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41. The Mediterranean Energy Scene: What Now? What Next?

Author:
Silvia Colombo and Ian Lesser
Publication Date:
04-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
The paper provides a summary of the key issues raised in the third meeting of the Mediterranean Strategy Group which was convened in Rome to discuss the problem of energy security and cooperation in the Mediterranean from a transatlantic perspective. The meeting looked into the impact of geopolitical and economic variables on energy security around the Mediterranean, including the role and interests of “new” actors such as China, Russia and India. It also examined the outlook for new oil, gas, nuclear and electric power transmission projects, the prospects for alternative energy schemes, and the implications for strategy and policy affecting governments and the private sectors.
Topic:
Security, Energy Policy, International Cooperation, Regional Cooperation, and Natural Resources
Political Geography:
Russia, China, Europe, and India

42. Editorial Note

Author:
Nicola Casarini
Publication Date:
06-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The International Spectator
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
There has been a profound shift eastward in global power. The 2008 US National Intelligence Council study highlighted the unprecedented transfer of wealth from the West to the East which is likely to continue in the foreseeable future. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton chose East Asia for her first official trip abroad in February 2009. For the first time, the new Secretary of State did not go to Europe for the inaugural tour to meet the traditional transatlantic allies. Clinton's visits to Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and China emphasized not only the growing significance of East Asia for the new American administration, but also the increasing mutual interdependence between the two shores of the Pacific. As the Secretary of State told her Chinese counterpart in Beijing, ''We are truly going to rise or fall together.'' The US-China relationship is bound to set the stage for global politics in the next decades and become the central axis around which the Asia-Pacific era will unfold.
Political Geography:
China, Beijing, East Asia, and Asia-Pacific

43. China-US Relations, Tending Towards Maturity

Author:
Huang Ping, Tao Wenzhao, Wang Rongjun, Yuan Zheng, and Zhao Xingshu
Publication Date:
06-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The International Spectator
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
The China-US relationship is one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world, and it is progressively maturing. Non-traditional security threats are expanding the shared interests of China and the US. The two countries have developed more realistic views of each other than they had decades ago, and this is making military relations more practical. The two are also interdependent in the economic realm, whether they like it or not, and therefore must work together to succeed in handling the current economic crisis. Connected to this economic challenge is that of climate change, an issue which the US must handle wisely in its relations with China. In addition, traditional security and peace issues will remain important, some even sensitive and difficult, in relations in the near future. The better relationship which China and the US are moving towards will contribute substantially not only to bilateral relations but also to global peace and order.
Topic:
Security and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:
United States and China

44. A Rejoinder: Building 'Positive, Cooperative and Comprehensive' China-US Relations

Author:
Ralph A. Cossa
Publication Date:
06-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The International Spectator
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
The US-China relationship is one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world. As two of the world's largest economies, there can be no solution to the global economic crisis if the two work at cross purposes and many of the region's most complex security challenges - North Korean denuclearisation first among them - require Sino-US cooperation. The good news is that both US President Barrack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao are aware of and accept the shared responsibility and necessity for a cooperative approach toward dealing with the global financial crisis and regional security challenges; both have pledged to develop a "positive, cooperative and comprehensive" relationship and build mutual trust in a way that encourages, rather than worries, friends and allies in the Asia Pacific.
Topic:
Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:
United States, China, and North Korea

45. China Central? Australia's Asia Strategy

Author:
Robert Ayson
Publication Date:
06-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The International Spectator
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
From Australia's perspective, and in spite of the global economic crisis, an increasingly strong China will remain the dominant theme in Asia's evolving distribution of power. Australia has benefited from the prosperity which is the foundation of China's rise. But it continues to value the reassurance that a strong United States can bring to Asia. This favourable status quo seems superior to the alternatives: a cooperative Asian community which may be more aspirational than practicable; an Asian concert which requires an unlikely sharing of leadership between the great powers; or a coalition of Asian democracies which could be especially divisive. But as this comfortable status quo is strained, Australia may need to consider geopolitical options which until now have appeared fanciful and risky.
Political Geography:
United States, China, Asia, and Australia

46. New Trends in Taiwan's China Policy

Author:
Christopher R. Hughes
Publication Date:
06-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The International Spectator
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
Elections for a new parliament and president in Taiwan last year have led to a relaxation in the relationship with China that had become increasingly tense under the previous administration in Taipei. Having come to power on a platform of economic revival, the newly elected president, Ma Ying-jeou, now has to win over a wary public to support his policy of deeper engagement with China. This is becoming increasingly difficult as the economic downturn on both sides of the Taiwan Strait has made it hard to deliver the expected material benefits and the island slides into a severe recession. Meanwhile, Ma faces a growing dilemma as he waits for Beijing to deliver concessions on allowing the island more international space. If this is not forthcoming, domestic politics could force him back towards the more assertive foreign policy developed by his predecessors.
Topic:
Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
China and Taiwan

47. China's Growing Military Might in Search of a Strategy

Author:
Arthur S. Ding
Publication Date:
06-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The International Spectator
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
China's rapid military modernisation in the past decade has raised concern over when and how will China use its military power in the future. There is no definite answer to this concern. However, the new course in Taiwan, urgent non-traditional security issues, the domestic agenda for re-allocating resources to development of a 'harmonious society', and the looming economic crisis could shape China's foreign policy goals so that it continues the engagement approach adopted in the past decade.
Topic:
Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
China

48. China, the Italian Prejudice

Author:
Francesco Sisci
Publication Date:
06-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The International Spectator
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
Italy's political vision of China has been tainted by prejudice. In past decades, before China's rapid development, it was a positive prejudice. People on the right saw China as a bulwark against the Soviet Union, people on the left viewed it as model of socialism. In recent years, the prejudice has changed in nature. Those on the right, defending Italy's small and medium-sized enterprises beleaguered by Chinese competition, accuse Beijing of unfair trade practices, those on the left, fearing that workers might lose their jobs to China, blame Beijing for exploiting workers. In either case, Italy is not interested in discovering the true reality of China, which remains an exotic mystery. This lack of knowledge is the root of Italy's policy problems with China.
Political Geography:
China, Shanghai, Beijing, Soviet Union, and Italy

50. American Primacy by Default: Down but Not Out

Author:
Roberto Menotti and Jason W. Davidson
Publication Date:
03-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The International Spectator
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
American primacy continues to characterise the international system, despite trends toward a diffusion of power. The discussion is too often biased in favour of multipolarity due to imprecise or misleading definitions of US primacy. On the basis of a simple definition of what a "pole" is, combining GDP and defence expenditure, only the US can be considered a global pole. The current economic crisis is not changing this reality. Even considering perceptions, soft power, and the ability to translate power into influence, rising powers like China or an aggregate power like the EU have a long way to go before they can get on an equal footing with the United States.
Political Geography:
United States, China, and America