A feature of American political consciousness is a desire to propagate democracy throughout the world. In our enthusiasm to share what we enjoy, Barzun notes that little attention is paid to exactly what we are trying to distribute.

Third World debt, seen as distant from the realm of international affairs and ethics, is often subject to abstract economic analysis. Bauer argues that the way in which debt is addressed by debtors and lenders is heavily politicized and should be subjected to ethical scrutiny.

Beeman uses Islamic history to show how contentious stances have evolved towards the West and how ignorance of that history has handicapped the United States in developing effective policies towards Iran.

Coll sees in the Christian worldview three core values that can be used to discern moral political actions: the importance of history, the ubiquity of tragedy, and practical wisdom.

Korey traces the evolution of the dispute over the Helsinki Accord and discusses Gorbachev's uneven attempts to improve the Soviet Union's recognition of human rights.

Kratochwil argues that a social-scientific study of the behavior of regimes, and how they exercise power, is a useful method to challenge the exaggerated view of international relations as a "normless anarchy.".

Despite the restraining force of totalitarianism, Poland's religiosity evolved swiftly in the forty years after the World War II, producing a pope and empowering an enduring and peaceful political movement.

Bruce Nichols explores the way in which the concept of humanitarian aid has been stretched beyond recognition for political ends.

The first issue of Ethics & International Affairs was published in 1987, when the Cold War still dominated international affairs. It was appropriate at that time to launch the journal with an issue devoted in part to the theme "superpower ethics." In his introduction to the topic Nye argues that the challenge of establishing an ethics for the United States and the Soviet Union is not met by any traditional Western system. Aristotle's "virtue," Kant's "good intent," and the "good result" (...) of the consequentialists are inadequate to the task of determining right on the superpower playing field. In reference to this insufficiency, Nye sketches the arguments of the subsequent articles by Mazrui, Hassner, and Hoffman, each of whom offers an instructive picture of the state of superpower ethics. (shrink)

Phillips suggests ways to reaffirm the rule of law and the commitment to social justice and to build such values into Western foreign policy, rather than use them as public relations tinsel.