Isaac Martin gives us an account of the American welfare state, at a time when the current economic crisis seems to pave the way for a new New Deal. According to him, however, it is unlikely that the Democrats push back on the welfare reforms of the 1990s: despite their conservative origin, they have made some social and political progress possible.
With a heavily decried government, a corrupt administration, a flourishing economy of opium, the situation in Afghanistan is particularly grim. According to Mary Kaldor and Marika Theros, Barack Obama’s plan to focus the American military agenda on Afghanistan can only be successful if a complete change in strategy is undergone.
New strategies have been tested in Iraq since 2007. Mary Kaldor describes the theoretical origins of this new doctrine of lesser force and greater population concern and discusses its outcomes and potential enforcement in Afghanistan.
How is it possible to talk about the ravages of AIDS on the Black population of the United States without leaving oneself open to being viewed as racist, moralizing or simply communitarian? Barack Obama says he is determined to engage the United States in the fight against this worldwide plague but has a hard time talking about AIDS as an American evil and even less so as an African-American one.
The now widespread call for “change” reflects a resurgence of the still-present republican spirit that has characterized America when it is at its best, which is, alas, not always the case. But which is the best candidate to fulfil this longing?
