Courtesy: Foreign Affairs
Since weak demand is at the heart of the recession, governments need to enact stimulus programs along with structural reforms, argues Menzie Chinn. Structural reforms don’t always work out, writes Karl Smith. Raghuram Rajan demurs.
Courtesy: Foreign Affairs
Until now, the U.S.-China policy has been driven by a blend of engagement and balancing. The Obama administration’s concentration on ‘engagement’ has done nothing to halt Beijing’s military build-up. The next administration should work towards bolstering the ‘balancing’ half of Washington’s strategic equation.
Courtesy: Foreign Affairs
To leave behind a stable government in Afghanistan in 2014, the U.S. needs to work towards electoral reforms, negotiations with the Taliban, and a regional settlement involving Pakistan.
Courtesy: Foreign Affairs
The Western sanctions imposed on Iran to force it to abandon its nuclear programme have succeeded in bringing Tehran back to the negotiating table, but they are a tactic, not a strategy. Any long-term policy has to aim for a democratic Iran.
Courtesy: Foreign Affairs
Is China poised to take over from the United States as the world’s leading economy? Yes, judging by its GDP, trade flows, and ability to act as a creditor to the rest of the world. In fact, China’s economic dominance will be far greater and come about far sooner than most observers realize.
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Pakistan is unlikely to collapse anytime soon, but the imbalance of power between its civilian and military branches needs to be addressed if it is to become an effective modern state. Washington must stop coddling Pakistan’s military and instead work patiently to support the country’s civilian authorities.
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With India planning to buy $100 billion worth of new weapons over the next ten years, arms sales may be the best way to revive Washington's relationship with New Delhi, its most important strategic partner in the region.
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There are no easy or cost-free ways to escape the current quagmire in Afghanistan. Although it has problems, a de facto partition of Afghanistan, in which Washington pursues nation building in the north and counter terrorism in the south, offers an acceptable fallback.
Courtesy: Mike Russia/Wikipedia
Although freeing Aung Suu Kyi may allow Burma’s military leaders to escape scrutiny for now, their budding nuclear ambitions could rejuvenate international interest in placing pressure on their regime.
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A major strategic challenge for the United States in the coming decades will be integrating emerging powers into international institutions. To hold the post war order together, the US will have to become a more consistent exemplar of multilateral cooperation.