Publisher: Council on Foreign Relations Running Time: 10 Min. Offered: Weekly

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EU Concerns over Mideast Migrants

Author: Council on Foreign Relations
Thu, Apr 14, 2011

Massive flight from Middle East and North African turmoil has highlighted immigration problems plaguing the European Union, says Jean-Phillipe Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration. He says the EU must address comprehensive reform and also invest in countries like Tunisia to stem the long-term flow of migration.

The story of a young woman's entrepreneurial success during the Taliban reign in Afghanistan is an argument for international investment in women, says CFR's Gayle Tzemach Lemmon.

The repeal of the U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy in December 2010 has led some Ivy League universities to reconsider a campus homecoming for ROTC after four decades of exile.

Peter Ackerman, an expert on civil resistance movements, says nonviolent revolutions that have a shared vision of future governance are more likely to be successful than those that turn violent, such as Libya's.

Increasing distrust between the CIA and Pakistan's ISI over the Raymond Davis case could threaten efforts to fight militancy along the Afghan border. Experts Daniel Markey and Shuja Nawaz discuss policy options to restore the relationship.

Al-Jazeera has been instrumental in covering protests in the Arab world. The Washington bureau chief for al-Jazeera Arabic, Abderrahim Foukara, suggests Western perceptions of the channel are adapting to its pervasive influence  in the Arab and Muslim world.

As Wikipedia celebrates its tenth anniversary, Joseph Reagle, a fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, sees an opportunity for significant growth in non-English-speaking parts of the world.

As federal regulators flesh out financial reform specifics, questions remain about how the Volcker Rule--aimed at preventing banks from taking overly risky bets--will work, and whether it will make the financial system safer.

The recent bombing of a Coptic Church in Egypt underscores deep sectarian tensions and reflects the need for a more open and tolerant society, says CFR's Steven Cook, but Egypt's government would rather ignore underlying political causes.

To keep its edge in technological innovation against India and China, the United States must focus on open immigration policies, strengthening political and social networks, and more, says CFR's Adam Segal.

As the United States backs reconciliation talks with the Taliban, many Afghan women fear a rollback of their rights. The international community must ensure that discussions of Afghanistan's future include its women, says CFR's Gayle Lemmon.

Iraq and Afghanistan represent just two of the costly wars that the United States launched without a sustainable political endgame, says Gideon Rose, author of a new book examining U.S. military interventions since World War I.

Do China's policies pose a threat to trading partners and the global economy or is that exaggerated? Morgan Stanley's Stephen Roach and the Peterson Institute's Gary Hufbauer discuss.

Obama's proposals to cut business taxes and boost infrastructure spending are worth a try, says CFR's Sebastian Mallaby, but more monetary stimulus by the Fed could "come back to bite."

Washington has for decades relied on limited military force to achieve political objectives abroad. In a new book, CFR's Micah Zenko argues these tactics, while politically popular, rarely achieve their aims.

South Asia experts Shuja Nawaz and Bruce Riedel say the WikiLeaks documents pose challenges to an already strained U.S.-Pakistan relationship. They say the Obama administration should expand military and civilian assistance to the country, along with a focus on greater trade.

The International Court of Justice ruling on the legality of Kosovo's independence declaration creates a "moment of opportunity," says former British ambassador David Gowan, but CFR's John Bellinger cautions that it isn't likely to set a precedent for other secessionist groups.

A new trade deal promises to bring Taiwan and China closer economically, but tensions on security issues remain, says Taiwanese Minister Johnny Chiang.

A new spotlight on mineral wealth has spurred debate on the prospects for rescuing Afghanistan's feeble economy. The country's minister of mines and two World Bank experts discuss how to manage Afghan resources.

Amid Kyrgyzstan's domestic upheaval, the status of an important U.S. military base could become shakier, says expert Alexander Cooley of Columbia University.

While the secretary of defense targets the military services' hardware for future trims, Pentagon budget expert Todd Harrison says personnel costs should be the real target.

Unlike "too big to fail" financial firms, hedge funds spot market bubbles and assume their own losses, says CFR's Sebastian Mallaby.

Facebook and Google have aroused concerns about encroachments on privacy online, but media expert Jeff Jarvis says policymakers need to be careful not to overreact and encroach on the Internet's value as a public sphere and lifeline in closed societies.

The"proximity talks" being conducted between Israelis and Palestinians probably won't lead to a final status agreement, say CFR experts Elliot Abrams and Steven A. Cook, but they could lead to the framework for a Palestinian state on the West Bank.

The Obama administration needs to do more to promote free trade and should get tough with intellectual property violators abroad, says the U.S. Council for International Business's Jonathan Huneke at World Trade Week.

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is not just a problem to clean up, says CFR's Michael Levi, it has serious commercial implications for some oil firms and has dimmed the prospects of U.S. climate legislation.

CFR's Senior Fellow Isobel Coleman discusses her new book about the rising empowerment of Muslim women in the Mideast and its potential to transform human rights in the region

While the time isn't ripe for an Obama administration peace plan, the White House should try to reignite proximity talks and possibly work to develop terms of reference and a structure for future final status talks, says CFR President Richard N. Haass.

Iceland's volcanic disruption poses long-term problems for European airlines, says European economist Jacob Kirkegaard, and it could also depress the EU's overall GDP this quarter because of curtailed business travel.

After a spasm of violent protests that caused Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to flee the capital, the international community must push the new transitional government to set the country back on a democratic path, says CFR Central Asia expert Evan Feigenbaum.

This Publisher: Council on Foreign Relations

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