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12. Avoiding the Blind Alley: China's Economic Overhaul and Its Global Implications
- Author:
- Daniel H. Rosen
- Publication Date:
- 10-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- PRESIDENT XI JINPING ANNOUNCED a sweeping overhaul for China's economy in November 2013, with pledges to make market forces decisive, treat homegrown and foreign investors with the same laws and regulations, and change the mission statement of the government. The reform program, known as the Decisions plan and presented at the Communist Party leadership's Third Plenum meeting, is comprehensive and marks a turning point in China's modern history. The degree of boldness also indicates that after 35 years of world-beating economic performance, China's development model is obsolete and in need of urgent, not gradual, replacement. To justify the risks, President Xi quoted an impassioned plea for policy modernization by his predecessor Deng Xiaoping: the only way to avoid a dead end – a blind alley – is to deepen reform and opening both at home and with the world.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Political Economy, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- China
13. Negotiating Libya's Constitution
- Author:
- Duncan Pickard and Karim Mezran
- Publication Date:
- 01-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- Among the many problems facing Libya's troubled transition to democracy is the challenge of constructing a state in a country with a legacy of weak institutions. Muammar al-Qaddafi's brutal forty-two-year dictatorship employed a policy of de-institutionalization, leaving the presence of the state feeble throughout the country. Those organs that were powerful, including the secret security apparatus, lost their leader with Qaddafi's fall in 2011, leaving a power vacuum that nonstate actors have scrambled to fill. Some of the most influential political groups in Libya today are militias formed during and after the revolution. Although some are loosely affiliated with the ministries of interior or defense, most, if not all, do not demonstrate any particular loyalty to the government. Militias have kidnapped the prime minister (the militia responsible called it an “arrest”), assassinated judges and police officers, physically occupied the office of the justice minister, and engaged in an urban battle in Tripoli. They also seek to advance their political interests—which vary, but include influence over officials, rent seeking, and some Islamist agendas—with threats against ministries or officials. And yet the state relies on militias to provide essential security services such as running checkpoints and protecting the airport because no ministry force is up to the task. The ascendancy of these militias points to two troubling realities: the state lacks a monopoly over the use of force and the country faces an ongoing deterioration of the rule of law.
- Topic:
- Security, Democratization, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Libya and North Africa
14. The Challenge of Federalism in Yemen
- Author:
- Rafat Al-Akhali
- Publication Date:
- 05-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- The 2011 protests against corruption, lack of accountability, limited access to basic services, and the extreme centralization of power transformed Yemen. In November of that year, the main political parties signed a transition plan, brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council, which provided the framework and process to achieve a peaceful transfer of power. Two of the key steps agreed upon in the transition plan were the convening of the National Dialogue Conference (NDC), followed by drafting a new constitution based on the outcomes of the National Dialogue.
- Topic:
- Corruption, Government, Governance, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Middle East and Yemen
15. No Arab Spring for Algeria
- Author:
- Karim Mezran and Mohsin Khan
- Publication Date:
- 05-2014
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- The popular uprisings that swept the Arab world in 2011 passed Algeria by. While there were sporadic street demonstrations calling for political change, principally in the country's capital Algiers, they quickly petered out due to lack of support from the general public. Unlike in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia, the political power system in Algeria remained intact. The autocratic government of Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who has been the president since 1999, retained complete control, culminating in his reelection on April 17 for a fourth term despite his obviously failing health.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Governance, Social Movement, Popular Revolt, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Libya, Arabia, North America, Egypt, and Tunisia
16. India and Pakistan: The Opportunity Cost of Conflict
- Author:
- Shuja Nawaz and Mohan Guruswamy
- Publication Date:
- 04-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- India and Pakistan, born out of a single British-ruled entity in 1947, have continued an implacable rivalry marked by periodic wars and hostilities as well as through proxies. This unending conflict has led them to invest heavily in their militaries and even to choose nuclear weaponry as a deterrence on the part of Pakistan toward India and on India's part toward both Pakistan and China. Although there have been occasional moves toward confidence building measures and most recently toward more open borders for trade, deep mistrust and suspicion mark this sibling rivalry. Their mutual fears have fuelled an arms race, even though increasingly civil society actors now appear to favor rapprochement and some sort of an entente. The question is whether these new trends will help diminish the military spending on both sides.
- Topic:
- Security, Foreign Policy, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, China, India, Asia, and Southeast Asia
17. Beyond Data Breaches: Global Interconnections of Cyber Risk
- Author:
- Jason Healey
- Publication Date:
- 04-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- The internet and associated information technology (IT), which often go by the name 'cyberspace,' give modern societies, economies and lives benefits that are too numerous to count. But the dark side of our dependence on the internet goes far beyond the day-to-day headlines of cyber crime, identity theft or concerns about online espionage or loss of privacy.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Globalization, Science and Technology, and Reform
18. US-Cuba: A New Public Survey Supports Policy Change
- Author:
- Jason Marczak and Peter Schechter
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- Why is now the right moment to commission a poll on the US public's views toward Cuba and US-Cuba relations? Why is a new, nonpartisan Latin America center reaching out to grab the third rail of Latin American foreign policy in the United States? Both good questions. Sometimes in foreign policy, structural impediments or stark policy differences will stymie progress in a certain area. Relations with China could not proceed until the United States recognized a “one China” policy that forever downgraded US relations with Taiwan. An activist foreign policy with Africa was impossible until the United States denounced apartheid.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Africa, United States, China, Cuba, and Latin America