Number of results to display per page
Search Results
802. Michael Byers. International Law and the Arctic
- Author:
- Timo Kolvurova
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- Those who follow the newspapers and media in general are led to believe that the stakes are getting higher in the Arctic. Climate change is melting the sea ice and opening up new economic opportunities: oil, gas, moving fish stocks, and shorter navigational routes are among the benefits to be had by those who are bold enough to make a move. According to the media, China and other emerging economies are claiming their own piece of the Arctic. In the scramble among states for the riches of the Arctic, we sense a scenario that may even drive states to the point of military conflict. Yet, this scramble does not take place in a legal vacuum – there are plenty of legal rules that govern the behaviour of states and other actors in the region. Indeed, this is one of the salient points that Michael Byers makes in his book.
- Topic:
- Environment, International Law, and Oil
- Political Geography:
- China
803. The Role of Political Science in China: Intellectuals and Authoritarian Resilience
- Author:
- Stephen Noakes
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Political Science Quarterly
- Institution:
- Academy of Political Science
- Abstract:
- Stephen Noakes discusses the relationship between political scientists and the state in China. He argues that political scientists do more to strengthen the rule of the Chinese Communist Party than they do to undermine it, and are therefore complicit in preserving the authoritarian status quo.
- Political Geography:
- China
804. Book Review: Foreign Policy Begins at Home: The Case for Putting America's House in Order
- Author:
- Travis Evans
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Cato Journal
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- For the better part of a decade, the United States has been mired in mediocrity, settling for what feels like a new normal of low eco- nomic growth, stagnant wages, political intransigence, and an unending war or terror. Many think America's better days are behind it. Richard Haass, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, disagrees. In Foreign Policy Begins at Home , Haass attempts to reverse American defeatism and assuage fears of American decline, arguing instead that the United States is simply underperforming, suffering from "American made" problems that can be corrected by restoring the "foundations of its power." He explains that America's true strength abroad comes from its strength at home, and if America is to provide global leadership it "must first put its house in order." While much of Foreign Policy focuses on policy prescriptions that would restore American strength, the true contribution of the book is its explanation of why such a strategy is needed.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy
- Political Geography:
- Japan, China, and America
805. The Limits and Implications of the Air-Sea Battle Concept: A Japanese Perspective
- Author:
- Matsahiro Matsumura
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
- Institution:
- Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
- Abstract:
- The world has seen the international distribution of power gradually shifting, driven in great part by China's rise and America's relative decline. Almost continuously for two decades, China has kept double-digit growth rates in defense spending and, consequently, made military build-ups that are unprecedented in modern international history. China has also demonstrated a series of increasingly assertive diplomatic and military actions as related to its irredentist claims to Taiwan, the Senkaku Islands, the Spratly Islands, and the Paracel Islands, among others. Although the regional security order of the East Asia and the Western Pacific appears sufficiently stable, the US and its major regional allies together have to deter and, if necessary, defeat possible China's armed aggression against the territorial status quo. Doing so is a challenge even for the hegemonic US, on the grounds that the aftermath of the 2008 Lehman Shock has seriously impaired the health of the US political economy, and that its defense spending is anticipated to undergo one major cut after another, at least, for a decade to come.
- Political Geography:
- United States, Japan, China, America, Taiwan, and East Asia
806. Irene R. Makaryk and Marissa McHugh, ed. Shakespeare and the Second World War: Memory, Culture, Identity. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press, 2012.
- Author:
- Deji A. Oguntoyinbo
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
- Institution:
- Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
- Abstract:
- All through the ages, Shakespeare's literary oeuvre has occupied a canonical status in world literature, primarily because of its universal relevance in terms of thematic preoccupation, characterization, and setting amongst several literary components. Though widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre- eminent dramatist, Shakespeare has been translated into every major living language and is performed more often than any other playwright. His dramatic works have been repeatedly adapted and rediscovered by new movements or perspectives in scholarship and performance. Even now, his plays remain highly popular and are constantly studied, performed and reinterpreted in various social, cultural and political contexts throughout the globe. One of these contexts is the Second World War. Regarded as the longest, bloodiest and deadliest conflict in history, World War II was fought predominantly in Europe and across the Pacific and Eastern Asia, pitting the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, fascist Italy and Japan against the Allied nations of Great Britain, France, China, United States and the Soviet Union. It is the most widespread war in history with more than one hundred million people serving in military units from over thirty different countries, and death tolls estimated to be between fifty and eighty-five million fatalities. Despite the fact that theatre stands as a “simulacrum of the cultural and historical process itself, seeking to depict the full range of human actions within their physical context, has always provided society with the most tangible records of its attempts to understand its own records” (3), the role of Shakespeare during the Second World War had not yet been given sustained, critical and detailed scholastic documentation. Herein lies the relevance and necessity of Shakespeare and the Second World War – as a writers' quota to fill the scholastic lacuna. Most of the war's belligerents showed affinity with Shakespearean works as a depiction of their society's self-image. Divided into fifteen illuminating, diverse, and yet coherent essays by seasoned and erudite academics, Shakespeare and the Second World War is a small sampling of reviewed and extended essays from “Wartime Shakespeare in a Global Context/Shakespeare au temps de la guerre” – an international bilingual conference that took place at the University of Ottawa in 2009. Within the spatial and temporal context of the war, Shakespeare's oeuvre is recycled, reviewed and reinterpreted in the chapters. In a Manichean manner, these essays cannot be collectively pigeonholed as either pro or anti–war. In fact, there is a sort of ambivalence with vacillating opinions by the writers.
- Political Geography:
- Britain, United States, Japan, China, France, Soviet Union, Germany, and Italy
807. Thomas G. Mahnken, ed. Competitive Strategies for the 21st Century: Theory, History, and Practice. Stanford, CA: Stanford Security Studies – Stanford University Press, 2012.
- Author:
- Michael Carl Haas
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
- Institution:
- Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
- Abstract:
- Among the grand narratives of international relations in the early 21st century, China's ascendancy and potential challenge to the US-led word order is now the most dominant, and perhaps the most compelling. Ostensibly the latest instalment in an unceasing sequence of great powers' rise and fall, it resonates deeply with specialist and non-specialist audiences alike. Central aspects of the emerging Sino-American competition - diplomatic, economic, and military – have been addressed at length in variety of for a and from widely diverging perspectives. Yet, up to now, few analysts have formulated anything resembling a coherent, prescriptive framework for how the United States and its allies should approach the increasingly confrontational dynamics that mark the defining great power relationship of our time.
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, America, and Asia
808. Western–Chinese Academic Collaboration in the Social Sciences
- Author:
- Sascha Klotzbücher
- Publication Date:
- 08-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- It would be naïve to pretend that politics and the actual needs of governance do not play a role in social sciences in any part of the world. However, the political dismissal of faculty members in Chinese universities, along with other political interventions reported in recent Western media, reveals the outspoken trend toward scientific professionalisation and scientific autonomy in a different light.
- Political Geography:
- China
809. Shifting Ideologics of Research Funding: The CPC's National Planning Office for Philosophy and Social Sciences
- Author:
- Heike Holbig
- Publication Date:
- 08-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- For more than two decades, the National Planning Office for Philosophy and Social Sciences (NPOPSS) has been managing official funding of social science research in China under the orbit of the Communist Party of China's (C PC) propaganda system. By focusing on "Major Projects", the most prestigious and well-funded program initiated by the NPOPSS in 2004, this contribution outlines the political and institutional ramifications of this line of official funding and attempts to identify larger shifts during the past decade in the "ideologics" of official social science research funding – the changing ideological circumscriptions of research agendas in the more narrow sense of echoing party theory and rhetoric and – in the broader sense – of adapting to an increasingly dominant official discourse of cultural and national self-assertion. To conclude, this article offers reflections on the potential repercussions of these shifts for international academic collaboration.
- Political Geography:
- China
810. The Impact of Changing Incentives in China on International Cooperation in Social Science Research on China
- Author:
- Doris Fischer
- Publication Date:
- 08-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- Over the past three decades, China's fast economic development has induced considerable changes in China's university and research institution landscape, research financing and academic career incentives. This paper argues that these changes have affected the motivation and the ways in which Chinese scholars engage in international research cooperation. Most recently it has been observed that strong pressures on scholars and scientists – especially at leading academic institutions – to excel in international publications while simultaneously fulfilling their obligation to generate income for their institutions can lead to a dilemma with regard to international research cooperation: Those institutions and scholars most interesting for foreign scholars to cooperate with may be the ones with the least amount of both incentive and time to enter into serious cooperation. This article invites us to reflect on the implications of these changes in the incentive structure for cooperation in social science research on China.
- Political Geography:
- China
811. Changes in International Research Cooperation in China: Positive Perspectives
- Author:
- Josef Gregory Mahoney
- Publication Date:
- 08-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper discusses how cooperation between Chinese researchers and their foreign counterparts has changed. The paper draws on current literature and the author's experience as a researcher in the US and in China, arguing that while cooperation has increased overall, it has done so in ways that have crowded out old forms of cooperation or made them passé. The paper focuses particularly on how changes at leading Chinese research institutions have impacted international cooperation, both positively and negatively, and suggests ways in which foreign scholars might effectively pursue new avenues for cooperation and exchange.
- Political Geography:
- China
812. Let's Not Go There: Coping with (Pre-) Selection Bias in Collaborative Field Research
- Author:
- Christian Gobel
- Publication Date:
- 08-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- Field research in China often requires the researcher to cooperate with two kinds of actors: research collaborators, such as those at universities or official think tanks, and local officials. These actors facilitate or enhance field access, but such access comes at the price of a potential "pre-selection bias" in data collection. Some scholars have argued that dependence on these "gatekeepers" introduces a significant bias into research outcomes. I argue, however, that the constraints faced by China scholars in their field studies are not absolute, but function by degree. The CCP is monolithic neither in its organization nor in the thoughts of its agents, and close collaboration with local partners can help remove normative bias rather than necessarily introducing it. Most importantly, an argument built exclusively on the power of structural constraints discounts China scholars' most crucial abilities: to learn, to think critically and to research holistically.
- Political Geography:
- China
813. Religious Revival among the Zhuang People in China: Practising "Superstition" and Standardizing a Zhuang Religion
- Author:
- Ya-ning Kao
- Publication Date:
- 08-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper examines two cases of Zhuang religious revival involving multiple actors. It shows how consideration of "superstition" (迷信, mixin) places some religious practice outside the institutional framework when discussing the modern concept of religion in China. In this paper, I particularly focus on two main dimensions of religious revival among the Zhuang people. The first is a grassroots dimension that involves the revival of a so-called "superstitious" cult in which Zhuang people along the Sino-Vietnamese border carry out shamanic rituals to make offerings to a powerful chief-turned-deity, Nong Zhigao, and his wife. The second dimension is a top-down dynamic and involves a series of projects conducted by Zhuang officials, scholars and business persons, which aim to standardize a Zhuang religion, known as Mo religion. These two cases of religious revival demonstrate the varied strategies utilized by different actors in response to government policies regarding religion in China.
