Stewart M. Patrick

The Internationalist

Patrick assesses the future of world order, state sovereignty, and multilateral cooperation.

Guest Post: No Slaves Were Used in the Writing of This Blog Post

by Guest Blogger for Stewart M. Patrick Tuesday, July 31, 2012
A 18-year-old girl rescued from child trafficking poses in Proshanti, a shelter run by the Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association in Dhaka June 17, 2008 (Andrew Biraj/Courtesy Reuters). A 18-year-old girl rescued from child trafficking poses in Proshanti, a shelter run by the Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association in Dhaka June 17, 2008 (Andrew Biraj/Courtesy Reuters).

Below, my colleague Isabella Bennett, a research associate at the Council on Foreign Relations, offers an assessment of how to reduce human trafficking.

The latest estimates by the International Labor Organization state that nearly 21 million people are victims of forced labor—and a significant amount of this suffering is fueled by every day products available on American shelves. Read more »

Guest Post: Indirect Intervention—Why and When

by Guest Blogger for Stewart M. Patrick Thursday, July 26, 2012
Residents attend the funeral of Abdelaziz, 23, a sergeant who defected to join the Free Syrian Army, on the outskirts of Idlib province July 25, 2012. Abdelaziz was tortured and killed by Syria's President Bashar al-Assad's forces after he was captured at a checkpoint, according to the people who attended the funeral (Obeida Al Naimi/Courtesy Reuters). Residents attend the funeral of Abdelaziz, 23, a sergeant who defected to join the Free Syrian Army, on the outskirts of Idlib province July 25, 2012. Abdelaziz was tortured and killed by Syria's President Bashar al-Assad's forces after he was captured at a checkpoint, according to the people who attended the funeral (Obeida Al Naimi/Courtesy Reuters).

Here is a guest blog by my colleague Mark P. Lagon, adjunct senior fellow for human rights at the Council, as well as international relations and security chair at Georgetown University’s Master of Science in Foreign Service program. Read more »

Guest Post: Ending Genocide in the Twenty-First Century

by Guest Blogger for Stewart M. Patrick Wednesday, July 25, 2012
People pay their respects in front of dozens of coffins containing the remains of more than 600 victims of the 1994 genocide, during a commemoration in Kigali, Rwanda April 7, 2006 (Arthur Asiimwe/Courtesy Reuters). People pay their respects in front of dozens of coffins containing the remains of more than 600 victims of the 1994 genocide, during a commemoration in Kigali, Rwanda April 7, 2006 (Arthur Asiimwe/Courtesy Reuters).

The Internationalist will be taking some time off, but please enjoy the series of upcoming guest blogs. Below, my colleague Farah Thaler, associate director of CFR’s International Institutions and Global Governance program offers insight on the future of genocide prevention. Read more »

Your Guns Are in Safe Hands

by Stewart M. Patrick Friday, July 20, 2012
National Rifle Association promotional items are displayed at a campaign stop (David Acker/Courtesy Reuters). National Rifle Association promotional items are displayed at a campaign stop (David Acker/Courtesy Reuters).

Coauthored with Emma Welch, research associate in the International Institutions and Global Governance program.

As the protracted conflict in Syria escalates rapidly into civil war—fueled by arms both legally sold and illegally procured—delegations from 193 UN member states are convened in New York for month-long negotiations to hammer out a legally-binding treaty regulating the international conventional arms trade by the fast-approaching deadline of July 27. Read more »

The Google Ideas Summit: Some Reflections

by Stewart M. Patrick Thursday, July 19, 2012
Soldiers stand guard next to narcotics wrapped in ten thousand brown and silver packages on display in Tijuana (Jorge Duenes/Courtesy Reuters). Soldiers stand guard next to narcotics wrapped in ten thousand brown and silver packages on display in Tijuana (Jorge Duenes/Courtesy Reuters).

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) partnered with Google Ideas and the Tribeca Film Festival to convene a major summit on “Illicit Networks: Forces in Opposition” (INFO) in Los Angeles, California, that explored the potential of technology to “expose, map, and disrupt” illicit networks around the world, and to empower individuals, civil society, governments, and corporations to fight back. These closing remarks were delivered at the INFO summit on Wednesday, July 18. Read more »

Iran, the Bomb, and U.S. Public Opinion

by Stewart M. Patrick Monday, July 16, 2012
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attends an unveiling ceremony of new nuclear projects in Tehran on February 15, 2012 (Handout/Courtesy Reuters). Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attends an unveiling ceremony of new nuclear projects in Tehran on February 15, 2012 (Handout/Courtesy Reuters).

The Obama administration hoped the specter of an oil embargo and increasingly stringent banking sanctions would finally force Iran to come clean on its clandestine nuclear program and end its enrichment activities. No such luck. After the third round of P5+1 negotiations in Moscow ended last month in a stalemate, the White House and Congress are competing to isolate the intransigent Iranian government. Read more »

How to Attack Transnational Crime

by Stewart M. Patrick Monday, July 9, 2012
View the global governance monitor at: cfr.org/crimemonitor. View the global governance monitor at: cfr.org/crimemonitor.

Over the past two decades, as the world economy has globalized, so has its illicit counterpart. Criminal groups have appropriated new technologies, adapted horizontal network structures that are difficult to trace and combat, and diversified their activities. International trafficking in drugs, people, and illicit weapons, as well as cyber crime and money laundering have risen to unprecedented levels. Read more »

Assessing Rio: Silver Linings to Cloudy Forecast

by Stewart M. Patrick Thursday, July 5, 2012
New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg (L) speaks as Rio de Janeiro's Mayor Eduardo Paes (C) and Eduardo Macri of Buenos Aires look on during the Rio+C40 Megacity Mayors Taking Action on Climate Change event in Rio de Janeiro June 19, 2012 (Sergio Moraes/Courtesy Reuters). New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg (L) speaks as Rio de Janeiro's Mayor Eduardo Paes (C) and Eduardo Macri of Buenos Aires look on during the Rio+C40 Megacity Mayors Taking Action on Climate Change event in Rio de Janeiro June 19, 2012 (Sergio Moraes/Courtesy Reuters).

Ultimately, the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, or Rio+20, seemed to fly by with a flurry of coverage but no clear conclusions. Many observers dismissed the final communiqué as “283 paragraphs of fluff” while others found reason for optimism.  What is, however, undeniable is that the world is in no mood for ambitious new multilateral conventions on the global environment. Read more »