends will be if they resist the tide of international sentiment now in favor of recognizing Palestinian statehood.... read
A Good Year for God	Chris Patten
After withering literary assaults on the Almighty from Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and others, believers have hit back. For a happier New Year, we should listen to the core messages of all the great religions, not the anti-modern fear and resentment propagated by their fundamentalist adherents.... read

AUTHOR INFO

Gareth Evans

Gareth Evans, Australia’s former foreign minister, is President Emeritus of the International Crisis Group and Chancellor, Australian National University. He is the author of The Responsibility to Protect.

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