- Political Geography:
- China
814. Re-Fusing Ethnicity and Religion: An Experiment on Tibetan Grounds
- Author:
- Martin Saxel
- Publication Date:
- 08-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- The relation between ethnicity and religion has had a troubled history in the People's Republic of China. Conflating religious practice with ethnic culture is considered to carry the risk of breeding "splittism" – especially in Tibet and Xinjiang. While in the post-Mao era the outright hostility against religion has given way to a religious revival, keeping religion and (nationality) politics separate has remained a major concern for the Chinese Communist Party. Religion is supposed to be a private matter that does not interfere with politics. Against this backdrop, a recent phenomenon in the Tibet Autonomous Region is all the more remarkable: the (re-)fusion of ethnicity and religion under the label of cultural heritage and its protection. This paper approaches this officially endorsed re-fusion ethno-graphically and examines its wider implications. I argue that endorsing religion as an attribute of Tibetan heritage corresponds to the concept of defining public spaces and events in which religious practice is legitimate and expected. Simultaneously, religious practices outside these dedicated spaces and events become even more problematic, leading to everyday Buddhist practices, such as circumambulation, being seen as (and performed as) political acts.
- Political Geography:
- China
815. What Future for Human Rights?
- Author:
- James W. Nickel
- Publication Date:
- 08-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- Like people born shortly after World War II, the international human rights movement recently had its sixty-fifth birthday. This could mean that retirement is at hand and that death will come in a few decades. After all, the formulations of human rights that activists, lawyers, and politicians use today mostly derive from the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the world in 1948 was very different from our world today: the cold war was about to break out, communism was a strong and optimistic political force in an expansionist phase, and Western Europe was still recovering from the war. The struggle against entrenched racism and sexism had only just begun, decolonization was in its early stages, and Asia was still poor (Japan was under military reconstruction, and Mao's heavy-handed revolution in China was still in the future). Labor unions were strong in the industrialized world, and the movement of women into work outside the home and farm was in its early stages. Farming was less technological and usually on a smaller scale, the environmental movement had not yet flowered, and human-caused climate change was present but unrecognized. Personal computers and social networking were decades away, and Earth's human population was well under three billion.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Human Rights, Human Welfare, International Law, International Political Economy, Sovereignty, and International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- United States, Japan, China, Europe, Asia, and United Nations
816. STRUCTURAL POWER TOWARD WEAK STATES: FRANCE, NOT CHINA, MATTERS IN FRANCOPHONE AFRICA
- Author:
- Olivier Mbabia
- Publication Date:
- 06-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
- Institution:
- Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
- Abstract:
- The magnitude of assignment of the People's Republic of China in Africa has recently ignited a tide of 'speedy' literature ranking the latter as the main actor to the detriment of traditional ones. A close look at this issue, however, shows that this deduction seems all the less simplistic. By deliberately limiting the present analysis to the so-called Francophone Africa, where Chinese engagement is as considerable as elsewhere on the continent, it appears that this conclusion is shaky when submitted to a rigorous analysis. Can a causal relation be established between the progression of this presence and Beijing's actual influence? Can power or influence be subsumed to an ever-growing presence and an economic vitality? Are these parameters enough to unseat old colonial powers, especially France in its original and natural area of influence?
- Political Geography:
- Africa, China, and Canada
817. Geneva Action Plan: Its Nature and Implications
- Author:
- Nasser Saghafi-Ameri and Pirooz Izadi
- Publication Date:
- 12-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Iranian Review of Foreign Affairs
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic Research (CSR)
- Abstract:
- The adoption of the Geneva Accord between Iran and the P5+1 (the US, UK, France, Russia, China plus Germany) to resolve issues related to Iran's nuclear program on November 24, 2013, brought about a series of debates in political circles. In many ways, it could be considered a historic event with international and regional implications and also ushered in a new chapter in Iran-U.S. relations. At the international level, it could have a great impact on the ways in which world affairs are managed. In fact, it was a victory for diplomacy, multilateralism and a thrust towards a multi-polar international system after more than a decade of unilateralism and military interventionist policies with all its catastrophic consequences. At the regional level, by fostering new alignments, it may have a positive impact on current problems; be it elimination of weapons of mass destruction or countering terrorism and extremism that is now expanding beyond the region. The Accord in Geneva also fosters hope for solid and productive relations between Iran and the U.S. after more than three decades of estrangement. Considering that a new geostrategic situation is unfolding in the region, this article tries to answer the questions related to its international and regional implications, as well as its impact on the very delicate issue of Iran-U.S. relations. At the end, some of the major challenges that lay ahead in the implementation of the Accord are examined.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Politics, Terrorism, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- Geneva, Russia, United States, China, United Kingdom, Iran, East Asia, France, and Germany
818. "Domestic Coalitions, Internationalization, and War: Then and Now"
- Author:
- Etel Solingen
- Publication Date:
- 04-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Security
- Institution:
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- The sources of World War I are numerous and widely studied. Some scholars have argued that they are underdetermining individually but overdetermining collectively. The purpose of this article is not to fuel the battle among theories claiming complete explanatory power, but rather to examine some lessons for contemporary international relations. Much of the recent commentary on the war's centenary evokes similarities between Germany in 1914 and China in 2014, and between globalization then and now. There are crucial differences on both accounts, however.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, and War
- Political Geography:
- China and Germany
819. Human conflict and ecosystem services: finding the environmental price of warfare
- Author:
- Robert A. Francis and Krishna Krishnamurthy
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- Warfare is a uniquely human endeavour, and has been central to human culture and civilization for many thousands of years. Early forms of intergroup conflict were conducted by our hominid ancestors over one million years ago, while the development of larger-scale, organized conflict is recorded by early civilizations in Mesopotamia and China almost 5,000 years ago. The impetuses for warfare, being a complex mix of genetics, psychology, culture, politics, technology and resource availability, are unlikely to disappear in the future, as long as our species survives. Though the nature of warfare is changing, from its most devastating twentieth- century form of industrial 'total' warfare to the geographically and politically complex 'everywhere war' that is beginning to define conflict in the twenty-first century, violent conflict is certain to remain a defining part of the human story.
- Political Geography:
- China and Mesopotamia
820. Morten Bergsmo and Ling Yan (eds). State Sovereignty and International Criminal Law
- Author:
- Alexandre Skander Galand
- Publication Date:
- 05-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- State Sovereignty and International Criminal Law, edited by Morten Bergsmo and Ling Yan, brings together two recent issues of international law: the rise of international criminal law as a building block in the nascent constitution of the international legal order and the increasingly active participation of China in international law. Even though China is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), it has until recently been de facto absent from the debates over norms of international law. Likewise, international criminal justice is a field of law that stagnated for more than 40 years. The last two decades have witnessed a revival of both phoenixes.
- Topic:
- International Law
- Political Geography:
- China
821. The “Rise” of China in the Eyes of Russia: A Source of Threats or New Opportunities?
- Author:
- Anastasia Solmentseva
- Publication Date:
- 12-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Connections
- Institution:
- Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
- Abstract:
- At the moment, the center of global economic and political gravity is rapidly shifting to the Asia-Pacific Region. This region possesses vast financial, resource-related, industrial and human potential. As the center of global development rapidly shifts to the East, Rus-sia regards the Asia-Pacific Region as the engine of the world economy, the key to which is a burgeoning China. In contemporary international relations the fast-moving rise of the PRC has become a crucial issue that concerns both Western and Russian political leaders, scholars and common citizens. The true intentions of the Chinese leadership as it pursues its foreign policy course remain quite nebulous and ambiguous. In various spheres and at a various levels of Russian society there are quite a few discussions and disputes about what, in fact, lies behind the global phenomenon of the “rise” of China, what consequences it entails for Russia, and how Moscow should organize its relations with Beijing.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, Global Political Economy, and Economic Development
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, Europe, and Asia
822. Journal of Advanced Military Studies: Fall 2014
- Author:
- David Zvijac, Jason J. Morrissette, Douglas A. Borer, and Brian J. Ellison
- Publication Date:
- 09-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Advanced Military Studies
- Institution:
- Marine Corps University Press, National Defense University
- Abstract:
- In Marine Corps Vision & Strategy 2025, the 34th Commandant of the Marine Corps, General James T. Conway, laid out his vision of the Corps: “Marines must be agile, capable of transitioning seamlessly between fighting, training, advising, and assisting—or performing all of these tasks simultaneously. . . . Future operational environments will place a premium on agile expeditionary forces, able to act with unprecedented speed and versatility in austere conditions against a wide range of adversaries.” Just as the nature of warfare has changed over time, so too has our need to assess future operations and the ever-evolving environment in which our forces must act.
- Topic:
- Security, Agriculture, Water, and Military Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, China, South Asia, Korea, and United States of America
823. China's engagement with Regionalization in South and Southeast Asia: A comparative perspective
- Author:
- Vasiliki Papatheologou, Rizwan Naseer, and Musarat Amin
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- South Asian Studies
- Institution:
- Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
- Abstract:
- China’s involvement in Asian regionalization is a main axis of its foreign policy and a part of China’s multilateral strategy which aims at increasing its regional role in Asia and multilateralism in global arena. The engagement with the regional institutions such as SAARC and ASEAN on the one hand facilitate China’s role as an effective player in the peripheral politics and on the other hand, maximizes PRC’s strategic interest for further regional integration. The article seeks to analyze the main elements of China’s engagement with two Asian regional organizations, (SAARC and ASEAN). The comparative analysis over China’s behavioral policies towards SAARC and ASEAN leads to the estimation that China has the potential for leadership in Southeast Asia while in South Asia its “voice” is still inaudible. The article argues that China’s engagement with SAARC compared to ASEAN is limited due to the games of balance of power in the region of South Asia deriving from the internal contradictions among the members (India-Pak relations), the low level of regionalization in South Asia as well as due to the increased role of other great and regional powers in the region of South Asia such as USA and India.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Governance, Engagement, and ASEAN
- Political Geography:
- China, South Asia, and Southeast Asia
824. Baku Dialogues
- Author:
- Zaur Shiriyev
- Publication Date:
- 09-2014
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Baku Dialogues
- Institution:
- ADA University
- Abstract:
- “Baku Dialogues” is a series of events featuring leading world personalities who will address subjects of current international interest by presenting their views and participating in discussion of these subjects with interested Azerbaijani and international figures. These presentations and discussions, along with other submissions, will be recorded in the “Baku Dialogues”, ADA University’s new journal of record for academic and policy research.
- Topic:
- International Security, European Union, Geopolitics, Millennium Development Goals, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Economic Development
- Political Geography:
- China, Europe, Middle East, Palestine, and Global Focus
825. Journal of Public and International Affairs 2013
- Author:
- Greg Rosalsky, Sarah Schleck, Nathaniel D. F. Allen, Ezra Levin, Alex Penwill, Farzan Sabet, Daniel Tam-Claiborne, Albert Trithart, Mark Walker, Ben Grubb, and Gloria Twesigye
- Publication Date:
- 05-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
- Institution:
- School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
- Abstract:
- The nine articles in this volume were chosen from over 150 submissions through a blind-selection process in Princeton. After individually reading a large number of submissions, attending editors first voted for their favorite papers via secret ballot, and we then facilitated an open debate to winnow down these choices to the cream of the crop. In the intervening months before publication, editors in Princeton from relevant policy areas worked with the authors to fact-check their work and fine-tune their arguments. While their geographic foci and policy subjects are multifarious, all the authors in this edition share a passion for changing the world through better policy. Whether it is women’s health issues in Tanzania, banking regulation in the European Union, diplomacy with Iran over its nuclear ambitions, or immigration policy in the United States, the authors implore global policymakers to change course in order to remedy contemporary problems in public affairs. This dedication to making the world a better place through public policy, in addition to demonstrating first-rate scholarship, make us proud to showcase these articles.
