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16422. China's Shale Gas Strategy
- Author:
- Ralph Winnie
- Publication Date:
- 03-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Diplomatic Courier
- Institution:
- The Diplomatic Courier
- Abstract:
- Over the past twenty years, China has experienced dramatic economic growth, transforming itself from a basically agrarian society into the world's second largest economy behind only the United States. Since the initiation of economic and political reforms in 1978, China has produced an average annual growth rate of 10 percent. From 1978 to 2008, China increased its GDP 83 times (NBS, 2009) and lifted over two hundred million of its people out of poverty. This has continued to generate increased energy supply. Within China's energy sector, production was stimulated by the clarification of mineral exploration rights, the development of transportation and roadway infrastructure projects, diversification of management structures and the liberalization of environmental and safety regulation.
- Topic:
- Economics
- Political Geography:
- United States and China
16423. The Dynamic Change in China and Russia's Military Diplomacy
- Author:
- Ralph Winnie
- Publication Date:
- 03-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Diplomatic Courier
- Institution:
- The Diplomatic Courier
- Abstract:
- The Kremlin recently revealed that Moscow has pledged $640 billion in an effort to bring 80 percent of the Russian military establishment up to modern standards by 2020. Consequently, Vladimir Popovkin, Deputy Defense Minister in charge of arms procurement, recently suggested to the media that the Russian Defense Ministry plans to buy around 600 airplanes and 1000 helicopters. He further stated that the Ministry was planning to fund the development of a “new liquid fuel heavy intercontinental ballistic missile to replace aging RS-18 Stilleto and RS-20 Satan”. These missiles would be able to carry up to 10 warheads with solid fuel missiles each carrying a maximum of three warheads. It was further revealed that the Russian government plans to lend $24 billion to defense companies to help prepare for bigger contracts after 2015.
- Topic:
- Development and Diplomacy
- Political Geography:
- Russia and China
16424. The China Puzzle, Part III: One Step Forward and Two Steps Back?
- Author:
- Margaret J. Nencheck
- Publication Date:
- 03-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Diplomatic Courier
- Institution:
- The Diplomatic Courier
- Abstract:
- February 2012 marked the 40th anniversary of President Richard Nixon's historic trip to China. In hindsight, Nixon's decision to open relations with China is seen as one of the major diplomatic achievements of the latter half of the 20th century. Forty years later, a generation of Millennials is learning Mandarin, working and studying in China, and thinking deeply about the prospect of American decline in an Asian century. To mark this milestone, members of Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP), each with unique perspectives on China and East Asian affairs, gave their views on China's role in today's world. This is the third in a four-part series.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy
- Political Geography:
- China, America, and East Asia
16425. Course-Correcting the Conversation Surrounding 'Corrective Rape'
- Author:
- John Bavoso
- Publication Date:
- 03-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Diplomatic Courier
- Institution:
- The Diplomatic Courier
- Abstract:
- Last May, 24-year-old Johannesburg resident Noxolo Nogwaza was brutally raped, stabbed repeatedly with shards of broken glass, and beaten with rocks by a group of young men, then left to die from her injuries. Her body was subsequently dumped in a very public part of her township. Despite living and dying in country where it is said that the percentage of women and girls that will become sexual assault survivors is greater than the number that will be taught to read, Nogwaza's murder made national and international headlines because of her sexuality. She had been on her way home from dropping off her girlfriend when she was attacked, and neighbors reported hearing her attackers shouting homophobic slurs throughout the crime. Noxolo Nogwaza wasn't just a target of rape; she was a target of so-called “corrective” rape – a crime in which gangs of heterosexual men commit a sexual assault with the stated purpose of “curing” or “correcting” their victims' sexuality.
16426. Time for a New Policy Approach to Fiji?
- Author:
- Nicole Forrester and Eddie Walsh
- Publication Date:
- 03-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Diplomatic Courier
- Institution:
- The Diplomatic Courier
- Abstract:
- For more than two decades, Fiji has endured a coup culture. During the latest military coup in 2006, Commodore Bainimarama removed Prime Minister Qarase's duly elected democratic government. Since then, Australia has actively leveraged its bilateral and regional influence to urge Bainimarama's Interim Government to hold free and fair elections. The regime's failure to return to democracy has led to Fiji's suspension from the Pacific Islands Forum and the Commonwealth.
- Topic:
- Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- Australia
16427. Latvia's Economic Recovery: Lessons to Learn?
- Author:
- Steve Lutes
- Publication Date:
- 03-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Diplomatic Courier
- Institution:
- The Diplomatic Courier
- Abstract:
- While the impact of the 2008 global economic crisis has been varied across nations, it is unmistakable that Latvia was among those hardest hit with unemployment topping 20 percent and a considerable contraction in gross domestic product (GDP) from 2008 to 2010. But the tide has ostensibly turned with the country completing the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) stabilization program in December 2011, and the government projecting growth of approximately 5 percent for 2011. So how did Latvia accomplish this turn around as others in Europe remain mired in economic turmoil?
- Topic:
- Economics and International Monetary Fund
- Political Geography:
- Europe
16428. Anatomy of an Arab Transformation
- Author:
- Lara Setrakian
- Publication Date:
- 03-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Diplomatic Courier
- Institution:
- The Diplomatic Courier
- Abstract:
- More than a year's worth of systemic change in the Middle East still goes by an unsettled set of monikers: the Arab Spring, the Arab Upheaval, the Arab Awakening. But one phrase captures the effect, where we stand in the arc of a longer process. This is the age of the Arab Transformation—morphing life at every level. Beyond simply taking stock, it's worth examining the transformative machine that's being built, a kind of societal engine clicking into place that will drive the region for the rest of our lifetime.
- Political Geography:
- Middle East and Arabia
16429. Beyond Promises: The Durable Solution to the Afghan Refugee Problem
- Author:
- M. Ashraf Haidari
- Publication Date:
- 03-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Diplomatic Courier
- Institution:
- The Diplomatic Courier
- Abstract:
- The saga of Afghan refugees began in late December 1979: Afghans were an impoverished people but content with their agrarian and traditional way of life. They hardly ever wished to migrate abroad for economic opportunities. But their normal lives abruptly ceased in the days following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan as the country became a major victim of the Cold War. Soviet tanks rolled into Afghan villages indiscriminately killing innocent civilians, destroying their livelihoods, and driving most Afghans abroad in search of protection and human security. More Afghans fled violence, persecution and ethnic cleansing and genocide as a result of regional proxy conflicts in Afghanistan throughout 1990s. Many sought refuge in neighboring Pakistan and Iran.
- Topic:
- Security and Cold War
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran
16430. Colombia's Peso Over-Flexing its Muscle
- Author:
- Oscar Montealegre
- Publication Date:
- 03-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Diplomatic Courier
- Institution:
- The Diplomatic Courier
- Abstract:
- The Colombian peso is now, shockingly, a force to be reckoned with. In 2012, year to date, the peso has appreciated 9 percent against the U.S. dollar in an amazing currency surge that underscores the "new" Colombia. However, the Andean country is not too excited about the strong currency, understanding that it poses a serious problem for exporters.
- Political Geography:
- Colombia