Let the people read the links

Looking for more on today’s TNR Online article? I’ll break these links down into theory vs. empirics: Theory: The Thomas Schelling quote comes from his pathbreaking book, The Strategy of Conflict, chapter two (p. 22). Robert Putnam extended Schelling’s analysis in an article for the Summer 1988 issue of International Organization entitled “Diplomacy and Domestic Politics: the Logic of Two-level Games.” It’s reprinted in a 1993 book devoted to the article, Double-Edged Diplomacy, edited by Peter Evans, Harold Jacobson, and Putnam. A good book on what happens when revolutionary/radical groups seize power is Stephen M. Walt’s Revolution and War. Empirics: I’ve blogged recently about both Pakistan (click here as well) and Saudi Arabia. On Pakistan in particular, here’s the latest story on their role in nuclear proliferation, and today’s good news about warming relations in South Asia. Pakistan’s role in nuclear proliferation. On Saudi Arabia, Michael Doran’s analysis of Saudi internal politics can be found online at Foreign Affairs. Max Boot ripped the Bush administration for coddling both states in this Los Angeles Times op-ed. The Samantha Power quote came from her review of Noam Chomsky’s book in the New York Times Book Review: As for Iran, NRO has a nice story on popular attidues towards the regime — and towards the United States — in the aftermath of the Bam earthquake. One section:

Though the European aid workers are treated with respect, they also receive a great deal of aloofness. The arrival of a U.S. colonel and his aides in Hercules C130 military transport planes, however, proved to be a raging success. Iranians had gathered in the Kerman airport to greet them with arms full of flowers, shouting, “AMRIKAAYEE…KHOSH AMADEE” (American, you’re welcome). Iranians hugged them and hung on to them as if their “saviors” had come. Departing Americans were met with pleas from the crowd, begging them to stay. One of the American aid workers involved said that she was shocked and deeply moved to receive such a reception. Khatami and Khamenei’s visits to Bam, however, lasted no more than a scant hour each. Though they were surrounded by “walls” of bodyguards, they could not be shielded from harangues and insults hurled at them. “It is your fault this happened to us,” one woman cried. “You knew that this could happen and you liars never warned us.” The hatred for the regime reached a fever pitch as it became clear that, in fact, all the information about the seismic activities and dangers of the region had been made available to the clerics for years, and they had simply ignored it.

Finally, in response to James Joyner’s request to flesh out “a policy of aggressively supporting democratization,” I’m talking about a menu of choices that include linking security assistannce, intelligence-sharing, foreign aid, and market access to improvements in human rights and democracy-building.