- Topic:
- Health, Nuclear Weapons, Politics, Foreign Aid, Governance, Nuclear Power, Democracy, Economy, Arms Trade, and Microcredit
- Political Geography:
- Africa, China, Iran, Tanzania, Honduras, Mali, Niger, and United States of America
826. The Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands Territorial Dispute between Japan and China : Between the Materialization of the ‘China Threat’ and Japan ‘Reversing the Outcome of World War II’?
- Author:
- Reinhard Drifte
- Publication Date:
- 05-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
- Institution:
- Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
- Abstract:
- The territorial dispute between Japan and China over the sovereignty of the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands is framed by economic interests, domestic circumstances, national identity issues, requirements of international law and historical grievances. The article provides an analysis of these issues which are indicative of the bilateral relationship in general. The analysis of the 1972-2010 period traces the reasons for the erosion of the implicit agreement in 1972 and 1978 between the two countries to shelve the territorial dispute, using Constructivist as well as Realist approaches. The second part contains a case study of the 2010 and the 2012/13 Senkaku incidents, the latter and most serious one started by Ishihara Shintaro, the right-wing Governor of Tokyo, when he declared in April 2012 his intention to have his local government buy some of the contested islands from its private owner which prompted the national government of Prime Minister Noda to buy them instead. The ensuing Chinese reaction has led to a crisis in the bilateral relationship which has political, military and economic implications of considerable importance for the future of Japan and China but also for the stability of the whole East Asian region.
- Topic:
- Territorial Disputes, Economy, and Law of the Sea
- Political Geography:
- Japan, China, Asia, and East China
827. NSIDE THE BRIC: ANALYSIS OF THE SEMIPERIPHERAL NATURE OF BRAZIL, RUSSIA, INDIA AND CHINA
- Author:
- Daniel Efrén Morales Ruvalcaba
- Publication Date:
- 03-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
- Institution:
- Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
- Abstract:
- Every approach and development of the World-Systems Theory is carried out in a structured time-space continuum. Concerning the spatiality, this theory understands the world in a stratified and hierarchical way on three areas: core, semiperiphery and periphery . Such division "is not merely functional – that is to say, occupational – but also geographical." (Wallerstein 2003a, 492) That understood, the world-systems' observed areas are not only a theoretical construct in order to understand the international division of labor but also real, authentic, historically built and spatially established geographical areas, whose differences – sudden or not – do exist, "as point the price criteria, the wages, the life levels, the gross domestic product, the per capita gross and the commercial balances" (Braudel 1984, 22). As David Harvey explains, these areas "are perpetually reproduced, sustained, undermined and reconfigured by the socioecological and political-economic processes that lie on the present" (Harvey 2000, 98). It indicates that the spaces do not belong to a single area anymore, but that the processes are "what structure the space" (Taylor and Flint 2002, 21) in an unstoppable and perpetual way.
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, India, and Brazil
828. GEOGRAPHY AND MARITIME POTENTIAL OF CHINA AND IRAN
- Author:
- Sören Schlovin and Alexandr Burilkov
- Publication Date:
- 03-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
- Institution:
- Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
- Abstract:
- In recent years, developments in Chinese and Iranian foreign policy have been a constant in discussions in the West, particularly in the United States. It is a haphazard process but the Chinese continue to modernize and expand their forces and strategic reach. In the meantime, Iranian political and military leaders are fond of reminding the world of their thousands of missiles that are supposedly but a push of a button away. Outlandish projects aside, when it comes to strictly maritime matters it becomes possible to see that each state has a certain maritime potential, meaning the ability to leverage the near and far seas so as to achieve its objectives at some point in the near future. We seek to show how this potential is influenced by geography.
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, and Iran
829. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and Its Relevance for the Global Security
- Author:
- Daša Adašková and Tomáš Ludík
- Publication Date:
- 06-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is one of important international nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament measures. One of its pillars is the verification mechanism that has been built as an international system of nuclear testing detection to enable the control of observance of the obligations anchored in the CTBT. Despite the great relevance to the global non-proliferation and disarmament efforts, the CTBT is still not in force. The main aim of the article is to summarize the importance of the CTBT and its entry into force not only from the international relations perspective but also from the perspective of the technical implementation of the monitoring system.
- Topic:
- Security, NATO, International Law, United Nations, and International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, China, Iran, Middle East, India, Asia, France, and Arabia
830. Constituting China: the role of metaphor in the discourses of early Sino-American relations
- Author:
- Eric M Blanchard
- Publication Date:
- 04-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of International Relations and Development
- Institution:
- Central and East European International Studies Association
- Abstract:
- This paper demonstrates the value of political metaphor analysis as a tool for answering constitutive questions in International Relations (IR) theory, questions that attend to how the subjects of international politics are constituted by encounters with other subjects through representational and interactional processes. To this end, I examine the key metaphors within American political discourse that guided and structured early Sino-American interactions, focusing on US Secretary of State John Hay's Open Door notes and the contemporaneous Chinese Exclusion Acts. Viewed from a social constructivist metaphor perspective, this metaphorical protection of free trade and great power privilege hid the assumption that China was unable to act as its own doorkeeper, obscuring debates in the domestic and international spheres as to the meaning of 'Chinese' and the appropriate strategy for managing the encounter. A second approach, the cognitive perspective, builds on the seminal IR applications of cognitive linguistics and cognitive metaphor theory to reveal the deeper conceptual basis, specifically the container schema, upon which this encounter was predicated. Used in tandem, these two approaches to the constitutive role of political metaphor illuminate the processes by which metaphors win out over competing discourses to become durable features of international social relations.
- Topic:
- International Relations
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, and America
831. China's Left-Behind
- Author:
- Helen Gao
- Publication Date:
- 06-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- World Policy Journal
- Institution:
- World Policy Institute
- Abstract:
- GUANG'AN, China—Jiang Xin leaves school at 2:30 p.m. every-day. On his way home, the 8-year- old usually lingers by the rice fields with his friends for an hour or so, squatting on the edge of a dirt road, where trucks loaded with coal roar by. They play with pebbles, exchange school gossip, or punch the buttons of Jiang's video game player, which he wrapped in tape to prevent from falling apart. Their cattle stand together in a nearby field, grazing on grass stalks.
- Topic:
- Education
- Political Geography:
- China
832. A Torrent of Consequences
- Author:
- Jacques Leslie
- Publication Date:
- 06-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- World Policy Journal
- Institution:
- World Policy Institute
- Abstract:
- THIMPHU, Bhutan—If any nation deserves a waiver from the depredations of climate change, it is surely the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. A Maryland-sized postage stamp of a country, it is entirely surrounded by the world's two most populous nations, India and China, but resembles neither. Bhutan is the no-hunting, no-fishing, no-billboards, no-smoking, no-genetically-modified organisms, no-plastic-bags, no-stoplights, no-mountaineering exception to the world as we know it. The country is poor and seeks development, but only on its terms—not at the expense of its profoundly reverent but vulnerable Buddhist culture and its fragile, achingly beautiful mountain terrain.
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, India, Bhutan, and Thimphu
833. Faceoff: China/India
- Author:
- David A. Andelman
- Publication Date:
- 01-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- World Policy Journal
- Institution:
- World Policy Institute
- Abstract:
- For the better part of three millennia, China and India have developed independently, intersecting only at the rarest of moments across a divide of some of the world's most forbidding geography. Today, they rank as the world's first and second most populous nations, but with political, social, and economic systems that place them sharply at odds. A centrally planned and managed nation controlled by a single political party has seen an economic explosion of activity and growth north of the Himalayas; to the south, a vibrant, if often cacophonous, multi-party democracy has broken out of its long lethargy to assume a leadership role in technology and innovation.
- Political Geography:
- China and India
834. Map Room
- Author:
- Brahma Chellaney
- Publication Date:
- 01-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- World Policy Journal
- Institution:
- World Policy Institute
- Abstract:
- Asia faces a dilemma. The continent has the lowest global per capita freshwater resources, less than half the global annual average of 222,480 cubic feet per head. At the same time, Asia has the fastest growing demand for water in the world. Asia can in no sense remain the engine of global economic growth without addressing its water crisis.
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
835. The Big Question: Which Country Will Emerge as the Leading Power?
- Author:
- Rory Medcalf, James Nolt, Yanzhong Huang, Arvind Gupta, Gisa Dang, Steven Lewis, and Sophia Ling
- Publication Date:
- 01-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- World Policy Journal
- Institution:
- World Policy Institute
- Abstract:
- Two of the world's giants—the first and second most populous nations—share a single continent, but vastly different visions of their region and the world. China and India each have a legitimate claim to hegemony, to leadership, and to a shared or competitive future. We asked our panel of global experts which nation would emerge as Asia's leading power in the future.
- Political Geography:
- China, India, and Asia
836. India Through Chinese Eyes
- Author:
- Li Xin
- Publication Date:
- 01-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- World Policy Journal
- Institution:
- World Policy Institute
- Abstract:
- BEIJING—Between dawn and dusk, on the 18th floor of a glass-walled office tower in the north fourth ring road of Beijing, thousands of editors working for Sina, a portal that includes Sina Weibo's 500 million users, survey a myriad of news sources, snatching more than 10,000 items to display on its site. It is China's most popular news portal and largest aggregator. Its news section, with its vast audience, plays a major role in shaping the nation's media consumption.
- Political Geography:
- China and India
837. ANATOMY:Highway to Higher Education
- Author:
- Meehyun Nam- Thompson
- Publication Date:
- 01-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- World Policy Journal
- Institution:
- World Policy Institute
- Abstract:
- The two leading universities in China and India, Peking University and India Institute of Technology-Bombay respectively, represent two vastly different approaches to education and life. Both require students to take highly competitive exams. Those who successfully pass the exams represent the choice minority. While Peking students are offered an array of subjects to study—more of the liberal arts variety—students at IIT-Bombay are immediately placed on a science and engineering track. However, the Peking students must pay a higher tuition for their broader choice of subjects. After graduation, Chinese students remain in the country, unlike Indian students who apply for work visas abroad at strikingly higher rates.
- Political Geography:
- China, India, and Mumbai
838. China Through Indian Eyes
- Author:
- Nazia Vasi
- Publication Date:
- 01-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- World Policy Journal
- Institution:
- World Policy Institute
- Abstract:
- MUMBAI—Shaped by disparate political, economic, and social forces, and starkly divergent histories, China and India, though neighbors, have arrived at a point where their young people, as well as their leaders, have developed individual paths toward each other and the world. For a host of reasons, the two nations remain at odds 30 years after both economies and societies truly opened to global markets and outside influences.
