Search results

In today's globalizing, fast-changing, networked world, the capacity to turn diversity to one's advantage is critical. It is not just a nice thing to do; it is a must. As America and the world have changed dramatically, diversity has become a widespread organizational imperative-from Google to the Defense Department. Adapted from the source document.

This article pushes beyond hard power and soft power to insist on smart power, defined as the capacity of an actor to combine elements of hard power and soft power in ways that are mutually reinforcing such that the actor's purposes are advanced effectively and efficiently. It argues that advancing smart power has become a national security imperative, driven both by long-term structural changes in international conditions and by short-term failures of the current administration. The current debates over public diplomacy and soft power suffer from failures to address conceptual, institutional, and political dimensions of the challenge, three dimensions the author addresses in this article.

This article pushes beyond hard power and soft power to insist on smart power, defined as the capacity of an actor to combine elements of hard power and soft power in ways that are mutually reinforcing such that the actor's purposes are advanced effectively and efficiently. It argues that advancing smart power has become a national security imperative, driven both by long-term structural changes in international conditions and by short-term failures of the current administration. The current debates over public diplomacy and soft power suffer from failures to address conceptual, institutional, and political dimensions of the challenge, three dimensions the author addresses in this article. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Inc., copyright 2008 The American Academy of Political and Social Science.]

Argues that the "gap" between scholars & practitioners is improving in some ways. Dire evaluations of the situation fail to recognize the recent evolution of institutions that use scholarly analysis. Even though public engagement in traditional disciplinary departments has decreased, other institutions like think tanks, schools of public policy, & professional organizations have taken their place. Nonetheless, the discipline of political science has experienced a decrease in relevance, engagement, & impact. The positive & negative implications of institutional differentiation in communities of practice are examined for both the political science profession & public affairs. On the positive side, scholars & practitioners have more career choices & more congenial environments in which to work while policymakers can search for the best fit between their own preferences & those of the institutions that supply analysis. On the negative side, think tanks often miss the broader societal & comparative contexts of their research; the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake is becoming rarer; & political science departments may become more homogeneous over time. References. J. Lindroth

The literature on governing the Internet suffers from such lacunae as overly narrow, technocratic conceptions of Internet governance; insufficient attention to governance dynamics within countries; & limited appreciation for the micro-level political & social roots of governance. This essay suggests ways they may be addressed by asking two foundational questions "What is Internet governance and where does it come from"? "Governance" is defined as a syndrome of norms & rules controlling property rights, market structures, equity assumptions & authoritative definitions about which social actors are permitted to participate in governance processes & which are excluded. ICT governance originates in conflict & cooperation among contending elites who negotiate across four distinct societal sectors -- government, the private sector, research & development, & civil society. This distinctive pattern of four-way negotiations is termed the "Quad", a concept that helps explain the origins of governance, & points toward theories linking the structure of the Quad with the performance of the Internet cross-nationally. The concept of the Quad contributes both to scholarly understanding of Internet governance & to improved performance by practitioners charged with real-world governance responsibilities. 2 Figures, 41 References. Adapted from the source document.

There has been little comparative analysis of privatization programs around the world. It is argued here that analysts should compare the most immediately relevant institutional environment of the enterprise, conceptually situating this mesolevel system between the firm & the macroeconomy. This system of action is especially fruitful for cross-national comparisons of privatization programs because it is at this level that privatization strategies are designed. The problem for Eastern Europe & for less-developed countries is lack of experience with the relatively light economic regulation that characterizes industrial countries. Government leaders must also decide how much effort to devote to privatization of state-owned enterprises & how much to fostering private sector investment in new firms. 6 Tables, 6 Figures. Adapted from the source document.