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38701. Democratized Destruction: Global Security in the Hacker Era

Author:
James Hasik and Mark Revor
Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
The democratized innovations of today's hacker era have a dark side: democratized destruction, underwritten by advanced information technologies, and spread by highly empowered individuals with very undemocratic intent. The breadth, pace, diffusion, and potential for concealment of these advances may be creating new vulnerabilities for the same technologically advanced societies that spawned them. Fortunately, the United States and its allies have substantial experience with this mode of innovation and unique resources for developing countermeasures. In "Democratized Destruction: Global Security in the Hacker Era," Brent Scowcroft Center for International Security Nonresident Senior Fellow James Hasik and Lieutenant Colonel Mark Revor, a 2013-2014 Marine Corps fellow at the Atlantic Council, recommend three courses of action: leveraging capital investments with low marginal cost extensions; monitoring the global progress of open innovation; and supporting domestic grassroots developments in information-intensive systems.

38702. NATO's Cyber Capabilities: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Author:
Jason Healey and Klara Tothova Jordan
Publication Date:
08-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
NATO's central missions of collective defense and cooperative security must be as effective in cyberspace as in the other domains of air, land, sea, and space.

38703. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: Big Opportunities for Small Business

Author:
Garrett Workman
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
With Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations underway, there is an increasing focus on the prospective economic benefits and potential policy changes resulting from an ambitious agreement. While modernizing trade rules will benefit businesses of all sizes on both sides of the Atlantic, TTIP will be especially critical for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that often struggle with the numerous administrative, legal, and regulatory barriers to exporting that slow down trade and hinder innovation. Given their limited financial and human resources, small businesses stand to gain exponentially from a transatlantic agreement that streamlines regulatory and customs processes.
Political Geography:
United States, America, and Europe

38704. Confidence-Building Measures in Cyberspace: A Multistakeholder Approach for Stability and Security

Author:
Jason Healey, Klara Tothova Jordan, John C. Mallery, and Nathaniel V. V. Youd
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
Confidence-building measures (CBMs) are an instrument of international politics, negotiated by and applied between states to strengthen international peace and security by reducing and eliminating the causes of mistrust, fear, misunderstanding, and miscalculations that states have about the military activities of other states.
Political Geography:
Russia, China, and America

38705. The Shale Revolution and the New Geopolitics of Energy

Author:
Robert A. Manning
Publication Date:
10-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
The shale revolution, the combination of computer-aided horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing known as “fracking,” already has had a profound multidimensional impact. After the breakthroughs in information technology (IT) and biotechnology, shale may be the most transformational technological change so far in the twenty-first century. This report argues that shale gas and tight oil has: begun to radically shift global energy markets and redraw the global energy map, forty years after the Arab oil embargo; dramatically shifted the outlook for US energy security and our national strategic calculus; altered geopolitics, making the Western Hemisphere—Canada, the United States, Mexico, Brazil—the new center of gravity for oil and gas production; turned the future of oil debate on its head; debate about whether or not “peak oil” has been reached is over. Now the issue is whether or not we are approaching “peak demand;” has altered market economics to slow the deployment of wind, solar, and nuclear energy and a transition to a post-petroleum economy; yet also reduced US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by displacing coal as a source of electricity; strengthened the US economy with cheap gas prices triggering a resurgence in US manufacturing and; potentially repositioned the United States vis-à-vis the Middle East and Asia.
Political Geography:
United States, Middle East, Canada, Asia, Brazil, and Mexico

38706. Online Voting: Rewards and Risks

Author:
Peter Haynes
Publication Date:
10-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
In a world of near-infinite computing power, ubiquitous connectivity, cloud-based services, and big data, the fact that the vast majority of countries holds elections using paper ballots appears an anomaly.
Topic:
Government, Science and Technology, and Reform
Political Geography:
United States

38707. The Future of US Extended Deterrence in Asia to 2025

Author:
Robert A. Manning
Publication Date:
10-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
US extended deterrence in Asia, involving the full spectrum from nuclear to conventional capabilities, faces an array of new challenges. Indeed, a dynamic, volatile, and more complex security landscape in the Asia-Pacific and globally has heightened regional security concerns and given deterrence and strategic stability a renewed importance in the period extending to 2025.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Nuclear Weapons, International Security, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:
United States, Asia, and Asia-Pacific

38708. Mexico's Energy Reform: Mexico "Ready to Launch"

Author:
David L. Goldwyn, Neil R. Brown, and Megan Reilly Cayten
Publication Date:
08-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
Mexico is poised for an energy renaissance. It has ample reserves of oil and natural gas, experience in energy production, promising economic fundamentals, and industrial expertise. In recent decades, Mexico has suffered from declining oil production, insufficient gas supply, and high electricity prices.
Topic:
Emerging Markets, Energy Policy, Oil, and Reform
Political Geography:
Mexico

38709. 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

38710. Implementing Structural Reforms in Abenomics: How to Reduce the Cost of Doing Business in Japan

Author:
Jamal Ibrahim Haidar and Takeo Hoshi
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
Abstract:
Improving the environment for business is an important part of the growth strategy of Abenomics. As the KPI (Key Performance Indicator) for this effort, the Abe Administration aims to improve Japan's rank in the World Bank Doing Business Ranking from the current #15 among high-income OECD countries to one of the top three. This paper clarifies what it takes for Japan to be among top three countries in terms of ease of doing business. By looking at details of the World Bank Doing Business ranking, we identify various reforms that Japan could implement to improve the ranking. Then, we classify the reforms into four groups depending on whether the reform requires legal changes and whether the reform is likely to face strong political resistance. By just doing the reforms that do not require legal changes and are not likely to face strong political opposition, Japan can improve the ranking to 9th. To be in the top 3, Japan would need to implement all the reforms except for those that require changing the laws and are likely to face strong political resistance, even under the unrealistic assumption that the other countries do not reduce the cost of doing business. Thus, in order to be one of the top three countries among OECD countries in terms of ease of doing business, Japan would most likely need to carry out all the reforms identified in this paper.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Reform
Political Geography:
Japan