The Pragmatic Fanaticism of al Qaeda: An Anatomy of Extremism in Middle Eastern Politics
Michael Doran analyzes Osama bin Laden as a rational actor, arguing that his extremist religious beliefs did not dictate his short-term political behavior, which is actually based on the principle of realpolitik. Al Qaeda's defeat in Afghanistan resulted not because its strategic thinking was clouded by religious dogmas, but rather because the balance of power in the Middle East is inherently difficult to read.

CIA's Strategic Intelligence in Iraq
Richard L. Russell examines the strengths and weaknesses of American intelligence during the Gulf War in gauging Iraqi political intentions and military capabilities. He finds that overall strategic intelligence served policy makers well, but that some shortcomings, particularly in human intelligence collection, need to be corrected if the United States is to successfully deal with Iraq in the post-September 11 world. The role of the CIA was diminished after the war, even though he finds that the CIA’s estimates were more accurate than those of the Defense establishment.

North Korea's Weapons of Mass Destruction: Badges, Shields, or Swords?
Victor D. Cha examines the question about relative merits of engaging or containing North Korea that has resurfaced after President Bush's "axis of evil" statements. The author argues that this policy question cannot be answered without an understanding of the strategic doctrine behind North Korea's alleged nuclear weapons capabilities.

Human Rights and Domestic Violence
Darren Hawkins and Melissa Humes explain why western hemisphere states rapidly adopted policies to combat domestic violence in the 1990s. They develop a twostage model in which domestic politics drives early adopters and international socialization prods followers to action. Leader states possess autonomous women’s groups and domestic windows of opportunity, follower states are relatively weak or unstable, and nonconformist states are wealthy and stable but lack autonomous women’s groups or domestic political opportunities.

The Increasing Senate Scrutiny of Lower Federal Court Nominees
Roger E. Hartley and Lisa M. Holmes find that although the current delay in processing judicial appointments is the longest in recent history, this kind of delay and scrutiny of lower federal nominees is not a new political phenomenon. The authors argue that institutional changes have led the Senate to invigorate its role of “Advice and Consent” and have increased the political scrutiny of lower court nominations.

Jewish Kinship at a Crossroads: Lessons for Homelands and Diasporas
Yossi Shain examines the growing involvement of Jewish-Americans in what he calls the Israeli Kulturkampf and underscores how Israel is reaching out to diasporic voices in an unprecedented manner. He also evaluates how the interplay between Jewish security and Jewish identity affects the sense of kinship solidarity.

Defending America: The Case for Limited National Missile Defense, James M. Lindsay and Michael E. O'Hanlon
Reviewed by Richard L. Garwin

Hit to Kill: The New Battle over Shielding America from Missile Attack, Bradley Graham
Reviewed by James J. Wirtz

The Phantom Defense: America's Pursuit of the Star Wars Illusion, Melvin A. Goodman, Craig Eisendrath and Gerald E. Marsh
Reviewed by Julian Schofield

Rockets' Red Glare: Missile Defenses and the Future of World Politics, James J. Wirtz and Jeffrey A. Larsen, eds.
Reviewed by Jon Western

Putting "Defense" Back into U. S. Defense Policy: Rethinking U. S. Security in the Post-Cold War World, Ivan Eland
Reviewed by James Russell

Digital Diplomacy: U. S. Foreign Policy in the Information Age, Wilson Dizard, Jr.
Reviewed by Beth Simone Noveck

Strategic Warfare in Cyberspace, Gregory J. Rattray
Reviewed by John Arquilla

The Tragedy of Great Power Politics, John J. Mearsheimer
Reviewed by Robert J. Lieber

The Hidden Hand: Britain, America and Cold War Secret Intelligence, Richard J. Aldrich
Reviewed by Raymond L. Garthoff

A Special Relationship: Anglo-American Relations in the Cold War and after, John Dumbrell
Reviewed by Warren F. Kimball

The Politics of British Arms Sales since 1964, Mark Phythian
Reviewed by Robert Harkavy

The Making of Chinese Foreign and Security Policy in the Era of Reform, David M. Lampton, ed.
Reviewed by Dennis Van Vranken Hickey

Mao's China and the Cold War, Chen Jian
Reviewed by Daniel S. Markey

The Politics of Institutional Choice: The Formation of the Russian State Duma, Steven S. Smith and Thomas F. Remington
Reviewed by Juliet Johnson

Russian Politics: Challenges of Democratization, Robert G. Moser and Zoltan Barany, eds.
Reviewed by Valerie Sperling

Russia and Its New Diasporas, Igor Zevelev
Reviewed by Mikhail A. Alexseev

U. S. Foreign Policy and the Iran Hostage Crisis, David Patrick Houghton
Reviewed by Barbara Farnham

Gendering World Politics: Issues and Approaches in the Post-Cold War Era, J. Ann Tickner
Reviewed by Meredith Reid Sarkees

War's Offense on Women: The Humanitarian Challenge in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan, Julie A. Mertus
Reviewed by Elisabeth Jay Friedman

Arms and Ethnic Conflict, John S. Sislin and Frederic S. Pearson
Reviewed by Chaim Kaufmann

Africa Policy in the Clinton Years: Critical Choices for the Bush Administration, J. Stephen Morrison and Jennifer G. Cooke, eds.
Reviewed by John F. Clark

Catholic Roots and Democratic Flowers: Political Systems in Spain and Portugal, Howard J. Wiadra and Margaret MacLeish Mott
Reviewed by Andrew Greeley

Politicians Don't Pander: Political Manipulation and the Loss of Democratic Responsiveness, Robert Y. Shapiro and Lawrence R. Jacobs
Reviewed by David R. Mayhew

Frontiers of Legal Theory, Richard A. Posner
Reviewed by Rogers M. Smith

Electing Jesse Ventura: A Third-Party Success Story, Jacob Lentz
Reviewed by Frank J. Sorauf

Who Speaks for the Poor?, R. Allen Hays
Reviewed by Ralph Da Costa Nunez

Campaign Dynamics: The Race for Governor, Thomas M. Carsey
Reviewed by David P. Redlawsk

Disjointed Pluralism: Institutional Innovation and the Development of the U. S. Congress, Eric Schickler
Reviewed by Garry Young

Congress Confronts the Court: The Struggle for Legitimacy and Authority in Lawmaking, John F. Stack, Jr. and Colton C. Campbell, eds.
Reviewed by Mark A. Graber

The Velvet Coup: The Constitution, the Supreme Court, and the Decline of American Democracy, Daniel Lazare
Reviewed by Richard L. Pacelle, Jr.