American defense planners therefore need to accept the obvious: budget cuts are here to stay. The time to plan for cutbacks and start reshaping the military was two years ago, when the writing was already on the wall. Since that never happened, the government must catch up fast. Read Here – Foreign Affairs
Shinzo Abe’s first, brief premiership ended in disaster. Yet now, recovered from debilitating illness, the conservative nationalist is back in power and, emboldened by “Abenomics”, is determined to revitalise Japan after many years of decline. Read Here – The New Statesman
According to a new estimate, there are 30 million forced laborers in the world. Some reports show they’re involved in making everything from iPhones to chocolate. Read Here – The Atlantic
The realignment that is taking place is as much attitudinal as structural. By sheer dint of size and scope, if countries no longer look to the United States for leadership there will be global ramifications. In a world with multiple centers of influence, from China to Latin America to India and sub-Saharan Africa, new actors […]
Obama’s failure to don a batik shirt for the closing photo shoot of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit changes little. In addition, if the past is any guide, China’s leaders will once again overplay their hand. For many of its neighbors, China’s uncompromising stance on sovereignty over various disputed atolls and islands is just too alienating. Read […]
Read Here – The Hindu
How should Australia position itself between its traditional ally, the United States, and its major trading partner, China, as their strategic rivalry grows? New Prime Minister Tony Abott’s got to figure that out. Read Here – Foreign Affairs
Beyond the bright prospects for the return to rapid U.S. economic growth and the resulting decline in federal debt as a percentage of gross domestic product, the U.S. will enjoy six major long-term advantages over its competitors. Read Here – Bloomberg
Our imperialist mindset — a hangover from the 20thcentury — suggests that developing countries are always helpless without the West. That says more about our limited analytical abilities than about how the emerging world will fare, writes Zachary Karabell Read Here – Reuters
When the U.S. financial system crashed in 2008, market watchers were increasingly romancing the idea of a “decoupling” that would separate emerging-market fortunes from those of the subprime-hobbled U.S. Such economies as Brazil’s and China’s, the thinking went, had the demographics and national balance sheets to keep growing and wowing as America foundered. Never happened. Read […]
looking beyond borders 