The Election Issue:
This month we explore the candidates' policies in each region of the world.
AFRICA: How Obama and McCain Would Respond to Darfur
by Michael Kleinman

During the second Presidential Debate, moderator Tom Brokaw asked both candidates under what circumstances they would use “United States combat forces in situations where there's a humanitarian crisis, but it does not affect our national security.” The responses by Barack Obama and John McCain shed light on how each of them would respond to a conflict like Darfur...
AMERICAS: Can Latin America Weather a Global Recession?
by Adam Benz

ASIA: Nukes in North Korea
by Jung Hwa Song
EUROPE/RUSSIA: Rebuilding Alliances and Managing Expectations in a Post-Bush World
by Annie Verderosa

The next U.S. President will inherit a complex and dangerous set of foreign policy challenges: wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a global financial crisis, the proliferation of nuclear weapons, instability in Pakistan, and competition from emerging powers like China, India, and a resurgent Russia. In its special coverage of the U.S. presidential election, The Economist describes the foreign policy environment as “the most difficult international situation since 1968.” Moreover, the next President will have to manage these issues at a time when America's economic power is in decline, its military resources are overstretched, and its ability to win sympathy or support from allies has been severely diminished. The American public is also likely to be preoccupied with the economic crisis and related troubles at home, making it even more difficult for the next President to pursue an internationalist agenda.
MIDDLE EAST: Iran and the Next Administration
by Victor McFarland

Over the course of the Presidential campaign, John McCain and Barack Obama have clashed repeatedly over US policy toward Iran. McCain has staked out a hawkish position in contrast to Obama's willingness to negotiate directly with the Iranian regime. In practice, though, the two candidates' policies would likely be more similar to each other, and to the approach of the Bush administration, than campaign rhetoric would suggest. A variety of factors will limit the next President's freedom of action and will make either a U.S.-Iranian military confrontation or a dramatic diplomatic breakthrough unlikely over the next four years...









