Search

Begin New Search Topic International Relations

1171. Euro-Atlantic Security: One Vision, Three Paths

Author:
Piin-Fen Kok
Publication Date:
06-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
EastWest Institute
Abstract:
The Euro-Atlantic security scene is characterized by a loss of mutual confidence, renewed tensions, and serious disagreements regarding not only practices but principles. Those trends, if not corrected, will produce negative strategic consequences for the security of Europe. New opportunities have emerged today for rethinking the security situation in the Euro-Atlantic region, for strengthening confidence, changing mutual relations, and, if need be, institutions. A basis for this can be found in the hopes for improved U.S.- Russian relations expressed by U.S. President Barack Obama, in the initiative by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on reforming the European security architecture, as well as in the process of elaboration of the new NATO strategic concept.
Topic:
International Relations, NATO, and International Security
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, and Europe

1172. Resetting the Transatlantic Economic Council

Author:
Annette Heuser and Frances Burwell
Publication Date:
10-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
This memo is a joint effort of the Bertelsmann Foundation and the Atlantic Council and is intended as a contribution to advancing the integration of the trans‐Atlantic economy. This project was conceived as a blueprint for the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC) on the occasion of the October meeting.
Topic:
International Relations, Climate Change, Economics, International Cooperation, and International Trade and Finance

1173. U.S.-China Cooperation on Low-Emissions Coal

Publication Date:
10-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
The Atlantic Council of the United States (the Council) and the U.S./China Energy and Environmental Technology Center (EETC) at Tsinghua and Tulane Universities cosponsored a Dialogue, “U.S.-China Cooperation on Low-Emissions Coal Technologies” in Beijing from June 24-26, 2009. This report synthesizes and summarizes the information presented during the Dialogue to allow for an ongoing exchange of information and ideas between the meeting participants and key stakeholders in the effort to lower emissions from the use of coal.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Economics, Energy Policy, Environment, and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:
United States, China, and Atlantic Ocean

1174. North Korea-South Korea Relations

Author:
Aidan Foster-Carter
Publication Date:
10-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Comparative Connections
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
Dealing with North Korea resembles the board game Snakes Ladders (known in the U.S. as Chutes Ladders). The first half of this year was an especially long snake/chute. Pyongyang's missile and nuclear tests, and its general bellicosity, not only undid last year's slight gains in the Six-Party Talks (6PT), but were a strange way to greet an incoming U.S. president avowedly committed to exploring engagement with Washington's traditional foes. But what goes down must, eventually, come up, even if each time some may fear it is a case of – to change the spatial metaphor – one step forward, two steps back. As of autumn, things on the peninsula are looking up somewhat – at least relatively, if not in any absolute sense.
Topic:
International Relations and Diplomacy
Political Geography:
United States, South Korea, and North Korea

1175. Security Matters

Author:
Centre for European Security Studies
Publication Date:
01-2009
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Centre for European Security Studies
Abstract:
On 12 May we received the news that David Greenwood had passed away. It was expected in a way, but still it came as a shock. David had been suffering from a disease one can fight for some time, but never beat. Although at the end he was very weak and never left home anymore, David was not supposed to leave Margaret and all of us so soon.
Topic:
International Relations and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1176. Japan between Alliance and Community

