Bologna Center Journal of International Affairs
Volume 17 - Spring 2014
"Stalemates"
April 2014
This year’s Bologna Center Journal of International Affairs explores a theme, “Stalemates,” that will be familiar to any student of international relations, or to any regular reader of the news. When we chose it, we had in mind the largest and most difficult issues of our time: climate change, the civil war in Syria, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, among many others. These issues continue to defy the efforts of well-intentioned people to solve them, and in the process, stalemates expose the weaknesses of the existing international system. For some, solutions exist, but the political will to implement them is absent, while others have no ready anecdote. The notion of stalemate also inherently contains the possibility of breakthrough, giving hope that even the world’s most persistent challenges can someday be solved. A SAIS education aims to prepare students of international affairs to help resolve these stalemates, so it seemed only appropriate that we use the Journal’s 17th edition to explore them.
We were pleasantly surprised by the wide variety of international problems to which our authors applied the Journal’s theme. From Sudan’s interlocking conflicts to global negotiations over climate change, from academic debates about inequality to India and Pakistan’s conflict over Kashmir, we received papers that analyzed stalemates of all shapes and sizes, in all corners of the world. Our authors will be among the next generation of policymakers to tackle these persistent problems; the quality and depth of their writings give us hope for the future.
This edition also features interviews with three veteran observers of the international scene. Ahmed Rashid, an experienced Pakistani journalist and the author of the definitive book on the Taliban, helped us envision the future of South Asia after the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan this year. Serge Schmemann, a former New York Times bureau chief in Moscow, spoke with us about how Russia understands its role in the former Soviet sphere, shedding light on its recent moves in Ukraine. Finally, we sat down with SAIS’ own Prof. Filippo Taddei to hear about his role as an economic advisor to Matteo Renzi, Italy’s new prime minister, and the government’s plans to overhaul the Italian economy.
The Bologna Center Journal of International Affairs is an entirely student-run enterprise, and its publication would not be possible without the selfless work of many in the SAIS community. I wish to thank our Managing Editors for Print, Matthew Melino and Kshitij Neelakantan, for their many late nights; our Managing Editor for the Web, Laura Mojonnier, for her incredible work on the Journal’s website; our Executive Editor, Alix Davie and her fundraising team of Camilla Scassellati Sforzolini, Ambra Avenia and Simon Ilzhoefer, who worked tirelessly to raise the money needed to print; our faculty advisor, Prof. Mark Gilbert, for his sage advice; Giulia Parzani and Francesco Cenedese for their Italian language assistance; our dedicated associate and copy editors; and faculty and staff including Margel Highet, Dr. David Unger, Prof. Filippo Taddei and Director Kenneth Keller.
On behalf of the Journal’s staff, I am pleased to present the 17th edition of the Bologna Center Journal of International Affairs. It has been our pleasure to produce it, and we hope you enjoy reading it.
Jeffrey S. Wright
Editor-in-Chief
April 2014