Ted Piccone | The Brookings Institution (original) (raw)

Papers by Ted Piccone

After fifty years of hostilities, the United States is normalizing relations with a Cuba that is ... more After fifty years of hostilities, the United States is normalizing relations with a Cuba that is slowly changing toward a hybrid model of gradual economic liberalization and restricted political life. Thousands of Cubans, however, continue to leave the island in search of a better life in places like Nevada and Florida. Piccone will explain the pros and cons of the Obama Administration’s strategy from the perspective of U.S. national interests in a more open, stable and prosperous Cuba

The American Journal of International Law, 1996

South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), Sep 1, 2014

IdeAs, 2017

physique ; si une pomme, de son arbre arrachée, ne peut que tomber au sol, Cuba, séparée de force... more physique ; si une pomme, de son arbre arrachée, ne peut que tomber au sol, Cuba, séparée de force de son lien artificiel avec l'Espagne, et incapable d'autonomie, ne pourra que graviter vers l'Union nord-américaine qui, selon cette même loi de la nature, ne pourra la rejeter de son sein », prédisait en avril 1823, le secrétaire d'Etat américain, John Quincy Adams (Adams J. Q., 1823) à propos de l'île située à moins de 170 kilomètres de Key West. Ce principe de « gravitation politique » d'un territoire que d'aucuns considèrent comme la rive sud de la Floride a fait florès et marqué de son sceau la relation asymétrique mais ô combien intime et passionnelle entre Washington et La Havane, souvent conflictuelle, jamais indifférente.

Catalysts for Change examines the strengths and weaknesses of one of the United Nations' most... more Catalysts for Change examines the strengths and weaknesses of one of the United Nations' most important human rights mechanisms --the collection of independent experts known as special procedures --as they negotiate the rocky terrain where rights meet reality. These independent experts serve as the eyes and ears of the UN human rights system. Despite their prolific work as experts and advocates, however, there has been no empirical study of their impact at the national level --until now. This book provides concrete evidence of why the system works and ways it can be improved.

Estudios Internacionales, 2011

About the Project This policy brief is part of a series of papers on democracy, security, and vio... more About the Project This policy brief is part of a series of papers on democracy, security, and violent extremism prepared for the Community of Democracies’ Democracy and Security Dialogue. The project seeks to foster greater collaboration among democratic governments, donors, civil society and academics to improve security outcomes and create a more conducive environment for the strengthening of democracy around the world. For more on the project and related materials, including the final report, visit www.brookings.edu/ democracy-security-dialogue. Summary

Big Bets Reassert U.S. Leadership of a Liberal Global Order by Robert Kagan and Ted Piccone Secur... more Big Bets Reassert U.S. Leadership of a Liberal Global Order by Robert Kagan and Ted Piccone Secure the Future of the Internet by Peter W. Singer and Ian Wallace Solidify the U.S. - Afghanistan Alliance by Michael E. O'Hanlon and Gen. John Allen (USMC, Ret.) Lift the Ban on U.S. Oil Exports by Tim Boersma and Charles K. Ebinger Strengthen Stability in Africa by Michael E. O'Hanlon Double Downs Broaden the Approach to Iran by Suzanne Maloney Pursue Regime Change in Syria by Michael Doran Return to the Asia Rebalance by Jonathan D. Pollack and Jeffrey A. Bader Reach Out to Cuba by Ted Piccone Avert Conflict in the South and East China Seas by Richard C. Bush III, Bruce Jones and Jonathan D. Pollack Black Swans Israeli-Palestinian Violence Erupts by Natan B. Sachs Putin's Russia Goes rogue by Fiona Hill and Steven Pifer Venezuela Breaks Down in Violence by Harold Trinkunas Nightmares Korean Crisis Prompts Confrontation with China by Jonathan D. Pollack and Richard C. Bush II...

Barack Obama entered the U.S. presidency with a daunting agenda. At home he faced deep economic r... more Barack Obama entered the U.S. presidency with a daunting agenda. At home he faced deep economic recession, a near collapse of the country’s financial institutions, rising unemployment, decaying infrastructure, a dysfunctional health insurance system, and countless other accumulated problems. Abroad he inherited two costly and unpopular wars, the continuing threat from al Qaeda, dangerous confrontations with North Korea and Iran, strained relations with Russia, multiple challenges from a rising China, the specter of implosion in Pakistan, the festering Israel-Palestine impasse, the looming dangers of climate change, pandemics, and nuclear proliferation— and much more. Few observers predicted, therefore, that the Obama administration would devote much attention to Latin America and the Caribbean. None of the region’s countries poses an imminent threat to U.S. national security. None seems likely to be a source or target of significant international terrorism. During the campaign, more...

