Spring 2005 Issue

Features

Border Security and Power Performances
By Jennifer Gustetic

Borders exist only in as much as there exists a crossing of people and goods. These borders are physical and psychological lines that states use to identify the limits of their sovereignty. Any threat to these borders will inevitably evoke a response from the state. Similarly, actions of the state can create threats to the border. Essentially, threats are defined and reinforced by the actions of a state to control them. For example, because of their negative economic impacts, immigration and the drug trade have been identified as two security concerns for the Unites States. Due to their concentration at the border, these have become defined as border threats. The United States has inadvertently improved the sophistication of these clandestine efforts by enforcing policy with military action.

Disengagement: Realist Perspectives on the Israeli Withdrawal
By Eyal Bar

In May of 2004, Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon split with his Likud political party, and called for a unilateral withdrawal from the Palestinian territory Gaza. This withdraw would include uprooting of Jewish settlements which expanded in the territories. All 21 Gaza settlements, along with 4 Northern West Bank settlements, and Israeli utility and industrial zones in the areas will go through a process of transferring ownership to Palestinians. Why had Sharon decided to make such a daring political maneuver, risking the breakup of his coalition government?

Debate

Evaluating US Counterterrorism Policy: A Causal Analysis
By Matthew R. Williams

What is the gravest threat to the security of the United States? A layperson, a policymaker, and an academic are all likely to answer the same: terrorism. While terrorism remains the focus of both the people of the United States and the national security establishment, and arguably forms the framework within which a significant portion of foreign policy decisions are made, uncertainty still exists about both the nature and source of threat posed by terrorism. Who exactly threatens us and why? Does religion matter? Do those who commit acts of terrorism fundamentally hate the United States and the values associated with it? Unfortunately, terrorism’s definitional ambiguity and the variation among the demands and motivations of its perpetrators prohibit definitive answers to the above questions.

The Invisible Man: Evaluating the Effects of Outsourcing American Jobs
By Evette Treewater

Americans are now aware that the voice on the other end of the phone might not be American. As technology life cycles shorten, technical support conversations lengthen, and people spend hours resolving software glitches with the ‘Invisible Man’ who could be troubleshooting from the opposite side of the planet. A service is rendered, an invisible transaction is made, and the forces of international trade thrive though no physical good is exchanging hands.