- Political Geography:
- China and India
839. Timeline: 1959-Present
- Author:
- Meehyun Nam- Thompson
- Publication Date:
- 01-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- World Policy Journal
- Institution:
- World Policy Institute
- Abstract:
- To understand the modern trajectory of Sino-Indian relations, World Policy Journal has focused on key political moments that have come to define the two countries' shared history. We begin at a pivotal moment—the Tibetan Uprising, a brief flare of conflict shortly before the Sino-Indian War, which many view as the sharpest geopolitical dispute between the two nations. Then we march through the 1960s and 1970s, when nuclear proliferation placed a heavy burden on a relationship otherwise improving under the twin pivots of regional security and financial imperatives. Our timeline shows a shift from direct military conflict to diplomatic and economic struggles for power. Though geopolitical issues, especially over critical resources like water and energy, will strain Sino-Indian relations in the future, we end our timeline with an uncertain, but promising economic trend, and new measures that may build confidence between Asia's two giants.
- Topic:
- War
- Political Geography:
- China, India, and Asia
840. Myanmar: Choosing Sides
- Author:
- Megha Bahree
- Publication Date:
- 01-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- World Policy Journal
- Institution:
- World Policy Institute
- Abstract:
- NAYPYIDAW—In September 2007, India and China, Myanmar's two principal neighbors, stood by valiantly as the ruling junta brutally suppressed protests over increased fuel prices, led by pro-democracy groups and Buddhist monks. At least 13 were killed and thousands arrested. The nascent democratic transition that began in March 2011 has now placed Myanmar at the center of Southeast Asia's strategic landscape. Not surprisingly, India and China are stepping up their efforts to win deals—and influence—in the new capital, Naypyidaw, even as they face new competition from the Western world. But neither of the two Asian neighbors is particularly welcome here.
- Political Geography:
- China, India, Southeast Asia, Myanmar, and Naypyidaw
841. Bhutan: Between Two Giants
- Author:
- Sherpem Sherpa
- Publication Date:
- 01-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- World Policy Journal
- Institution:
- World Policy Institute
- Abstract:
- THIMPHU—A short walk past the shops lining Norzin Lam, the main street in Bhutan's capital Thimphu, reveals most of the merchandise on display is "Made in China"—shoes, silk, toys, heaters, and kitchen utensils. While diplomatic relations between Bhutan and China have yet to be established, the market in the capital city is already flooded with Chinese-made goods. Bhutanese are fast adopting Chinese products and cuisine. Like many countries in the region and beyond, it might not be long before Thimphu has its own little "Chinatown." Thimphu already has a rather cramped section of town popularly known as "Hong Kong market," defined by its narrow alleys, tall buildings, and the proliferation of Hong Kong goods sold there. It was once also a hotspot for street fights, alcohol, and gambling.
- Political Geography:
- China, Hong Kong, Bhutan, and Thimphu
842. Voice for Democracy in China: A conversation with Yeliang Xia
- Author:
- Jeff Danziger
- Publication Date:
- 01-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- World Policy Journal
- Institution:
- World Policy Institute
- Abstract:
- For years, Professor Yeliang Xia has served as an economist of distinction in China—a protégé of Justin Yifu Lin, the first avowed Chinese communist to serve as chief economist of the World Bank. Professor Xia has taught for decades at Peking University—the preeminent institution in China for social and economic sciences. With close ties to Wellesley College in the Boston suburbs, he also serves as a prime example of the fine line that so often divides academic discipline from freedom in China. And lately, he has come up on the wrong side of that line—at least with respect to his future as a member of the Chinese academic establishment.
- Political Geography:
- China
843. The Role of China in the U.S. Debt Crisis
- Author:
- James A. Dorn
- Publication Date:
- 01-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Cato Journal
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- In 2001, the U.S. gross public debt was about $6 trillion; a decade later it was $14 trillion; by the end of 2012 it exceeded $16 trillion. A large part of that increase was absorbed by foreign holders, especially central banks in China and Japan. With the U.S. government gross debt ratio now in excess of 100 percent of GDP, not including the trillions of dollars of unfunded liabilities in Social Security and Medicare, it is time to stop blaming China for the U.S. debt crisis.
- Political Geography:
- United States, Japan, and China
844. Introductory Note
- Author:
- Steve Vanderheiden and Jonathan Pickering
- Publication Date:
- 01-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- Recent developments in climate policy have done little to suggest that the world is acting quickly enough to avoid a dangerous rise in global temperatures. Despite some important steps in national policy-making-including the commencement of Australia ' s carbon pricing mechanism and the piloting of subnational emissions trading in China - the polarized nature of the climate debate in the United States continues to obstruct progress. Moreover, a substantial gap remains between the current policies of various countries and the level of mitigation needed to stay within the internationally agreed limit of a degrees Celsius rise in global temperature. To some observers, the United Nations climate change conference in Durban in 2011 offered hope for a long-term agreement that would be more inclusive than the Kyoto Protocol by securing the participation of major developing countries, such as India and China (which do not having binding mitigation commitments under the protocol), as well as developed countries, such as the United States (which failed to ratify the protocol). Yet, as it becomes increasingly clear that global emissions will need to peak within the next few years if we are to stem global warming, a dramatic change in short-term policies is also required.
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, and Australia
845. Coaxing Climate Policy Leadership
- Author:
- Steve Vanderheiden
- Publication Date:
- 01-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- With the failure of the international community to negotiate a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol in late 2011, and with little prospect of U.S. ratification of any treaty framework that includes binding green¬house emission targets, hope for a sustainable and effective international climate policy appears dim. As of 2012, only Australia, New Zealand, and the European Union continue to endorse binding post-Kyoto greenhouse emissions targets, with countries representing half the emissions controlled under Kyoto rejecting any further binding mitigation commitments in the absence of a treaty framework that includes the United States. Further, the remaining commitments are likely to be tested by political and economic turmoil that strains the ability of the governments to maintain them. While the "roadmap" that emerged from the seventeenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP-17)of the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)-held in Durban, South Africa-calls for a post-Kyoto treaty to be negotiated by 2015 and to take effect by 2020,ongoing reluctance by China, India, and the United States to accept binding emissions caps threatens to frustrate progress toward any such future agreement. Given the rapidly closing window of opportunity to begin reversing current trends of increasing global emissions and to eventually stabilize atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases at levels that would prevent the dire consequences predicted by "business as usual" trajectories, significant mitigation action remains urgently needed, with climate change adaptation programs becoming increasingly important.
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, Europe, India, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand
846. The wars on terror, duelling internationalisms and the clash of purposes in a post-unipolar world
- Author:
- Andrew Phillips
- Publication Date:
- 01-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Politics
- Institution:
- Palgrave Macmillan
- Abstract:
- This article contrasts the parallel \'wars on terror\' that liberal and authoritarian states have prosecuted since 9/11 to determine their broader significance for the pursuit of \'purposes beyond ourselves\' in an increasingly multi-polar world. While acknowledging that states rallied to defend their monopoly on legitimate violence after 9/11, I maintain that the ensuing \'wars on terror\' have simultaneously exacerbated longstanding disagreements between liberal and authoritarian states over the fundamental principles of international society. Under American leadership, liberal states have sought to eradicate jihadism through the transplantation of liberal values and institutions to Muslim-majority societies, countenancing sweeping qualifications of weak states\' sovereignty to advance this goal. Conversely, authoritarian states led by Russia and China have mounted a vigorous counter-offensive against both jihadism and liberal internationalist revisionism, harnessing counter-terrorism concerns to reassert illiberal internationalist conceptions of state sovereignty in response. Reflecting international division more than solidarity, the \'wars on terror\' have illuminated a deeper triangular struggle between revisionist liberal internationalism, jihadist anti-internationalism and illiberal authoritarian internationalism that will significantly complicate Western efforts to promote liberal values in coming decades.
- Topic:
- International Relations
- Political Geography:
- Russia and China
847. Trade and Trade Policy in Latin America and the Caribbean: Recent Trends, Emerging Challenges
- Author:
- Osvaldo Rosales and Sebastián Herreros
- Publication Date:
- 05-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
- Abstract:
- This article presents a brief characterization of Latin America and the Caribbean's foreign trade, as well as its trade integration efforts. The first section examines the region's recent trade performance in terms of share in world trade, trade openness, main partners, most dynamic sectors, and export concentration. Particular emphasis is placed on the dynamics of the region's foreign trade in the past decade, including the growing importance of trade with China and its implications. The second section focuses on the recent evolution of intra-regional trade and of regional economic integration initiatives. The third section deals with trade negotiations with extra-regional partners. The fourth and final section outlines some policy challenges the region faces to increase the contribution of trade to its development prospects.
- Political Geography:
- China, Latin America, and Caribbean
848. China's Use of the Military Instrument in Latin America: Not Yet the Biggest Stick
- Author:
- Cynthia Watson
- Publication Date:
- 05-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
- Abstract:
- China's involvement in Latin America has grown steadily over the past decade but there are a number of constraints on the role of the People's Liberation Army that prevents it from becoming the most important mechanism in expanding China's role in Latin America. This paper discusses those constraints and the methods China's military has used to engage with Latin America in the twenty-first century.
- Political Geography:
- China and Latin America
849. Germany's Energiewende: The Prospects of a Grand-Scale Project
- Author:
- Rainer Baake
- Publication Date:
- 03-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Imagine a mid-sized country. Its population, area, and energy consumption make it a flyweight compared to the emerging giants of China and India. Unlike Russia or Brazil, it possesses virtually no fossil fuels of its own – apart from disastrously dirty lignite and some expensive-to-extract hard coal. Furthermore, this country is located in Europe, a continent that has become synonymous with economic crisis and sluggish growth. Why do the energy policies of such a country – namely Germany – matter? The reason is in its dedication to systematically transform its energy system. It is the first major industrial country to seriously consider the challenge of overcoming the entire range of problems associated with fossil and nuclear fuels – from emissions to cost, from nuclear proliferation to nuclear waste, from environmental devastation to health impacts. If Germany, despite medium irradiation levels, limited land to grow biomass, and average wind and water resources, succeeds in transforming the energy system to renewable sources while maintaining system reliability and keeping an eye on cost, then every other country in the world will be able to follow on that track, too. And the challenges entailed for these countries will be significantly lower.
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, India, Brazil, and Germany
850. Vietnam at a Crossroad and in the Cross Hairs
- Author:
- Robert A. Rogowsky
- Publication Date:
- 03-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Vietnam has experienced tremendous economic growth over the past two decades, but a convergence of three conditions—a slow global economy, a young and expanding population, and political tensions with China—presents a challenge to Southeast Asia's security.
- Topic:
- Economics
- Political Geography:
- China, Vietnam, and Southeast Asia
851. A Critical Analysis of the U.S. "Pivot" toward the Asia-Pacific: How Realistic is Neo-realism?
- Author:
- Rong Chen
- Publication Date:
- 06-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Connections
- Institution:
- Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
- Abstract:
- At the time of writing, the U.S. had its highest-ranking military delegation in over two years, led by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey, visiting Beijing. The mission was intended to conduct sensitive bilateral negotiations at the highest level in China, having been received by President Xi Jinping and members of China's Central Military Commission. This visit took place during a period of heightened tension in northeastern Asia, characterized by nuclear tests and other provocative actions of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), and the escalating territorial dispute between China and Japan over Diaoyu Island. It underscored the importance of Sino-U.S. bilateral relations, and encouraged students of the region to reflect on the strategic significance and policy implications of the U.S. pivot toward the Asia-Pacific, which is the key factor of the strategic context of the region.
