ORBIS A Journal of World Affairs

Editors Column

By Mackubin T. Owens

Summer 2010

Recently, the United States lost one of its great public servants and FPRI lost one of its closest associates. The death of soldier-statesman Alexander Haig saddens us all. FPRI president Harvey Sicherman begins this issue with a tribute to the life and service of this remarkable man.

Also in this issue, Bill Martel of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University addresses the need for a new U.S. grand strategy and makes the argument for a controversial grand strategy approach that he calls “restrainment.” Tom Fedyszyn also offers a controversial argument, suggesting that NATO, to more effectively implement its current operations on behalf of collective and cooperative security, should forego the Article V collective defense provision that has served as the Alliance's foundation since its inception in 1945. David Bolgiano uses the concept of “lawfare”--“the strategy of using -- or misusing -- law as a substitute for traditional military means to achieve an operational objective”--to warn against the dangers of subordinating U.S. interests to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Mehran Kamrava examines what he believes is the truly revolutionary impact of the 2009 elections in Iran, pointing out how they have changed the “rules of the game&rldquo; in the Islamic Republic, as well as the balance of power among the various parties to the Iranian political bargain. Matthew Levitt discusses how al Qaeda's commitment to the “Palestinian cause” is much more rhetorical than operational. Tally Helfont examines the emergence of a new fault line between moderates and radicals in response to Egypt's construction of an underground steel wall on the Egypt-Gaza border that interdicts the flow of material into the latter.

Frank Hoffman, who has been instrumental in developing the concept of “hybrid conflict,” now seeks to apply the concept to the maritime environment, contending that the U.S. Navy needs to dust off “lessons learned” from its last experience in the Persian Gulf in the late 1980s to better prepare for a more challenging future. Finally, Christopher Harmon analyzes a number of cases from contemporary history to derive certain principles for the successful use of force in countering terrorism.

This volume concludes with Thomas Wright's review essay of three books on the alleged relative decline of American hegemony in the world. The theme of these works is that in the future, the United States will share leadership of the international order with other major powers.

With this issue, we welcome our new book review editor Michael Horowitz, assistant professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. Michael completed his Ph.D. in the Department of Government at Harvard University, where his dissertation examined the diffusion of military power and the consequences of international politics. His primary research areas are international conflict and security issues. We thank Will Hay for his years of excellent service as book review editor and assistant editor of Orbis. We welcome him to our Board of Editors.

FPRI Wishes to Thank its 2011 Partners
Who help make all our programs possible.

On November 15th at the FPRI annual dinner Fouad Ajami was presented with the Seventh Annual Benjamin Franklin Public Service Award. The event was attended by over 360 people.
Dr. John M. Templeton, Jr. was dinner chairman.

FPRI 2011 Annual Dinner

Video of keynote address
Reflections on the Arab Spring
Fouad Ajami

Special Partner Event
Al Qaeda and Jihadi Movements After Bin Laden
Christopher Swift

Special Partner Event
The Longest War: The Enduring Conflict between America and Al Qaeda
Peter Bergen

FPRI Dinner Booklet and Annual report