Log File For Chat Room 1
Weinstein: I am now in the chat room.
Please let me know when you are ready to begin.
Kiselev: Good morning, dear
colleagues!
alexei: HELLO AND WELCOME TO THE
IDL 105 CHAT SESSION WITH PROF. JEREMY WEINSTEIN. I WILL BE MODERATING THE CHAT
AND WE WILL BEGIN IN A FEW MINUTES WHEN MORE STUDENTS JOIN THE CHAT
Kiselev: Greetings and regards from
Yaroslavl.
Subochev: Hi from Moscow!
alexei: JEREMY, THE FORMAT OF
THESE SESSIONS IS Q&A WHERE EACH UNIVERSITY ASKS ONE QUESTION AND WE GO ONE
BY ONE. IF YOU WANT TO INDICATE THAT YOU ARE IN THE PROCESS OF ANSWERING A
QUESTION JUST TYPE ... AND WE WILL KNOW TO HOLD THE NEXT QUESTION UNTIL YOU
FINISH YOUR ANSWER
Weinstein: OK. I understand.
alexei: I SEE ANDREI SUBOCHEV IN
THE ROOM, OF MOSCOW HIGHER SHCOOL OF ECONOMICS SO WHY DON'T WE BEGIN WITH THE
FIRST QUESTION FROM MOSCOW AND THEN GO TO VLADIKAVLAZ- ALEX GLOTOV
Sosina: Greetings from Yakutsk
Glotov: Hello from NOSU,
Vladikavkaz!!
Subochev: Moscow: What are the
current results and future prospects of the Western state building efforts in
Afghanistan?
alexei: PLEASE HOLD YOU COMMENTS,
QUESTION IS BEGIN ANSWERED
Troskin: Hi from Yakutsk state
univercity
Weinstein: Afghanistan is very much a
work in progress...
Weinstein: Tremendous progress has
been made in creating a government endorsed by the people (through the Loya
Jirga)...
Weinstein: And the Karzai government
has been a stable political presence since its inception...
Weinstein: That being said, serious
challenges remain...
Weinstein: First, the Western
military presence has been far too limited and thus unable to support the
Karzai government in its efforts to extend control beyond Kabul...
Weinstein: Second, deals struck with
local warlords in order to prevent further military action are undermining
efforts to build an effective state...
Weinstein: And the growing trade in
opium is further weakening the government by allowing for corruption and making
alternative development schemes unprofitable... Afghanistan has a long way to
go.
alexei: THANK YOU. NEXT QUESTION
FROM VLADIKAVKAZ PLEASE. ALEX GLOTOV.
Glotov: Dear Professor, will the
US establish diplomatic relations with Hamas? And what's the US policy towards
Hamas-friendly states?
alexei: PLEASE HOLD YOU COMMENTS,
QUESTION IS BEGIN ANSWERED
Weinstein: This is a very interesting
question...
Weinstein: At this point, the signals
are quite clear from the U.S. and its partners in the peace process that
relations with Hamas will not be established as long as the group continues to
support terrorism...
Weinstein: Hamas' decision to issue a
supportive press release after the Passover bombing was a bad sign, and will
lead to a further chill in potential relations...
Weinstein: But there is serious
debate among policy specialists in the US about whether a more active
engagement strategy with Hamas would be more effective...
Weinstein: The administration,
however, has backed itself into a corner with current policy pronouncements...
Weinstein: So I think that we will
see a cut off of aid to the Palestinian territory and Hamas will have to go
elsewhere to meet its budget costs.
alexei: THANK YOU. NEXT QUESTION
FROM YAROSLAVL. IGOR KISELEV
Kiselev: (D. Palatnikov) Please,
can you mention which basic leading principles are at the foundation of the
modern system of IR? Thanks a lot for your reply in advance.
Glotov: Thank you, Professor
Weinstein.
alexei: PLEASE HOLD YOU COMMENTS,
QUESTION IS BEGIN ANSWERED
Weinstein: The most important
principle at the foundation of the modern system...
Weinstein: is of course
sovereignty...
Weinstein: Nation-states are the
dominant form and since their origination states have had absolute authority
within the international system to govern as they please within their own
borders...
Weinstein: Sovereignty has been
protected and enshrined in the charter of the United Nations...
Weinstein: although the rights of
states to do as they please is now coming under criticism as the United
Nations...
Weinstein: embarks on a process of
reform...
Weinstein: a particularly important
issue is the "responsibility to protect"...
Weinstein: a doctrine which
challenges sovereignty and suggests that external actors have a duty...
Weinstein: to protect basic human
rights when they are being violated by sovereign governments.
alexei: THANK YOU. NEXT QUESTION
FROM SARATOV PLEASE
Kurganova: Hello from Saratov!
Zasseev: Greetings from Vladikavkaz
course. Sorry for being late, awful weather here. Ready to post questions
Kurganova: Saratov^ What is the attitude
of local population to the peacekeepers? And what was the attitude of local
population to you as an interviewer, asking very difficult questions?
Weinstein: Two different and
important questions...