The international order founded on principles of democracy and human rights is facing renewed thr... more The international order founded on principles of democracy and human rights is facing renewed threats from a declining West, rising authoritarians and ambivalent swing states oriented more to traditional concepts of sovereignty and noninterference. Five middle powers – Brazil, India, Turkey, Indonesia and South Africa – once stood out for their potential as examples of democratization and economic expansion at home and as responsible stewards of global governance. Recent trends, however, are troubling. A renewed effort to find common ground among established and rising democracies on an international democracy and human rights agenda would help stabilize current setbacks, but it will take time.

Amid an erosion of leadership among established democracies, rising democratic powers-though sadd... more Amid an erosion of leadership among established democracies, rising democratic powers-though saddled with their own problems at home-should be ready to step up on the international stage.

Proceedings of the Annual Meeting (American Society of International Law), 2014

Proceedings of the Annual Meeting (American Society of International Law), 2015

This panel was convened at 10:45 am, Friday, April 11, by its moderator, Kathryn Sikkink of the K... more This panel was convened at 10:45 am, Friday, April 11, by its moderator, Kathryn Sikkink of the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, who introduced the panelists: Felice D. Gaer of the Jacob Blaustein Institute; Michael O'Flaherty of the Irish Centre for Human Rights; Ted Piccone of the Brookings Institution; and Beth Simmons of Harvard University. * THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION MACHINERY: THE UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS By Felice D. Gaer ([dagger]) The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stands at the pinnacle of the United Nations human rights machinery. It is now 20 years since the establishment of this long-hoped-for post. Our recent publication, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights: Conscience for the World, (1) examined the achievements of the six persons who have held the office to date. The questions that seized us were simply: What makes a successful High Commissioner, and who makes a successful High Commissioner? This raises the matter of what success is and what effectiveness is within the UN human rights machinery. To identify the goals against which to measure effectiveness, we examined the history of this post. Before General Assembly Resolution 48/141, which mandated the position of High Commissioner in 1993, advocates called for a leader who could look into individual complaints and country situations or report publicly on violations of human rights. They hoped for an independent official who could exercise good offices, conduct investigations, provide technical advice to countries, make appeals, and report publicly. By 1993, however, there was a substantial number of human rights mechanisms, including special rapporteurs and treaty bodies, conducting some of this work. Proponents of the High Commissioner post now called for an official who could coordinate the mechanisms, give them strategic direction, integrate concerns about human rights throughout the UN system, and make the UN response to atrocities "early, efficient, effective and comprehensive." They wanted a High Commissioner who could exercise a self-activating mandate, without first requiring a political body to authorize examination of a country. In calling for such a High Commissioner, human rights advocates shared a vision of a leader who could act to protect individuals from abuse, and in so doing change the world. This vision may have sounded like a fantasy to some, but to many, the proposal to create a High Commissioner sounded like a practical plan to breathe life into protecting oft-affirmed but inconsistently observed universal standards of human rights. The key to early thinking about a High Commissioner for Human Rights was the view that the office-holder should be concerned about human rights universally and have a high degree of independence to develop strategies for responding to human rights violations--including the ability to speak out against human rights violations wherever they occurred--and to ensure protection of human rights throughout the UN system. These criteria remain at the center of current assessments of the achievements of the High Commissioners. Resolution 48/141 mandated that the new High Commissioner for Human Rights "promote universal respect for and observance of all human rights" and be "the UN official with principal responsibility for UN human rights activities ... under the direction and authority of the Secretary General"; "promote and protect the effective enjoyment by all of all ... [human] rights"; "play an active role ... in preventing the continuation of human rights violations throughout the world ..."; "coordinate human rights promotion and protection activities throughout the UN system ..."; and "rationalize, adapt, strengthen and streamline the UN machinery in the field of human rights...." This mandate dropped references to independence and put an outsized emphasis on coordination and on working within the UN system. …