scholarly journals Honest Broker

2020 ◽  
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Author(s):  
Richard A. Moss

Although Nixon and Kissinger superimposed a Cold War distortion on a regional situation, tried to spin stories in the media, and allowed personal biases to flavor their responses, they responded logically and perhaps justifiably when seen in the broader context of U.S.-Soviet relations. The Nixon administration steadily escalated diplomatic signals, and the top policymakers sincerely believed that India had launched external aggression—not Pakistan—with its support for Mukthi Bahini (liberation force) raids into what was then East Pakistan. Several additional themes run through Nixon and Kissinger’s response to the Indo-Pakistani War, many of which were also reflected in U.S.-Soviet back-channel communications and in the taped conversations. Not surprisingly, Nixon’s and Kissinger’s policy perceptions were clearly colored by their personal experiences with Indira Gandhi and Yahya Khan. The White House was unwilling to dismiss Yahya’s role as an honest broker in Sino-American rapprochement and likewise saw duplicity on the part of Indira Gandhi after she visited Washington, D.C., in early November 1971 and claimed that India had no desire for war with Pakistan. In addition, the surreptitiously recorded conversations between the president and his advisors are rife with gendered speech and appeals to masculine “toughness” that colored Nixon’s actions. Significantly, the frequent contact with the Soviets during the war mitigates some of the criticism of recklessness.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-171
Author(s):  
Simo Sarkki ◽  
Hannu I Heikkinen ◽  
Teresa Komu ◽  
Mari Partanen ◽  
Karoliina Vanhanen ◽  
...  

Abstract We examine roles and knowledge by which researchers can enhance connections between science, policy, and society. We arranged a participatory scenario workshop with representatives from environmental administration to discuss how different land-use governance arrangements link to sustainability of reindeer herding in northern Finland. We used fast track scenarios as boundary objects that aimed to bring reindeer herders’ problem definitions to be discussed with administrators. First, we performed the role of science arbiter by using our previous research with reindeer herders as the starting point for the discussions. Next, we discussed and elaborated diverse future alternatives via the role of honest broker. Finally, we were interpreted as issue advocates because the scenario exercise reduced the scope of preferable policy options for administrators. Performing these boundary-spanning roles in the same process, but each, in turn, enables researchers to offer views on sustainability via scenarios that break easily acceptable conventions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 70-71
Author(s):  
Julia Langdon
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