Peace Corps — 50 Years of Promoting Friendship

During the 1960 presidential campaign, candidate John F. Kennedy asked a group of U.S. college students, "How many of you who are going to be doctors are willing to spend your days in Ghana? Technicians or engineers, how many of you are willing to work in the Foreign Service and spend your lives traveling around the world?" Within months of taking office in 1961, Kennedy signed an executive order establishing the Peace Corps.
 
 Since then, more than 200,000 Americans have responded to Kennedy's challenge by serving as Peace Corps volunteers, helping people in 139 countries to raise fish and farm animals, learn English, and build basic water systems. In the process of helping others, these Americans have learned about the world and brought their enhanced understanding of other countries and cultures back to the United States.

1. Anderson, Lisa.
   "Demystifying the Arab Spring."
   Foreign Affairs, May/June 2011, pp. 2-7.
   "The important story about the 2011 Arab revolts in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya is not how the globalization of the norms of civic engagement shaped the protesters' aspirations. Nor is it about how activists used technology to share ideas and tactics. Instead, the critical issue is how and why these ambitions and techniques resonated in their various local contexts." (From Foreign Affairs)

2. Bate, Roger.
   Lesson for Policymakers: China Is Incapable of Combating Food and Drug Fraud, Which Has Implications for Us Here in America.
   American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, April 28, 2011, 2 pages.
   "Yet another food scandal is gripping China--tons of melamine-contaminated milk products were seized from warehouses in Chongqing. The milk problem is the tenth serious food scandal in just the past few years. It provides more evidence of the inability of China's officials, corporations, and consumers to prevent lethal production." (From American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research)

3. Blumenthal, Dan.
   Why Isn't China Democratizing? Because It's Not Really Capitalist.
   The American, April 26, 2011, 2 pages.
   "Why isn't China democratizing? The Chinese Communist Party's continued firm monopoly on political power is particularly puzzling to policy makers: China was supposed to liberalize after its abandonment of Maoist Communism. For Washington the stakes are high: it made a huge bet on Chinese democratization, assuming that if China was encouraged to enter the international economy it would become capitalist and then democratic. " (From the American)

4. Brown, David G.
   Steady as She Goes.
   (Comparative Connections v.13 n.1 - China-Taiwan)
   Center for Strategic and International Studies, May 13, 2011, 10 pages.
   "The Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Committee held its first meeting in February, an important step in implementing the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement. Both Beijing and Taipei believe this year will see steady consolidation of cross-strait relations, but few new agreements." (From Center for Strategic and International Studies)

5. Bush, Richard C.
   Taiwan and East Asian Security.
   Orbis, March-June 2011, pp. 274-289.
   "The article briefly describes the essential character of cross-Strait relations before President Ma came to office; reviews what has happened during his administration; clarifies what this process represents; examines what might happen in the future, and concludes with implications for other countries—particularly the United States." (From Orbis)

6. Cordesman, Anthony H.
   "The Military Balance in the Taiwan Straits." from The Military Balance in Asia, 1990-2011.
   Center for Strategic and International Studies, May 16, 2011, pp. 61-67.
   "The report focuses on force strength, and does not attempt to make a narrative analysis. It does, however, address force quality as well as force quantity by showing the comparative strength of key equipment affecting force quality." (From Center for Strategic and International Studies)

7. Outcomes of U.S.-China Dialogue's Strategic Track.
   U.S. State Department, May 10, 2011, 6 pages.
   "At the Strategic Track under the framework of the Third Round of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) held on May 9-10, 2011, the two sides discussed major bilateral, regional and global issues." (From U.S. State Department)

8. Sutter, Robert G.
   Taiwan's Future: Narrowing Straits.
   The National Bureau of Asian Research, May 2011, 22 pages.
   "Using a cost-benefit approach, Robert Sutter argues in this issue of the NBR Analysis that though cross-strait relations are on the upswing, by forging deeper relations with China, Taiwan may be losing its freedom of action and giving itself little choice beyond continued accommodation of China’s increasing leverage." (From the National Bureau of Asian Research)

9. Weitz, Richard.
   China's Current and Emerging Foreign Policy Priorities.
   Center for a New American Security, April 13, 2011, 10 pages.
   "Since the end of the Cold War, the improved political and economic relationship between Beijing and Moscow has affected a range of international security issues. China and Russia have expanded their bilateral economic and security cooperation. In addition, they have pursued distinct, yet parallel, policies regarding many global and regional issues." (From Center for a New American Security)

10. 歐巴馬總統就美國對中東和北非政策發表講話。
    Remarks by the President on the Middle East and North Africa.
    OT-1109, May 20, 2011,  17 pages.
    "Because of its own history and democratic values, the United States must stand with the people of the Middle East and with others who peacefully demand their universal rights and seek greater opportunities, President Obama says." (From IIP Digital)