Weinstein: A recent survey was done
in Liberia, from where I just returned...
alexei: PLEASE HOLD YOU COMMENTS.
QUESTION IS BEIGN ANSWERED
Weinstein: and it found that mroe
than 90% of the population had a very positive view of UN peacekeepers and the
job they are doing...
Weinstein: This is a very good signal
that the UN is providing security and making a difference...
Weinstein: But the concerns people
raised are consistent with those found in other places as well...
Weinstein: Namely that UN troops have
been involved in the rise of prostitution and sometimes the commiting of acts
of sexual violence in areas they operate...
Weinstein: In terms of how I am
received...
Weinstein: The key challenge is to
gain people's trust...
Weinstein: to help them understand
why answering your questions is important, and how the information they
provide...
Weinstein: can be useful in recording
the history of a conflict and promoting peace and development...
Weinstein: almost without fail, i
have been welcome with open arms, and found people ready and willing to share
their stories with me.
alexei: THANK YOU. NEXT QUESTION
FROM YAKUTSK PLEASE, TROSKIN
Troskin: Pr. Weinstein, what do you
think are the cases with Iran and North Korea similar, and why Iran is on
agenda of international intervention, and North Korea is not? Thank you.
alexei: PLEASE HOLD YOU COMMENTS.
QUESTION IS BEING ANSWERED.
Weinstein: The cases are similar to
the extent that both countries seem to believe they can improve their relative
position by becoming nuclear states...
Weinstein: But they operate in
extremely different contexts...
Weinstein: Kim Jong Il is a
mysterious dictator with an iron grip on power in a very poor and struggling
North Korea...
Weinstein: While the new President of
Iran is a democratically elected leader capitalizing on discontent with
failures of economic growth in the Middle East and growing anti-Americanism....
Weinstein: Iran has to take
precedence on the international agenda, in part, because with the situation in
Iraq...
Weinstein: Iran is a key player in
the region with the potential to disrupt any progress...
Weinstein: The Iranian regime has
also supported terrorism in the past and the new President's inflammatory
statements against Israel are not making the situation any better...
Weinstein: That being said, it is
very difficult to believe that the US would be in a position to act militarily
and instead far more likely...
Weinstein: that we will continue to
see high stakes diplomacy with increasingly strong sticks, but some carrots as
well.
alexei: THANK YOU. NEXT QUESTION
FROM MOSCOW PLEASE. ANDREI SUBOCHEV
Subochev: On soverenity. Are the US
ready to recognize Kosovo as an independent state?
alexei: PLEASE HOLD YOUR COMMENTS.
QUESTION IS BEING ANSWERED
Weinstein: That is also a good
question...
Weinstein: The U.S. along with most
members of the UN has been very reluctant to recognize new states...
Weinstein: for fear that the granting
of statehood to seceding regions will lead to an unraveling of the state
system...
Weinstein: In Africa, the region I
know best, only Eritrea has successfully seceded in the entire period since
independence...
Weinstein: My guess is that the
situation in Kosovo is likely to remain in limbo.
alexei: THANK YOU. NEXT QUESTION
FROM YAROSLAVL PLEASE
Kiselev: (E. Ratmanova)Which issues
and problems that appear in the last years are the major ones during state
interactions, to your mind? What criteria and indexes could be included or
taken into account in the comparison of the developed and developing countries?
Thank you for your answer.
alexei: PLEASE HOLD YOUR COMMENTS.
QUESTION IS BEING ANSWERED
Weinstein: Can you clarify what you
mean by state interactions?
Kiselev: State collaboration on the
International arena
Weinstein: In terms of the second
question, economists and political scientists typically compare developed and
developing countries on a number of different dimensions...
Weinstein: The most important tends
to be metrics related to economic growth and material well being...
Weinstein: although countries are
increasingly assessed in terms of political outcomes as well...
Weinstein: including press freedom,
the protection of human rights, the right to vote, assemble, and so on...
Weinstein: In terms of the potential
for international cooperation, a number of major challenges have arisen...
Weinstein: The crisis in Iraq has
threatened to undermine the role of the United Nations and the Security
Council...
Weinstein: as the decisive organ in
efforts to protect collective security...
Weinstein: And the increased
unilateralism of the United States, in particular in the military arena...
Weinstein: is eroding the good will
that existed in the 1990s for efforts to strengthen international institutions
and cooperation.
alexei: THANK YOU. NEXT QUESTION
FROM SARATOV PLEASE.
Kurganova: Saratov: Whom local
population consider to be to blame: government, rebel combatants, international
community or someone else?
alexei: PLEASE HOLD YOU COMMENTS.
QUESTION IS BEIGN ANSWERED.
Weinstein: This is a difficult
question to answer...
Weinstein: The situation is different
in every conflict...
Weinstein: Sometimes the rebel
combatants are responsible for abuses commited against civilians...
Weinstein: Other times it is the
government...
Weinstein: Many desire the support of
the international community to bring their conflicts to an end...
