Foreword

Commonly, when policymakers and academics discuss ethnic and religious minorities in the context of international relations, it is usually to decry their marginalization within political systems and foreign policy decision making. Based on numbers alone, it makes sense that minority voices would be squelched, even in the most liberal of democracies. However, some minorities have taken their position, as such, and turned marginalization into political power. They have marshaled their influence and used it effectively to affect their government's foreign policy. Some groups exercise this power through the political process; others use subversion. Either way, these minorities have found a way to counter the old adage of "majority rule."

Professors Will Moore and Stephen Saideman add to the theoretical discussion of this issue through their examination of how minorities gain power. Moore examines the importance of diaspora politics, and discusses the diaspora's potential ability to capture their host country's foreign policy. Saideman identifies the characteristics that make minority groups influential, including the ease of organizing small groups, their narrower focus, and the presence of apathetic majorities. Professor Yossi Shain analyzes the implications of diaspora political leverage, both on homeland and host state foreign policies. He examines both the Armenian and Jewish diasporas in the United States, and each group's impact on their respective homeland's conflict resolution efforts with neighboring states.

Minority groups, however, may not always share the same ideals. Professors Nedim Ögelman, Jeanette Money, and Philip Martin compare the aspirations and the access to political power of the Cuban community in the United States to the Turkish minority in Germany. Competing interests and institutional constraints in the host state can create difficulties in consolidating political influence. Miriam Lanksoy analyzes the issue from a different perspective. She examines the case of Wahhabism in Chechnya and Daghestan, and points out that minority identity can sometimes be hijacked for less idealistic motives. Finally, some of the most prominent scholars on Saudi Arabia engage in a dialogue on the viability and future of family and tribal rule in Saudi Arabia.

In addition to the topic of minority politics, this issue also explores the geopolitics of water, a phenomenon that influences both conflict and cooperation. Water is a resource that is crucial to human survival, yet it eludes sovereign borders and legal rules. In order to preserve both their populations and their agriculture, many countries face a stark choice between the use of force to obtain short-term water security and cooperation to secure longer-term access to water resources. Shlomi Dinar sets the stage for the discussion by examining the intersections between hydropolitics and international relations theory. Professor J.A. Allan builds on this through his analysis of the Jordan River Basin, arguing that the creation of "virtual water" through international trade may temporarily prevent conflict, but also delays crucial reforms. Professor Gawdat Baghat offers compelling evidence of the powerplays for sovereignty and oil in the Caspian Sea region, while Professor Faisal details the looming water conflicts between India and Bangladesh. Professor Ashok Swain addresses a similar problem in the Nile River Basin, and asks whether a simple sub-basin cooperative regime might be initially a better building block for cooperation than seeking a more comprehensive, basinwide solution.

To complement these discussions, the SAIS Review has also chosen several essays that stand on their own, analyzing debates within the international relations community. Given the recent controversy surrounding the linkages and communication between intelligence agencies, Professor Richard Russell's essay on the CIA and the military raises important questions on the appropriate division between military and civilian responsibilities. We are also pleased to publish Jeffrey Jordan's essay on corruption and patronage in the Czech Republic, which won the annual SAIS Review essay contest. Our Reviews section includes many topics of intense interest, including Camille Pecasting's review of French reactions to September 11, Sanam Vakil's review of Bernard Lewis's theory of What Went Wrong in the Middle East and Mark Kramer's reexamination of Mikhail Gorbachev's legacy. Finally, we have created a new section of...