11. 國務卿希拉蕊‧柯林頓關於擊斃奧薩瑪‧賓‧拉登的談話。
    (2011年5月2日條約廳，華盛頓特區)
    Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton Remarks on the Killing of Osama bin Laden.
    (May 2, 2011, Treaty Room, Washington, D.C.)
    OT-1108, May 3, 2011, 4 pages.
    "As President Obama said last night, Osama bin Laden is dead, and justice has been done. And today, I want to say a few words about what this means for our efforts going forward." (From AIT)

12. Nonaka, Ikujiro and Hirotaka Takeuchi.
    "The Wise Leaders."
    Harvard Business Review, May 2011, pp. 58-67.
    "The world today cries out for CEOs who use practical wisdom -- experiential knowledge that enables them to make decisions that are good for companies and society.  Here's how you can become such a leader." (From Harvard Business Review)

13. Pettis, Michael.
    Is China Really Rebalancing? No.
    Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, May 15, 2011, 4 pages.
    "In spite of nominal changes in the value of China's currency and domestic interest rates and wages, China's economy remains unbalanced, as real interest rates continue to outpace real wages and any real appreciation of the renminbi." (From the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)

14. Wallison, Peter J.
    The True Story of the Financial Crisis.
    American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, May 13, 2011, 5 pages.
    "The Dodd-Frank Act was sold to the American people by the media and the Obama administration as necessary to prevent another financial crisis, but the financial crisis was not caused by weak or ineffective regulation. On the contrary, the financial crisis of 2008 was caused by government housing policies--sponsored and promoted by many of the same people who framed and ultimately enacted the DFA." (From American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research)

15. Olmstead, Kenny and others.
    Navigating News Online.
    Pew Research Center, May 9, 2011, 2 pages.
    "Despite the unprecedented level of data about what news people consume online and how they consume it, understanding these new metrics has often proven elusive. The statistics are complicated, sometimes contradictory, and often introduce new information whose meaning is not clear." (From Pew Research Center)

16. Rosenzweig, Paul and James Carafano.
    Time for America to Get Cyber-Serious.
    The Heritage Foundation, May 16, 2011, 2 pages.
    "The online threats facing America read like an ever-expanding encyclopedia of dangers to the freedoms, prosperity, and security of all Americans. Cybersecurity has become a crucial component of national security. Responses to cyber threats, however, have largely lagged because of a focus on technologies rather than the people behind the technologies." (From the Heritage Foundation)

17. Singer, Peter W.
    The Future of National Security, By the Numbers.
    The Brookings Institution, May 2011, 11 pages.
    "Today, we are entering a period in national security that various strategic documents ranging from the Pentagon's Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) to the new British Security Strategy have entitled 'an age of uncertainty.' We have been left grasping for some type of certainty in everything from threats to resources. So, if looking through the mathematical lens offers 'the poetry of logical ideas,' as Albert Einstein claimed, what are the key numbers that we should be paying attention to in trying to understand where we might be headed next in the realm of national security?" (From the Brookings Institution)

18. Solomon-Fears, Carmen.
    Child Support Enforcement and Driver's License Suspension Policies. 
    (CRS Report for Congress)
    Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service, April 11, 2011, 25 pages.
    "This report provides basic information on the CSE program, describes the ways in which states have implemented driver's license suspension policies, provides existing data on the amounts collected through driver's license suspension policies, and discusses some concerns regarding the use of driver's license suspension as a CSE program tool." (From CRS Report) 

19. Ali, Shimelse and Vera Eidelman.
    The Surge in Food Prices: What's Different This Time?
    Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, April 21, 2011, 6 pages.
    "Though global food prices have now passed the record highs reached in 2008, important differences between the two surges have prevented today's crisis from having as severe of an impact on the world's most vulnerable populations." (From the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)

20. Blanchfield, Luisa and others.
    International Violence Against Women: U.S. Response and Policy Issues.
    (CRS Report for Congress)
    Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service, 29 pages.
    "This report addresses causes, prevalence, and consequences of violence against women. It provides examples of completed and ongoing U.S. activities that address VAW directly or include anti-VAW components. It outlines possible policy issues for the 112th Congress, including the scope and effectiveness of U.S. programs in addressing international VAW." (From CRS Report)

21. Rollins, John.
    Osama bin Laden's Death: Implications and Considerations.
    (CRS Report for Congress)
    Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service, May 5, 2011,
    "The degree to which bin Laden's death will affect Al Qaeda and how the U.S. responds to this event may shape the future of many U.S. national security activities. Implications and possible considerations for Congress related to the U.S. killing of OBL in Pakistan are addressed in this report." (From CRS Report)

22. Secretary Clinton on U.S. International Strategy for Cyberspace.
    U.S. State Department, May 16, 2011, 3 pages.
    "This is a policy that very much sums up what the United States seeks. Many of you representing the governments of other countries, as well as the private sector or foundations or civil society groups, share our commitment to ensuring that the internet remains open, secure, and free, not only for the 2 billion people who are now online, but for the billions more who will be online in the years ahead." (From U.S. State Department)