Introduction

INTRODUCTION A he Foreign Policy Institute takes pleasure in supportingthe rebirth of the SAIS Review, and applauds the initiative of the students in bringing it about. Indeed, it is that initiative, and the spirit that accompanies it, that makes the publication of this first issue a significant event. Is there a need for another publication in the field offoreign affairs? There is a clear need for this one, offering as it does elements that are rare—perhaps unique. If there has been one constant attribute of American foreign policy since World War ?, it has been the gap between old-line elitist policymakers and newly emerging leaders and thinkers in the field. Given the complexities ofcontemporary international relations , there is an urgent need to narrow that gap and arrive at a total diplomacy built upon wide debate, vigorous challenge, and thorough analysis at many levels of opinion. Fully as important as debate, however, is the need for continuity and flow in policy formulation. Opportunities must be created for the newly developing student-scholar to be brought into the process along with the leading minds ofacademia and those presently or previously in responsible positions. The SAZS Review is specifically designed to provide those opportunities. Within its pages the student, the faculty, and the "old pro" will blend voices. Whether the result will be a medley or discord remains to be seen. Let us hope for some of both. The theme of this inaugural issue, "U.S. Foreign Policy at the Crossroads," is one that may well prompt more questions than answers. So much the better. We live in a rapidly changing world and are increasingly faced with issues and decisions for which there are no easy answers—often as not because we have failed to ask the right questions. It is our hope that President Reagan and his administration will find new and constructive approaches to these complex issues. The SAZS Review seeks to play its own role in solving such problems by continuously asking new questions, offering new perspectives, and providing intellectual excitement to a field which needs all of the above. May it bring to its readers and writers alike a true sense of participation in the process that guides our country along its troubled path. Lucius D. Battle Chairman The Johns Hopkins Foreign Policy Institute ...