- Political Geography:
- United States, Japan, China, Asia, Korea, Island, and Northeast Asia
852. Xinjiang in China\'s Foreign Policy toward Central Asia
- Author:
- Malika Tukmadiyeva
- Publication Date:
- 06-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Connections
- Institution:
- Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
- Abstract:
- The collapse of the Soviet Union led to the appearance of new players in the Central Asian region, the most important of which is China. In the span of some twenty years, China has become a major trade partner and investor in the region. Its trade with nations in the region has grown impressively, from almost nothing in 1991 to more than USD 30 billion in 2011, with China being the region\'s second-largest trading partner after Russia. According to the Premier of the State Council of the People\'s Republic of China, Wen Jiabao, Chinese direct investments in Central Asia by 2012 are estimated at USD 250 billion. China is extensively building oil and gas pipelines, developing a network of transportation links, "as well as expanding its diplomatic and cultural presence in the region."
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, Central Asia, and Soviet Union
853. Common Ground: U.S. and NATO Engagement with Russia in the Cyber Domain
- Author:
- Geoff Van Epps
- Publication Date:
- 09-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Connections
- Institution:
- Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
- Abstract:
- Significant changes in the global strategic landscape over the past two decades include the fall of the Iron Curtain and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, accelerated globalization, increasing reliance on digital information technologies in all aspects of life, the rise of China and India, global financial crises, the political revolutions of the Arab Spring, and the emergence of violent Islamist extremism as a key feature of the geopolitical landscape. Yet at the same time, many of the key dynamics of the international arena remain unchanged from twenty years ago, including the volatility and instability of the Middle East, the lack of development in most of Africa, the ever-increasing integration of the global economy, and the preeminence of the United States as an actor in global affairs, with other states, such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and Russia also playing key roles.
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, United Kingdom, India, and Germany
854. Mutual Assured Production
- Author:
- Richard Katz
- Publication Date:
- 07-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Foreign Affairs
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- Tensions between China and Japan are rising, but an economic version of mutual deterrence is preserving the uneasy status quo. Put simply, China needs to buy Japanese products as much as Japan needs to sell them.
- Topic:
- Cold War, Economics, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Japan, China, and Beijing
855. Fake It Till You Make It
- Author:
- Kal Raustiala and Christopher Sprigman
- Publication Date:
- 07-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Foreign Affairs
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- Given that Chinese counterfeiting has benefits as well as costs, and considering China's historical resistance to Western pressure, trying to push China to change its approach to intellectual property law is not worth the political and diplomatic capital the United States is spending on it.
- Topic:
- Economics and Law
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, and Europe
856. Japan Is Back
- Author:
- Shinzo Abe
- Publication Date:
- 07-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Foreign Affairs
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- Japan's prime minister speaks openly about the mistakes he made in his first term, Abenomics, Japan's wartime record (and his own controversial statements on that history), and the bitter Senkaku/Diaoyu Island dispute with China.
- Political Geography:
- Japan, China, and Island
857. Beijing's Brand Ambassador
- Author:
- Cui Tiankai
- Publication Date:
- 07-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Foreign Affairs
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- China's new ambassador to the United States (and a rising star in Beijing) sets out his vision for U.S.-Chinese relations, discusses whether China is a revisionist power, and how it plans to deal with cyber security -- and Japan.
- Topic:
- Security
- Political Geography:
- United States, Japan, China, and Beijing
858. How to help the poor in a rich man's world
- Author:
- Jon Lidén
- Publication Date:
- 06-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- Donors need to be smarter as nouveau riche states leave masses trapped by poverty gap
- Topic:
- Economics
- Political Geography:
- China, Brazil, and Mexico
859. Joseph Nye, the inventor of the term 'soft power'
- Author:
- Alan Philps
- Publication Date:
- 06-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- He shares his thoughts on on America's role in an increasingly affluent world, Russia's decline and China's own goals
- Topic:
- Economics and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, America, Middle East, and Syria
860. The Future of US-China Relations: From Conflict to Concert
- Author:
- Daniel Twining
- Publication Date:
- 06-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- China and the United States have just experienced political transitions that allow the leaders of both countries to focus on bilateral relations free from the pressures of domestic political campaigns. But the domestic politics of the bilateral relationship inside each country are, like the structural tensions between the established power and the rising challenger, intensifying, as Washington takes new steps to assert its primacy in Asia and Beijing works to edge America out of its neighbourhood. US-China relations are likely to be less stable and more prone to conflict over President Obama's second term, unless the two nations can arrive at a modus vivendi to keep the peace in Asia. The challenge is that such an entente likely requires the kind of political change in China its leaders seem determined to block for fear of the threat it would pose to their own legitimacy. The reverberations of a relationship that is conflict-prone, but in which conflict holds such downside risks for both countries, will be felt well beyond Asia.
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, and Asia
861. The Loneliness of Israel. The Jewish State's Status in International Relations
- Author:
- Arturo Marzano
- Publication Date:
- 06-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- Israel's international position has declined in recent years. Even if its relationship with the EU - and even more with the US - is solid, there have been frictions that are not likely to disappear in the years to come. Its relations with other states, from Middle Eastern countries to India and China, are either highly problematic or have not improved despite the Israeli government's efforts. It is Israel's policy in the Occupied Territories that is being increasingly criticised and this is creating a sort of 'vicious circle' in Israel: the critiques reinforce Israeli's 'bunker mentality', strengthening the ethno-nationalist character of Israeli politics and society and causing de-democratisation, and this, in turn, brings on more international isolation.
- Topic:
- Government
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, Middle East, and Israel
862. The Renminbi's Prospects as a Global Reserve Currency
- Author:
- Eswar Prasad and Lei Ye
- Publication Date:
- 10-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Cato Journal
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Popular discussions about the prospects of China's currency, the renminbi, range from the view that it is on the threshold of becoming the dominant global reserve currency to the concern that rapid capital account opening poses serious risks for China. A number of recent academic studies have pointed to the renminbi's rising importance in the international monetary System, although these studies are divided on the renminbi's prospects of becoming a dominant global reserve currency (see Eichengreen 2011a, Subramanian 2011, Frankel 2012, and Yu 2012).
- Political Geography:
- China
863. Does Internationalizing the RMB Make Sense for China?
- Author:
- Yukong Huang and Clare Lynch
- Publication Date:
- 10-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Cato Journal
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The last time a Chinese currency was used as an international medium of exchange was four centuries ago, when China's share of global GDP in PPP terms was nearly 30 percent (about twice its current level), the country was a major global trading power, and Chinese copper coins circulated throughout East Asia to India and even beyond (Horesh 2011). In the following centuries, silver dollars and paper bills replaced copper coins and China's share of external trade declined. Now, with China's return to the position of largest global trader and second-largest economy in the world, it is not surprising that discussion of internationalizing China's currency has resumed.
- Topic:
- Economics
- Political Geography:
- China and East Asia
864. Capital Freedom in China as Viewed from the Evolution of the Stock Market
- Author:
- Zhiwu Chen
- Publication Date:
- 10-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Cato Journal
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Since reforms started in 1978, China has made commendable progress in achieving capital freedom and individual liberty. Prior to 1978, private enterprises with more than eight employees were prohibited and there were no capital markets. Private entrepreneurs were labeled “Capitalist tails,” and political movements were launched frequently to “cut the capitalist tails.” For several decades, Chinese citizens could only obtain employment and economic means from government organizations and state-owned enterprises, which strictly limited individual liberty. Today there are more than 10 million privately owned enterprises, making up more than 80 percent of each year's employment growth. As a result of less regulation and more room for entrepreneurship, it is relatively easy to register and start a business. Public equity offering opportunities and bank financing are also increasingly available to private firms as well. Chinese, young and old, can choose among jobs provided by government organizations, SOEs, private businesses, and foreign-owned firms. As capital freedom has increased, the rise of the individual and liberty is one of the highlights achieved in China's development over the past 35 years.
- Topic:
- Economics
- Political Geography:
- China
865. How China Became Capitalist
- Author:
- James A. Dorn
- Publication Date:
- 10-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Cato Journal
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- In 1981, shortly after China began to liberalize its economy, Steven N. S. Cheung predicted that free markets would trump state planning and eventually China would “go 'capitalist'.” He grounded his analysis in property rights theory and the new institutional economics, of which he was a pioneer. Ronald Coase, a longtime professor of law and economics at the University of Chicago and Cheung's colleague during 1967–69, agreed with that prediction. Now the Nobel laureate economist has teamed up with Ning Wang, a former student and a senior fellow at the Ronald Coase Institute, to provide a detailed account of “how China became capitalist.”
- Political Geography:
- China and Chicago
866. Regional Overview: Rebalance Continues Despite Distractions
- Author:
- Ralph A. Cossa and Brad Glosserman
- Publication Date:
- 10-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Comparative Connections
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- It was a rough four months for the US as Washington struggled to convince Asian audiences that the “rebalance” is sustainable given renewed attention to the Middle East, even before the Syrian crises. US engagement in Asia was multidimensional with participation at several ministeriallevel meetings, a visit by Vice President Biden, continued pursuit of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and a show of military capability in Korea. But, it isn't clear North Korea got the message. Kim Jong Un seems to have adopted his father's play book: first create a crisis, make lots of threats, and follow up with a “smile diplomacy” campaign. So far, Washington has stuck to its game plan, insisting on a sign of genuine sincerity before opening a dialogue with Pyongyang. Finally, the US image in the region was damaged by revelations about classified NSA intelligence collection efforts.
- Topic:
- Government
- Political Geography:
- China, Washington, Asia, and North Korea
867. US-China Relations: Sizing Each Other Up at Sunnylands
- Author:
- Bonnie Glaser and Jacqueline Vitello
- Publication Date:
- 10-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Comparative Connections
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- With their domestic challenges in mind and a shared need for a stable bilateral relationship, Presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping met for a day and a half “no necktie” official working meeting to discuss the panoply of bilateral, regional, and global issues that affect US and Chinese interests. The fifth annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S) was held in Washington on July 10-11, along with the Strategic Security Dialogue (SSD) and the first Cyber Working Group. Cyber security, especially cyber theft, was a prominent and contentious issue, aggravated by the revelations of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. Maritime disputes in the East and South China Seas were also a source of tension. The bilateral military relationship was a bright spot, with the visit to the US of Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan.
