Foreword

FOREWORD. The truth be told, editors ofinternational affairsjournals secretly hope that the world will grind to a halt during the month or two it takes to process and produce an issue. No one likes to publish outdated material. Accordingly, the extraordinary developments of the last six months and the lightning-like pace at which they have occurred have posed real dilemmas for all foreign affairs journals. What topics will be "hot" in the next couple of months . . . nay—weeks . . . nay—days? If the toppling of the Ceausescus could eclipse the invasion of Panama, what could overshadow the unification of the Germanies? And is the attempt to link thematically all recent major events an act of supreme futility? Daring events to overtake it, this issue of the SAIS REVIEW features analysis, commentary, and reflections on the most significant events of times present. Laying to rest the Fukuyama-incited debate over the end of history, Flora Lewis reviews the whole new set of questions and opportunities created by the collapsing system of bloc-to-bloc Europe. Approaching the issue ofAmerican decline from two unique perspectives, diplomatic historian Michael H. Hunt and international economist W. Max Corden debunk the pessimists' interpretations ofAmerica's changing global status. Mr. Hunt also examines the current reemergence of isolationism and sees in it a renewal of the Great Debate over America's proper place in the world. And surveying the likely ramifications of Germany's impending unification, Stephen F. Szabo argues that the leaders of Europe and the United States must speed up the continent's reconstruction or risk losing the great opportunity afforded by the collapse of the Berlin Wall. vi SAIS REVIEW Assessing current developments in and likely prospects for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe is the task ofthe articles by Bruce Parrott, Ed A. Hewett, and Andrew Nagorski. Together, the three articles offer a complete and detailed picture of the hows, whats, and whys of Soviet reform and Eastern Europe's velvet revolution. As the articles by Mike M. Mochizuki on Japan and Pauline H. Baker on Africa demonstrate, the fundamental transformation of the Soviet Union that we have been witnessing these last few years has impacted significantly on developments in practically every part of the world. In many ways, today's is a new world order—one which these articles help to make more understandable . This issue also attempts to refocus attention on a topic which has been shunted aside too quickly in the past, partially because of its controversial nature. The plight ofthe Vietnamese boat people, as Daniel Wolf and Shep Lowman convincingly assert, remains soberingly perilous. With the most up-to-date information available, the authors argue for a new approach to this refugee crisis—an approach based on solid legal principles and simple humanitarianism. It is the hope of this editor that Wolf and Lowman's reasoned solutions will be seriously considered and then implemented. Finally, the REVIEW features a triad of articles on Central America and the United States: Piero Gleijeses' extremely provocative reflections on the "victory" achieved by U.S. policies, Michael D. Mosettig's penetrating account of the lessons learned by the press in their coverage of the Panama invasion, and Gary Bland's informative analysis ofthe prospects for peace in El Salvador. Time is money. Time is also fleeting. It is hoped that these articles will provide a helpful contribution to the ongoing debates over the changes in the post-Cold War era. And it is hoped that as the SAIS REVIEW concludes its tenth year of production, the students of SAIS, the staff at the Foreign Policy Institute, and especially the staff of the REVIEW will continue to offer our readers the best cutting-edge thinking on international affairs. mark s. mahaney Editor ...