Weinstein: But, as in Rwanda, the
international presence is not always a blessing. So the context really matters
to answer your question properly.
alexei: THANK YOU. NEXT QUESTION
FROM VLADIKAVKAZ PLEASE
Plieva: Pr. Weinstein,in what
countries in your opinion a threat of civil war exists and requires
interference of international community?
alexei: PLEASE HOLD YOU COMMENTS.
QUESTION IS BEIGN ANSWERED
Weinstein: These are two different questions...
Weinstein: There are a number of
countries that already face a civil war or where the threat of civil war is
imminent...
Weinstein: On-going civil wars
include Nepal, Iraq, Colombia, Ivory Coast, and Sudan among others...
Weinstein: Countries in a dangerous
situation with a risk of violence include most obviously Chad, Zimbabwe,
Burundi, and others...
Weinstein: Intervention, though, is a
complicated issue...
Weinstein: Take the case of Sudan.
Although African Union monitors are already on the ground...
Weinstein: Some people are pushing
for an active NATO intervention force to bring the genocide in Darfur to an
end...
Weinstein: But even if such a force
went in, the very big question is how to design a political arrangement that
works for Sudan...
Weinstein: the government in the
North does not want to give up power...
Weinstein: but ethnic groups around
the country are not willing to settle for leadership in Khartoum...
Weinstein: So whether intervention
makes sense will vary from case to case.
alexei: THANK YOU. NEXT QUESTION
FROM YAKUTSK PLEASE
Sosina: Pr. Weinstein in what ways on your mind The UN can
be reformed, if it may be... ?
alexei: PLEASE HOLD YOUR COMMENTS. QUESTION IS BEIGN
ANSWERED.
Weinstein: A very important first step was taken in the past
couple of weeks...
Weinstein: When the UN abandoned a non-functioning human rights
commission in favor of a new human rights council...
Weinstein: But the bigger challenge involves refashioning the
UN to reflect the changing distribution of power and influence in the world...
Weinstein: This year's debate about Security Council expansion
touched on this issue directly, but the political will was not there to add new
permanent members...
Weinstein: But it is hard for me to imagine the UN maintaining
its preminent position without grappling with this issue soon.
alexei: THANK YOU. NEXT QUESTION FROM MOSCOW PLEASE.
Subochev: What is the situation with interracial relations in
South Africa? How close it is to an open armed conflict? Will the whites
survive there?
alexei: PLEASE HOLD YOUR COMMENTS.
QUESTION IS BEIGN ANSWERED
Weinstein: Good... a question on
Africa...
Weinstein: As you might know, crime
is a terrible problem in South Africa...
Weinstein: and the violent crime is the
best indication that all is not well for the poor and impoverished African
population...
Weinstein: But it is clear that the
constitution and institutional innovations designed during the transition...
Weinstein: are allowing for whites
and blacks to live together, work in government together, and survive without
open conflict breaking out...
Weinstein: the big challenge for the
African National Congress is to ensure that the benefits of economic growth are
distributed broadly enough...
Weinstein: such that poor Africans
don't turn violent crime into violence directed at the government and at whites
who still hold much of the wealth...
Weinstein: Alexei, if it is OK, I
have time for one more question...
Weinstein: Sorry, go ahead with the
final question.
alexei: THANK YOU. NEXT QUESTION
FROM YAROSLAVL PLEASE
Kiselev: (Smirnova) What criteria
could be taken into account in our assessments of threat on the International
arena . What are the ramifications of international threats today. Thank you
for your answer.
Weinstein: The recent UN report
commissioned by the Sec General has an interesting take on this issue...
Weinstein: In particular, they
suggest that the set of international threats to collective security may not be
the same for all countries...
Weinstein: Poor, developing countries
may be much more concerned with diseases like AIDS and malaria...
Weinstein: While rich countries are
focused on terrorism or the spread of chemical weapons...
Weinstein: The UN reform group called
on the UN to forge a broader defintion of collective security that incorporates
the different threats faced by members of the global community. I think that
makes a lot of sense.
alexei: THANK YOU PROF. WEINSTEIN
FOR TAKING TIME AND ADDRESSING THESE QUESTIONS. THANK YOU ALL FOR PARTICIPATION
AND INTERESTING QUESTIONS. THIS CHAT COLCLUDES OUR "INTERACTIVE"
PROGRAM FOR THE COURSE THIS SEMESTER. HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT AS MUCH AS I DID AND
WE WILL BE WORKING ON ENGAGING MORE FACULTY NEXT YEAR.
Weinstein: Thanks everyone. Always a
pleasure.
alexei: THE CHAT TRANSCRIPT WILL
BE AVAILBLE ON THE WEBSITE SHORTLY. FROM MOSCOW--- GOOD BYE!
Kiselev: Thank you pfor. Weinstein
for the chat and answers.
Zasseev: Thank you for your time
and interesting discussion, professor
Kurganova: Saratov: Thank you, Prof.,
for the very interesting chat!
Subochev: A lot of thanks from Moscow Higher School of
Economics
Sosina: Thanks to pr. Weinstein
for very interesting chat and best regards to everyone
Plieva: Pr. Weinstein, thank you
for detailed answers.
Glotov: Thanks to everybody for
the interesting discussion! Good luck!