- Topic:
- Economics
- Political Geography:
- China and Washington
868. China-Southeast Asia Relations: China's Toughness on the South China Sea – Year II
- Author:
- Robert Sutter and Chin-hao Huang
- Publication Date:
- 10-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Comparative Connections
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- China's tough stand on maritime territorial disputes evident first in 2012 confrontations with the Philippines in the South China Sea and Japan in the East China Sea has endured into 2013. Leaders' statements, supporting commentary, military and paramilitary activity, economic developments, and administrative advances all point to determined support of an important shift in China's foreign policy with serious implications for China's neighbors and concerned powers, including the US. China's success in advancing its control of disputed areas in the South China Sea and its overall assertiveness in support of China's broad territorial claims along its maritime rim head the list of reasons why the new Chinese policy is likely to continue and intensify. Few governments are prepared to resist.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy
- Political Geography:
- China, Indonesia, and Asia
869. China-Taiwan Relations: Bumps along the Road
- Author:
- David G. Brown and Kevin Scott
- Publication Date:
- 10-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Comparative Connections
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- The slow steady improvement of cross-strait relations hit some not unexpected bumps in recent months. Domestic politics in Taiwan, particularly partisan actions by the opposition DPP, have delayed Legislative Yuan action on important cross-strait matters. Despite these domestic troubles, Beijing is maintaining a steady course and seems confident about the long-term direction of President Ma Ying-jeou's policy. Track II political dialogues are growing, including those involving the DPP, which has launched a series of meetings on its policy toward Beijing. On Sept. 13, Taiwan was invited to attend the triennial Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as a special guest of the ICAO Council.
- Political Geography:
- China, Taiwan, and Taliban
870. China-Korea Relations: How Does China Solve a Problem like North Korea?
- Author:
- Scott Snyder and See-won Byun
- Publication Date:
- 10-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Comparative Connections
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- China-Korea relations entered an active phase of leadership exchanges during the summer of 2013 following North Korea's December 2012 satellite launch, its February 2013 nuclear test, and the passage of UN Security Council resolutions 2087 and 2094 condemning these actions. The exchanges have focused on the DPRK nuclear issue, which has been a source of unprecedented political tensions between China and North Korea. The aftermath drove continued debate on the extent of Chinese leverage and patience with Pyongyang. Beijing has reaffirmed its commitment to bring North Korea back to multilateral talks through revived bilateral exchanges with Pyongyang, including a meeting between Vice President Li Yuanchao and Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang on July 26 in commemoration of the signing of Korean War armistice, which was celebrated in Pyongyang as a “victory.” Although Beijing's frustration with its North Korean ally has expanded Chinese willingness to include denuclearization as a policy objective it shares with the US and South Korea, differences remain regarding long-term strategic interests and the preferred tools for pursuing the objective.
- Topic:
- Security and War
- Political Geography:
- China and Korea
871. Japan-China Relations: Going Nowhere Slowly
- Author:
- James J. Przystup
- Publication Date:
- 10-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Comparative Connections
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- Repeated efforts by the Abe government to engage China in high-level dialogue failed to produce a summit meeting. While Tokyo remained firm in its position on the Senkakus, namely that there is no territorial issue that needs to be resolved, Beijing remained equally firm in its position that Japan acknowledge the existence of a dispute as a precondition for talks. In the meantime, Chinese and Japanese patrol ships were in almost daily contact in the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands region, while issues related to history, Japan's evolving security policy, Okinawa, and the East China Sea continued to roil the relationship. By mid-summer over 90 percent of Japanese and Chinese respondents to a joint public opinion poll held negative views of each other.
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Japan, and China
872. China-Russia Relations: Summer Heat and Sino-Russian Strategizing
- Author:
- Yu Bin
- Publication Date:
- 10-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Comparative Connections
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- The Sino-Russian strategic partnership was in overdrive during the summer months despite the unbearable, record-setting heat in China and Russia. While the Snowden asylum issue dragged on, “Operation Tomahawk” against Syria appeared to be in countdown mode by late August. In between, the Russian and Chinese militaries conducted two large exercises, which were described as “not targeted against any third party,” a term often used by the US and its allies to describe their exercises. Welcome to the age of speaking softly with or without a big stick.
- Topic:
- War
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, and Moscow
873. In the Eye of the Beholder: How Leaders and Intelligence Communities Assess the Intentions of Adversaries
- Author:
- Keren Yarhi-Milo
- Publication Date:
- 10-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Security
- Institution:
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- How do policymakers infer the long-term political intentions of their states' adversaries? This question has important theoretical, historical, and political significance. If British decisionmakers had understood the scope of Nazi Germany's intentions for Europe during the 1930s, the twentieth century might have looked very different. More recently, a Brookings report observes that “[t]he issue of mutual distrust of long-term intentions . . . has become a central concern in U.S.-China relations.” Statements by U.S. and Chinese officials confirm this suspicion. U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke noted “a concern, a question mark, by people all around the world and governments all around the world as to what China's intentions are.” Chinese officials, similarly, have indicated that Beijing regards recent U.S. policies as a “sophisticated ploy to frustrate China's growth.”
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, and Europe
874. The BRICS Fallacy
- Author:
- Harsh V. Pant
- Publication Date:
- 10-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Washington Quarterly
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- The term BRICS_/referring to the association of emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa_/dominated the headlines in March 2013 as Durban hosted the annual group summit. South African President Jacob Zuma suggested that the nascent organization's leadership has ''firmly established BRICS as a credible and constructive grouping in our quest to forge a new paradigm of global relations and cooperation.'' The meeting resulted in a much-/hyped proposal to create a joint BRICS development bank that would finance investments in developing nations.
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, India, South Africa, and Brazil
875. Double Trouble: A Realist View of Rising Chinese and Indian Power
- Author:
- Eric Heginbotham and George J. Gilboy
- Publication Date:
- 10-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Washington Quarterly
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- Washington sees Indian power as part of the solution to the challenges posed by the rise of China. But an objective assessment of Chinese and Indian national interests and international actions suggests it is far more likely that each will pose significant challenges to U.S. interests, albeit of different kinds. India will be no less likely than China to pursue vigorously its own interests, many of which run counter to those of the United States, simply because it is a democracy.
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, and India
876. A "Fortress Fleet" for China
- Author:
- James Holmes
- Publication Date:
- 10-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
- Institution:
- School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
- Abstract:
- China is attempting to merge old and new technology into what US Navy sea captain and noted sea-power theorist Alfred Thayer Mahan termed a “fortress fleet,” a navy that operates almost solely under cover of shore-based fire support. Reared during the nineteenth century, when naval technology remained rudimentary, Mahan railed against this operational concept for severely limiting the fleet's radius of action, cramping its freedom of maneuver, and stifling initiative among its commanders. His critique made eminent sense in an era when the effective range of gunfire extended less than ten miles offshore. A fleet tethered to the port would find itself confined to miniscule sea areas, unable to exercise sea power effectively.
- Political Geography:
- United States and China
877. China's Real and Present Danger
- Author:
- Avery Goldstein
- Publication Date:
- 10-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Foreign Affairs
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- Much of the debate about China's rise in recent years has focused on the potential dangers China could pose as an eventual peer competitor to the United States bent on challenging the existing international order. But another issue is far more pressing. For at least the next decade, while China remains relatively weak compared to the United States, there is a real danger that Beijing and Washington will find themselves in a crisis that could quickly escalate to military conflict. Unlike a long-term great-power strategic rivalry that might or might not develop down the road, the danger of a crisis involving the two nuclear-armed countries is a tangible, near-term concern -- and the events of the past few years suggest the risk might be increasing.
- Topic:
- Security
- Political Geography:
- United States and China
878. Obama and China's Rise: An Insider's Account of America's Asia Strategy
- Author:
- Peter Trubowitz
- Publication Date:
- 10-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Political Science Quarterly
- Institution:
- Academy of Political Science
- Abstract:
- In this crisply written account of U.S. foreign policy toward Asia, Jeffrey Bader gives the reader an insider's view of policymaking in the administration of Barack Obama. Bader served as the senior director for East Asian Affairs on the National Security Council from January 2009 to April 2011. He is well placed to discuss policy deliberations on Asiaâ?Pacific matters, and he ably chronicles many of the challenges that Obama faced during the period from the diplomatic crisis sparked by the North Korean sinking of the South Korean ship Cheonan in March 2010, to the tensions between China and its Asian neighbors over maritime rights and territory in the South China Seas, to the Fukushima nuclear meltdown triggered by the massive earthquake and tsunami that walloped Japan in March 2011.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy
- Political Geography:
- China, America, and Asia
879. Mongolian Values and Attitudes toward Democracy
- Author:
- Mina Sumaadii
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Central European University Political Science Journal
- Institution:
- Central European University
- Abstract:
- For most of modern history Mongolia has been isolated from the world due to the geopolitical struggles between Russia and China. As the Communist system collapsed and liberal democracy was established, many outsiders wondered why the country succeeded in democratization where other neighboring ex-Soviet states had failed. The odds were mainly against the country, due to high levels of poverty and geographical distance from established mature democracies. Nevertheless, in Mongolia the common answer is that the political culture was compatible with the principles of liberal democracy. This work is an empirical study of macro and micro developments based on modernization theory. It explores the values and attitudes of the general population in an effort to examine what makes it pro-democratic. The main finding is that the general claim of modernization theory is applicable to Mongolia, but in relation to political culture as a mediator between economic development and democratization.
- Topic:
- Government
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, and Mongolia
880. New Great Powers and International Law in the 21st Century
- Author:
- Congyan Cai
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- Great Powers (GPs) have always been prominent in international relations. Their rise and fall often lead to structural transformations of international relations. In the past decade, the world has witnessed the rise of some New GPs (NGPs), which primarily consist of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS). While the effect of the supremacy of the United States, an Old GP (OGPs), on international law has been examined extensively since 2000, international lawyers have hardly discussed how the rise of NGPs may shape and reshape international law. This article endeavours to examine the implications for such rise that stem from the rise of NGPs. In particular, as an 'insider' from an NGP, the author reviews the latest development in China's international legal policy and practice.
- Topic:
- International Relations and International Law
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, China, India, South Africa, and Brazil
881. Contents
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy and International Relations
- Institution:
- East View Information Services
- Abstract:
- No abstract is available.
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Russia, China, Europe, Saudi Arabia, and Latin America
882. Confrontation of Two Blocs in the Korean War: Historical Context
- Author:
- Alexander Fomenko
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy and International Relations
- Institution:
- East View Information Services
- Abstract:
- INTHELATTERHALF of the 1940s, due to Japan's defeat in World War the political landscape in the Far East significantly changed the balance of forces seeking political domination in this part of the world. Leaders of all democratic victor nations, simultaneously but for different reasons, shifted their support from Chiang Kai-shek and his government of “reactionary” Nationalists to “progressive” Chinese Communists.
