The FPA’s Must Reads (Feb. 1-8)

John Brennan, President Obama’s nominee to head the CIA, prepares to testify at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday. [J. Scott Applewhite/AP]

If They Build It, Will the Kardashians Come?
By Peter Savodnik
The New York Times Magazine

Azerbaijan is rich — oil rich — pushing one million barrels of crude oil through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipepline per day. Perched on the Caspian and with a massive energy sector, it’s no wonder it was the fastest growing economy between 2006 to 2008. These days, however, it wants to be famous.

Twitter Devolutions
By Marc Lynch
Foreign Policy

Former Great Decisions in Foreign Policy panelist and George Washington University political science professor Marc Lynch weighs in on the role of social media in the Arab Spring. With all the hype surrounding “Facebook revolutions” and “Twitter revolutions” — perhaps soon we’ll have “Vine revolutions” — Lynch demonstrates it really hasn’t been as beneficial as we want to believe to the Arab Spring.

Escape from Iran
By Vahid Pour Ostad
The Atlantic

Hooman Mousavi, an Iranian dissident born in a political prison to a family killed for their opposition activities, was arrested for participating in the protests against the 2009 vote that handed the incumbent Ahmadinejad a 62 percent win. Ostad tells his story a few months after his release in August 2012.

The Evolution of Irregular War
By Max Boot
Foreign Affairs

With all the recent “droning” about drones in Washington, Max Boot — a CFR fellow and Great Decisions 2013 guest — reminds us that terrorism and guerrilla tactics are not really anything new; it’s conventional warfare that’s new. And even though it’s been belittled since Greco-Roman times, it remains as deadly as ever, only this time with a political scheme that may have been lacking among the tribal warriors of the past.

Hillary Clinton: The Most Powerful Woman in American Politics
by Michael Tomasky
Newsweek

If there’s one thing the buzz surrounding Hillary’s (temporarily?) nonexistent 2016 presidential bid, it’s that Hillary Clinton as a “private citizen” has become hard to imagine. Tomasky discusses her legacy, her diplomacy and her impact on politics in general.

Blogs:

Shades of Grey in U.S. Policy Towards North Africa by Calvin Dark
“Hillz” Highlights: Reflections on Hillary Clinton’s Four Years as SecState by Hannah Gais
How Secretary Clinton Got It All Wrong by Oliver Barrett
First African Billionaire a Testament in Corruption Not Success by Daniel Donovan
The Long Road Back by Melissa Lockhart Fortner