Author:
Yul Sohn
Publication Date:
08-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
East Asia Institute (EAI)
Abstract:
In a series of town hall meetings during the winter of 2005–2006, Aso Taro, then Minister of Foreign Affairs under the Koizumi cabinet, introduced an interesting concept of Japan’s role in Asia. Japan can and should play the role of a “thought leader,” who through fate has been forced to face certain very difficult issues earlier than others. Because Japan has put great effort, both monetarily and socio-politically, into resolving issues that include ultra-nationalism, an aging society, and environmental protection, it has become the forerunner for other Asians to emulate (Aso 2005). This role as a soft power leader contrasts with the existing hard power–oriented (i.e., economic) discourse of international contribution as well as the conventional soft power discourse that is rooted in the Japanese culture and sensibilities, such as animation, fashion, and cultural products. Japan’s strength lies in the firstmover knowledge it provides for Asia, creating a network of knowledge available to others (Aso 2006). Three years later, Aso, this time as the Japanese Prime Minister, proudly announced a "Growth Initiative" that planned to double the current scale of Asia's economy by 2020 (Aso 2009a). This initiative, Aso’s first and thus far most important vision for Asia as Prime Minister, is aimed at moving Asia's economy from one driven by exports to one led by domestic demand, through encouraging region-wide development and expanded consumption. To make this effort, Japan has committed (a) US$20 billion in overseas development assistance (ODA); (b) US$20 billion for infrastructure development in Asia; (c) US$5 billion over two years for an initiative investing in Asian environmental projects; and (d) US$22 billion over two years to provide additional support for trade financing in order to underpin trade credit, and so on. Japan will mobilize all possible policy measures to support the efforts being made by Asian countries. In addition, Aso seeks to increase the attractiveness of Japan by utilizing cultural sources (such as manga, animation, fashion, authentic food) to create jobs in Japan and the region (Aso 2009b). Aso’s recent initiative appears to have tilted in a direction different from his earlier vision of Japan as a thought leader, a well thought out and creative idea. Today, given Japan’s rapid economic contraction caused by its “once in a century” crisis, Japan finds it difficult to attain the regional leadership it desires merely by spending more money. Utilizing cultural resources will yield only a limited outcome. Finally, the initiative is targeted at Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with few attempts to assist or engage the members of Northeast Asia such as China and South Korea. Japan has so far failed to play its desired role as a thought leader for Asia. The inconsistency between words and actions underlines the strategic dilemmas that Japan has faced as China has risen to be a formidable rival in the region.
Topic:
International Relations, Diplomacy, Culture, Alliance, and Community
Political Geography:
Japan and Asia

1177. China, Japan and the Quest for Leadership in East Asia

Author:
Dirk Nabers
Publication Date:
02-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
The leadership of powerful states in processes of regional institutionalization is a significant, though still widely ignored topic in the field of International Relations (IR). This study asks about the theoretical conditions of effective leadership in international institution- building, using China's and Japan's roles in East Asian regionalism as an empirical test case. It addresses the question of what actually happens when states perform the role of leader. Specifically, it focuses on the process of negotiating leadership claims, and different hypotheses are presented as to the requirements of effective leadership in international affairs. The findings point to the fact that leadership is effective and sustainable when foreign elites acknowledge the leader's vision of international order and internalize it as their own. Leadership roles are often disputed and are constituted of shared ideas about self, other, and the world, relying on the intersubjective internalization of ideas, norms, and identities.
Topic:
International Relations, International Organization, and Politics
Political Geography:
Israel and East Asia

1178. Making Poverty History? How Activists, Philanthropists, and the Public Are Changing Global Development

Author:
Lael Brainard and Vinca LaFleur
Publication Date:
02-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The international development community as we have known it for sixty years is undergoing an extreme makeover. If its roots go back to the Marshall Plan and the founding of the Bretton Woods institutions, its modern incarnation has branched both up and out— dramatically altering the landscape of humanity's efforts to alleviate poverty.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, and Poverty
Political Geography:
United States

1179. A Mechanism to Stabilize U.S.-China-Japan Trilateral Relations in Asia

Author:
Shulong Chu
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
China, Japan, and the United States are the most important powers in Asia now and for the future. The relationships among them are the foundation of international relations, peace, and stability in East Asia, but may also become the major source of strategic conflict in the region. What Asia is now and will become in future decades depends very much on the three countries and their relationships.
Topic:
International Relations and Diplomacy
Political Geography:
United States, Japan, China, Israel, East Asia, and Asia

1180. What to Do about Climate Change

Author:
Indur M. Goklany
Publication Date:
02-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The state-of-the-art British-sponsored fasttrack assessment of the global impacts of climate change, a major input to the much-heralded Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, indicates that through the year 2100, the contribution of climate change to human health and environmental threats will generally be overshadowed by factors not related to climate change. Hence, climate change is unlikely to be the world's most important environmental problem of the 21st century.
Topic:
International Relations, Climate Change, Environment, and Globalization
Political Geography:
Britain