- Topic:
- Government and War
- Political Geography:
- Japan, China, and Korea
883. Australia's embrace of the 'Indo-Pacific': new term, new region, new strategy?
- Author:
- David Scott
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
- Institution:
- Japan Association of International Relations
- Abstract:
- This article argues that the 'Indo-Pacific' has become an increasingly influential term during the last few years within Australian strategic debate. Consequently, the article looks at how the concept of the 'Indo- Pacific' as a region is impacting on Australia's strategic discussions about regional identity, regional role, and foreign policy practices. The term has a strategic logic for Australia in shaping its military strategy and strategic partnerships. Here, the article finds that Australian usage of the term operates as an accurate description of an evolving 'region' to conduct strategy within, but also operates quite frequently (though not inevitably or inherently) as a more contested basis for China-balancing. The article looks closely at four themes: the Indo-Pacific as a term, the rhetoric (strategic debate) in Australia surrounding the Indo-Pacific term, the Indo-Pacific policy formulations by Australia, and the developing Indo-Pacific nature of bilateral and trilateral linkages between Australia, India, and the United States.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy and Military Strategy
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, India, and Australia
884. Parsing China's power: Sino-Mongolian and Sino-DPRK relations in comparative perspective
- Author:
- Jeffrey Reeves and Ramon Pacheco Pardo
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
- Institution:
- Japan Association of International Relations
- Abstract:
- This article draws on Michael Barnett and Raymond Duvall's power typology to examine Chinese power in Sino-Mongolia and Sino-North Korean relations. Using compulsory, institutional, productive, and structural power to frame these bilateral relations, this article looks at the means by which China obtains power and how it utilizes power in relation to Mongolia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. This article also examines Mongolian and North Korean perceptions and responses to Chinese power. Concurrently, the article considers the Barnett/Duvall model's applicability to China's relations with other periphery developing states.
- Topic:
- Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- China, Mongolia, and Korea
885. Japan's strategic pivot south: diversifying the dual hedge
- Author:
- Corey J. Wallace
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
- Institution:
- Japan Association of International Relations
- Abstract:
- Tensions between Japan and its neighbors pose a significant problem for the viability of Japan's strategic 'dual hedge' between China and the United States. Japan's response has been to embrace renewed US commitment to the region while initiating comprehensive strategic partnerships in military, economic, and political spheres with nations 'south' of its traditional domain of strategic interest. Strengthened relationships with Southeast Asian nations, India, and Australia may turn out to be crucial for Japan as it will enable Japan to manage its security affairs without having to depart from its long-cultivated maritime security policy, and will enable Japan to continue to pursue a neo-mercantilist economic policy while also supporting the socioeconomic development of other regional players essential for future multipolar balance. Japan's diplomatic activities provide a useful 'strategic contrast' with China that will likely ensure Japan is accepted in the region. Japan's strategic pivot is also domestically sustainable and, therefore, deserves scholarly attention.
- Topic:
- Economics
- Political Geography:
- United States, Japan, China, India, Asia, and Australia
886. The Economy-Security Nexus in Northeast Asia
- Author:
- Motoshi Suzuki
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
- Institution:
- Japan Association of International Relations
- Abstract:
- The Northeast Asian region has attracted at least two types of international relations analyses. A first type focuses primarily on military and hard security and investigates changes in states' power and the politics of coercion, balance of power, and alliances. A second type is interested in cross-border economic activities, regional interdependence, and institutionalization and then examines the states' policies of development, trade, money, and technology, as well as the politics of institutional building and reform. T.J. Pempel's edited volume synthesizes the two approaches by viewing the mutually shaping interactions between economics and security as a major feature of regional politics. The book is a fruit of collaborative efforts by American, Japanese, South Korean, and Chinese scholars who provide in-depth analyses of recent developments in the region.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Japan, China, America, Asia, South Korea, and London
887. Obama's Asia Pivot and the Koreas
- Author:
- Richard Weitz
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Journal of Korean Studies
- Institution:
- International Council on Korean Studies
- Abstract:
- The end of President Barack Obama's first term provides an opportunity to assess what the administration's "strategic rebalancing" toward and within the Asia-Pacific region (sometimes called the "Asian Pivot" or "Back to Asia" policy) has accomplished as well as what challenges and unmet opportunities remain. The administration has launched several successful multinational diplomatic initiatives in the region to supplement U.S. bilateral ties with key Asian partners; relations with ASEAN have clearly improved. The economic dimension of the Pivot has made progress as seen by the growth of support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. U.S. efforts to promote democracy and human rights in Asia have proved far less successful, except perhaps for Myanmar, where the political transition remains a work in progress. The U.S. military has managed to establish a broader presence in the region, especially in Australia and Southeast Asia. U.S. officials have sought to impart new energy into the five existing formal U.S. bilateral defense alliances in Asia--with Australia, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, and South Korea. But the main problem with the pivot has been the inability to overcome Chinese anxiety about U.S. rebalancing, which has complicated their cooperation over North Korea and other issues. Fortunately, relations between the United States and South Korea are also strong. The ROK is becoming an important U.S. partner in several dimensions of the Pivot, though ROK-U.S. differences over North Korea might emerge with the advent of a new government in Seoul.
- Topic:
- International Trade and Finance and Foreign Direct Investment
- Political Geography:
- Japan, China, Asia, Australia, and Thailand
888. China-North Korea Relations after Kim Jong-Il
- Author:
- Hong Nack Kim
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Journal of Korean Studies
- Institution:
- International Council on Korean Studies
- Abstract:
- In the aftermath of Kim Jong-Il's death in December 2011, China clearly wanted a more cooperative new North Korean regime which would help stabilize the situation on the Korean Peninsula. The Kim Jong-Il regime had been a political liability and economic burden to China, as it defied the international community by perpetrating numerous provocations and crises. In order to avert a major conflict on the Korean Peninsula, Beijing had to bail out the Kim Jong-Il regime by defusing the crises created by North Korea's saber-rattling behavior and brinkmanship. Clearly, China did not want to repeat or endure a similar relationship with the new North Korean regime under Kim Jong-Un. This article seeks to examine China's policy toward the Kim Jong-Un regime from December 2011 to the present. In spite of initial optimism, Beijing has been disappointed by the Kim Jong-Un regime's defiant actions, such as the two ballistic missile tests in 2012 and the third nuclear test in February 2013. These developments inevitably raise serious doubts about China's ability to rein in the belligerent Kim Jong-Un regime. It is a major contention of this paper that it will be difficult for China to "tame" the Kim regime unless China is willing to reset its diplomatic priorities from seeking to prevent the collapse of Kim's regime to halting North Korea's provocations that may ignite a major conflict on the Korean Peninsula. The surest way to achieve this change will be through the effective utilization of economic sanctions to enhance the efficacy of the diplomatic measures on which it has relied too long and too singlemindedly.
- Topic:
- International Relations
- Political Geography:
- China, Korea, and Sinai Peninsula
889. Central Control and Local Welfare Autonomy in Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macau
- Author:
- Sonny Lo
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- The complexities of central–local relations in the People's Republic of China (PRC) include at least two main policy dimensions: control over personnel and the appointment of local authorities by the central government in Beijing and the fiscal relations between the centre and the localities.
- Political Geography:
- China, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Guangzhou
890. Resident Evaluation and Expectation of Social Services in Guangzhou
- Author:
- Ka Ho Mok and Gengua Hueng
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- China's welfare system is a typical “residual welfare regime”, which did not manifest too many flaws in the planned economy era. However, economic reform and market-oriented transformations in recent decades have shaken the original well-balanced “residual” and “needs” pattern. The decline of the “work unit system” has led to two consequences: First, it radically transformed the social and economic structures, which gave rise to increased and diversified needs of social welfare. Second, the government is being pressed to shoulder more responsibility for social welfare provisions. This article adopts a case study approach to examine changing social welfare needs and expectations in Guangzhou, a relatively developed city in southern China. With particular focus on the major strategies adopted by the Guangzhou government in addressing people's welfare needs, this article critically examines how far the new measures have met the changing welfare expectations of citizens in mainland China.
- Topic:
- Economics
- Political Geography:
- China and Guangzhou
891. Local Autonomy in Action: Beijing's Hong Kong and Macau Policies
- Author:
- Bill Chou
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper investigates how Beijing governs its two special administrative regions (SARs) of Hong Kong and Macau through leverages on their local autonomy. First, a conceptual analysis of local autonomy will be provided. Local autonomy is more than a zero-sum game between the central and local authorities over how much power should be granted or taken from the local authorities; it also concerns the space for cultural expression and the use of local customs in public administration. Second, the degree of local autonomy in Hong Kong and Macau will be critically examined. On paper, both SAR governments are able to freely make decisions on a wide range of policies. In practice, however, Beijing has the absolute authority to override the decisions of Hong Kong and Macau. It is argued that the autonomy in cultural expression can compensate for the institutional constraints on the two SARs' decision- making power and is thus able to alleviate public discontent – as long as the constraints do not conflict with the people's core values and ways of life.
- Political Geography:
- China, Beijing, and Hong Kong
892. From Minimum Wage to Standard Work Hour: HKSAR Labour Politics in Regime Change
- Author:
- Lawrence K. K. Ho and Ming K. Chan
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper aims to highlight the significance of labour issues – namely, the minimum wage (MW) and standard working hours (SWH) – in shaping candidates' electoral platforms in the 2012 chief executive (CE) election of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) under the sovereignty of the People's Republic of China (PRC). We first offer a brief review of labour politics regarding the MW case as a precursor to the SWH drafting and enactment process. We then provide an analytical delineation of some of the labour and socio-economic dimensions of the CE electoral contest by comparing the candidates' campaign planks in relation to SWH. We then attempt to predict the likely course of the SWH debate under the leadership of Leung Chun-ying, who eventually won the CE election and assumed power on 1 July 2012. We conclude by examining Leung's social engineering attempts to increase popular support amongst low- and middle-income (LMI) households as part of his long-term strategy for the 2017 CE elections and his broader Beijing-entrusted political agenda.
- Topic:
- Regime Change
- Political Geography:
- China, Beijing, and Hong Kong
893. Online Consultation and Citizen Feedback in Chinese Policymaking
- Author:
- Steven J. Balla and Zhou Liao
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- In recent years, the Chinese government has increasingly utilised online consultation as a means of providing citizens with opportunities to offer feedback on draft laws and regulations. As little is known about the operation of online consultation, this article analyses the content of citizen feedback submitted on a revision to China's health system proposed by the National Development and Reform Commission. Citizen engagement with the political and substantive issues under consideration is crucial if online consultation is to impact government decision-making and enhance the performance of laws and regulations. This paper's main findings are that it was common for comments to address substantive issues in great depth, as well as express negative assessments of government decisions. This suggests that online consultation holds promise as an instrument of governance reform, which the Chinese Communist Party has embraced as a means of cultivating popular support.
- Topic:
- Development, Government, Law, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- China
894. Altering the Rules: Chinese Homeowners' Participation in Policymaking
- Author:
- Yihong Jiang
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This study looks at Chinese homeowners' participation in policymaking. Drawing on evidence from Guangzhou and Beijing, it shows that various organised homeowner activists have moved upstream in the policy process and have begun to push beyond policy implementation into the domain of agenda setting and “rule-making”. These advocates display rights-conscious patterns of behaviour that are closer to that of interest or lobby groups than to the typical repertoire of Chinese contentious citizens. The study suggests that this kind of political participation is on the rise amongst Chinese homeowner activists. This result complements and extends other recent findings that suggest the Chinese policy process is gradually opening up. Such a trend could have significant implications and calls for more research in different domains of state-society relations.
