China Archives - Page 20 of 78 - Foreign Policy In Focus

Korea: The Case for Withdrawal

by Geoffrey Fattig | Feb 4, 2013

It’s time for the Obama administration to start withdrawing the American military from Korean soil. Not only would such a move save billions of dollars annually ($15 billion, according to a 2006 article by the Cato Institute’s Doug Bandow) at a time when the cost of maintaining America’s global garrison is coming under increasing scrutiny, but it would shift the impetus for negotiating solutions to the long-running dispute squarely onto the shoulders of the key players in the region.

Powering the Pacific “Pivot” With Leon and Chuck

by Winslow Wheeler | Jan 23, 2013

It’s old, and likely thoroughly forgotten now, but last summer the Washington Post ran an excellent article on the U.S. military‘s “pivot” toward Asia, its origins, and its budget implications. It presented some meaningful background on where the pivot came from, and how it so quickly became dogma in Washington as the decade-long ground wars receded in the national rear-view mirror.

When Soft Power Fails

by John Feffer | Jan 22, 2013

Washington has been reluctant to reevaluate “soft power” when it seems so obviously a fig leaf for the assertion of military dominance. But perhaps by looking at the palpable failures of Chinese efforts in Asia, U.S. policymakers could learn some lessons about strategy. Other countries in Asia that aspire to cultivate both hard power and soft power – Japan, South Korea – should also take note: you rarely can have it both ways.

Don’t Call China’s Liaoning a “Starter” Aircraft Carrier

by Scott Ryan Charney | Jan 8, 2013

China understands that aircraft carriers are no longer flagship crafts.

Why Africa Is Turning to China

by Kwei Quartey | Dec 20, 2012

Many African governments prefer China as an economic partner over Western countries for a number of reasons. First, China’s own development experience has instructive value. Second, China fulfills Africa’s need for critical infrastructure more cheaply, less bureaucratically, and more quickly. And finally, China portrays Africa more positively as a partner in “mutually beneficial cooperation” and “common prosperity,” rather than a “doomed continent” requiring aid.

Towards a Grand Climate Compromise

by Walden Bello, Richard Javad Heydarian | Nov 28, 2012

If the only thing that Doha can do is to expose the futility of the old strategies and the urgent necessity of exploring of new negotiating positions that can lead to a breakthrough before it is too late, then this diplomatic charade masquerading as a serious climate negotiation will have fulfilled its function.

China’s Transformation: A Southeast Asian Perspective

by Walden Bello | Nov 16, 2012

China’s once-in-a-decade leadership transition will have major implications for China’s neighbors in Southeast Asia. Given this, it might be worthwhile to review the changing understanding of the momentous developments in China on the part of people in our region, using my generation—the so-called “baby boomers”—as an example.

America’s Dismal Choice

by Walden Bello | Nov 2, 2012

As many pundits have noted, if the rest of the world were voting in the U.S. presidential election, the third presidential debate would probably have proceeded differently. But since only about 200 million people on earth are eligible to vote for the man whose policies will impact all of us, the final stretch of the campaign has turned into a bipartisan exercise in imperial chest-thumping.

Raising the Stakes in Asia

by Richard Javad Heydarian | Oct 25, 2012

While the proponents of the U.S. pivot to Asia argue that it enhances regional security, it is in reality precipitating a much more explicit Sino-American rivalry, thus undermining the prospects of an amicable and pluralistic regional order. Ultimately, America’s growing military presence in the region could backfire, giving birth to what it dearly seeks to prevent.

Alawites Against Assad

by Daniel DePetris | Oct 24, 2012

A new Syrian opposition group is trying to resurrect the nonviolent tactics that the opposition used during the first few months of the rebellion last year, when demonstrations and calls for civic activism filled the squares of towns across Syria. But more important is who formed the group: Syrian Alawites.