- Political Geography:
- China and Beijing
895. The Political Contexts of Religious Exchanges: A Study on Chinese Protestants' International Relations
- Author:
- Tobias Brandner
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This article surveys the complex ecumenical, missionary and international church relations of Chinese Protestant Christians. It argues that the inter-church relations to other parts of Asia are overshadowed by relations to Christians in the West, thus reflecting a political preoccupation with relationships to the West. This is evidenced by an analysis of worldwide and Asian ecumenism as well as bilateral church and missionary relationships. The dominance of contacts with the West not only contradicts the idea of a multipolar world and increased South-South contacts, it also stands in contrast to the reality of growing and increasingly important Christianity in Asia. Methodologically, this paper analyses different kinds of international relations (multilateral and bilateral, inter-church and missionary) and develops a typology of different interchurch and inter-state relations to assess international church relations in Asia today. The typology shows how China's international church relations support its political relationships with its neighbours and beyond.
- Topic:
- International Relations
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
896. The Arctic Council as Regional Body
- Author:
- Klaus Dodds
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- The Arctic Council (AC) is an inter-governmental organization that, since its creation in 1996, has been widely recognized as one of the most progressive regional bodies in the world. The membership includes the eight Arctic states (A8), six permanent participants, and observer states such as the UK and Germany. From May 2013 onwards, there are also new permanent observers including China, India, Japan, and South Korea. The European Union's candidature has been delayed and subject to further review and assessment. The Council is chaired by one of the eight Arctic states for a two year period. The current chair is Canada (2013- 2015) and it will be followed by the United States (2015- 2017). The permanent participants, including the Inuit Circumpolar Council, Saami Council, and Aleut International Association, enjoy full consultative status and may address the meetings of the Council. Administrative support is provided by the Indigenous Peoples Secretariat (IPS), which is based in Copenhagen. The AC lies at the heart of debates about Arctic futures. It faces two challenges – institutional evolution and membership. For its supporters, the AC occupies center position in promoting an orderly and cooperative vision for the Arctic, but there is no shortage of commentary and punditry analyzing and predicting a rather different vision for the Arctic. As Paul Berkman asserted in the New York Times, under the heading “Preventing an Arctic Cold War,” there is little room for complacency. Berkman's analysis warned of Arctic and non-Arctic states being increasingly forced to confront difficult issues relating to policing, resource management, accessibility and navigability, alongside environmental protection. His suggestion at the end of the piece appeared, seemed rather odd, “[a]s the head of an Arctic superpower and a Nobel laureate, Mr. Obama should convene an international meeting with President Putin and other leaders of Arctic nations to ensure that economic development at the top of the world is not only sustainable, but peaceful.” Bizarrely, there is little analysis of how, and to what extent, the AC and other bodies, including the United Nations Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), are actively providing “rules of the road” (Berkman's phrase) for the Arctic region and beyond. This piece focuses on some issues that require further attention (such as the protection of the Arctic marine environment) while acknowledging how the AC has changed in the last few years. As a regional body, it operates in a strategic environment where few specialist observers believe that military conflict or destabilizing resource speculation is likely to prevail. Nonetheless, it is a work in progress with pressing demands to address. I will discuss debates about membership status and the institutional evolution to respond to experts' concerns about disasters (which might involve a shipping or drilling accident) and ongoing climate change, including manifestations such as sea ice thinning in the Arctic Ocean
- Topic:
- Cold War
- Political Geography:
- Japan, China, United Kingdom, Canada, India, South Korea, and Germany
897. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization
- Author:
- Stephen Blank
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- The SCO grew out of a Chinese initiative (hence its name) from the late 1990s that brought together all the states that had emerged from the Soviet Union in 1991 and signed bilateral border-delimiting treaties with China: Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. In 2001, these states and Uzbekistan formally created the SCO. Since then it has added observer states—Mongolia, Afghanistan, India, Iran, and Pakistan—and dialogue partners—Turkey, Belarus, and Sri Lanka. The SCO's original mandate seemingly formulated it as a collective security organization pledged to the defense of any member threatened by secession, terrorism, or extremism—for example, from Islamic militancy. This pre-9/11 threat listing reflected the fact that each member confronted restive Muslim minorities within its own borders. That threat may indeed be what brought them together since China's concern for its territorial integrity in Xinjiang drives its overall Central Asian policy. Thus, the SCO's original charter and mandate formally debarred Central Asian states from helping Uyghur Muslim citizens fight the repression of their Uyghur kinsmen in China. Likewise, the charter formally precludes Russian or Chinese assistance to disaffected minorities in one or more Central Asian states should they launch an insurgency. In practice the SCO has refrained from defense activities and followed an idiosyncratic, even elusive, path; it is an organization that is supposed to be promoting its members' security, yet it is difficult to see what, if anything, it actually does. Officially published accounts are of little help in assessing the SCO since they confine themselves to high-flown, vague language and are short on specifics. We see from members' actual behavior that they primarily rely on bilateral ties with Washington, Beijing, or Moscow, or on other multilateral formations like the Russian-organized Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), itself an organization of questionable effectiveness. Therefore, this essay argues that the SCO is not primarily a security organization. Rather, it provides a platform and regulatory framework for Central Asian nations to engage and cope with China's rise and with Sino-Russian efforts to dominate the area. As such, it is attractive to small nations and neighboring powers but problematic for Russia and the United States. Analyzing the SCO's lack of genuine security provision, its membership expansion considerations, and Russia's decline in power will help clarify the organization's current and future roles.
- Topic:
- Security
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, Afghanistan, Russia, United States, China, Iran, Washington, Central Asia, India, Shanghai, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Beijing, Tajikistan, Soviet Union, and Moscow
898. The Most Dangerous Country on Earth
- Author:
- Joseph Cirincione
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- In any given week, there is significant competition for the title of “most dangerous country in the world.” Some may believe it is Syria or Mali, Iran or North Korea, China or Russia, or dozens of others. As tragic as conditions may be in these countries, as potentially harmful as their policies may seem, no state truly comes close to the multiple dangers inherent in Pakistan today. Trends in this nation may converge to form one or more nuclear nightmares that could spread well beyond the region to threaten international security and the lives of millions. Experts estimate that Pakistan has between 90-110 nuclear weapons and enough fissile material to produce 100 more. It has an unstable government, a fragile economy, strong extremist influences in its military and intelligence structures, and Al Qaeda, as well as half a dozen similar terrorist groups operating inside the country. The confluence of these factors not only increases the potential for a nuclear escalation between Pakistan and its regional rival, India, but perhaps the even more terrifying scenario that a terrorist group will acquire fissile material, or an intact weapon, from Pakistan's burgeoning stockpiles. Both of these risks are unacceptable. The United States can and must take concrete steps to reduce the risks posed by Pakistan's unique combination of instability, extremism, and nuclear weapons…
- Topic:
- Nuclear Weapons
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, Russia, United States, China, Iran, North Korea, and Syria
899. The Future Role of the Chinese Middle Class
- Author:
- Cheng Li and Ryan McElvee
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- When the Rolex store in the swanky Sanlitun shopping district of Beijing shut its doors earlier this year, sunk by lackluster sales, it was a sign that the government frugality campaign launched in December by the new Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping had begun to take effect. Similarly, after Xi described the ideal banquet to consist of “four dishes and a soup,” upscale Beijing restaurants in January saw their revenues decline by 35 percent from the previous year. Not only do these instantaneous changes in habit among Beijing's financially well-off upper class reflect the power behind Xi's bully pulpit, but they also point to the irony that has emerged at the highest levels of Chinese policymaking. As China's leaders advocate for increased domestic consumption to stimulate the economy, the luxury goods market has taken a hit as leaders are pushed to avoid ostentation. These two policy shifts may, on the surface, seem contradictory, but they are part of a larger push to placate a middle class that has emerged as a core constituency with its own unique needs and desires. As China's growth model shifts from an export-based model to a domestic consumption- based model, the middle class, more than any other group, holds the keys to the governance and prosperity of the country. Just as other countries are watching to see how this transition unfolds for geopolitical reasons, companies and banks abroad are also closely observing the rise of the Chinese middle class, knowing that its purchasing power will reshape the global economy. Hampering the transition to consumption-based growth, however, are significant negative feelings among the middle class. The Chinese Ministry of Health revealed in 2011 that the majority of Chinese professionals—51 percent—showed signs of depression. Such widespread depression likely stems from the extreme socioeconomic pressures in Chinese society, including skyrocketing housing prices, environ- mental degradation, health scares, and official corruption, all of which have tainted the public's confidence in the government and the country's future. Middle class grievances over government policy have become increasingly evident, partly because the expansion of the middle class has slowed and economic disparity has increased. Disillusionment over the CCP leadership during the past decade is arguably most salient among the members of the middle class who often complain that they, rather than the upper class, have shouldered most of the burden of former President Hu Jintao's harmonious society policies targeting assistance for vulnerable socio-economic groups. The high unemployment rate among recent college graduates, who usually come from middle-class families and are potentially future members of the middle class, should alert the Chinese government. To express their displeasure, the middle class often turns to organizing “mass incidents” (protests involving more than 100 participants), more than 100,000 of which occur each year according to official estimates. Xi Jinping apparently understands the link between these manifestations of public pessimism and CCP authority, and has sought to make very public—albeit basic—improvements to please the country's middle class. The current political discourse in China reveals that the government recognizes the importance of addressing the needs of the middle class. After all, the party must do so to survive. As the party turned to the simultaneous implementation of a frugality campaign and policies to increase domestic consumption, the implications were clear: the party has the political will to change and motivate the middle class to become the optimistic consumers they have the potential to become. Indeed, only when middle class consumption reaches its potential and when middle class interest in public health, rule of law, and freedom of speech is institutionally protected will Xi Jinping's “Chinese Dream” of national rejuvenation truly become a reality. This article presents the distinctive characteristics of the middle class, its multifaceted interests, and its political demands, arguing that the new administration faces a critical balancing act as it seeks to implement a sustainable consumption-based growth model.
- Political Geography:
- China
900. Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master's Insights on China, the United States and the World
- Author:
- Pamela Sodhy
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- This book, a compilation of Lee Kuan Yew's views and in-sights on foreign policy matters, is unique in that its contents are pulled from interviews with Lee and from his speeches and writings. The compilation is the work of three scholars: Graham Allison, the Douglas Dillion Professor of Government and the Director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School; Robert D. Blackwill, the Henry Kissinger Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations; and Ali Wyne, a researcher at Harvard's Belfer Center. They use a question and answer format, starting each chapter with a list of specific questions and then providing Lee's answers. Their aim, as stated in the Preface, is “not to look back on the past 50 years, remarkable as Lee's contributions to them have been. Rather our focus is the future and the specific challenges that the United States will face during the next quarter century.” To them, Lee's answers are meant to be “of value not only to those shaping U.S. foreign policy, but also to leaders of businesses and civil society in the United States.” The book spans Lee's insights over a half century, covering different periods: as Prime Minister of Singapore; Senior Minister under his successor, Goh Chok Tong; Minister Mentor under his son, Lee Hsien Loong; and, since 2011, as Senior Advisor and Emeritus Senior Minister. In terms of content, the book is very comprehensive as it deals with Lee's views on numerous foreign policy topics. As for the book's organization, its first part is unusual in that a Foreword, by former U.S. Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, is followed by a short section with a title in the form of a question: “Who is Lee Kuan Yew?” Next is another short section, also with a question, this time entitled “When Lee Kuan Yew Talks, Who Listens?” After that is the Preface, followed by ten chapters, with the first eight providing Lee's views about the future
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States and China