Reference Update

April 2009

ECONOMIC SECURITY AND TRADE

1. Too Little, Too Late in Southeast Asia
David Jay Green. Far Eastern Economic Review, March 2009, 4 pages
According to the author, economic growth in Southeast Asia is approaching a recession.  He discusses the impact of lower growth in the region and then proposes measures that Southeast Asian countries can take during the crisis to protect and cushion themselves from the fall in overall growth.

2. Protectionism Also Rises in Asia
Greg Rushford. Far Eastern Economic Review, March 2009, 3 pages
A report released by World Trade Organization documents unsettling ongoing efforts by various countries to close their borders to imports.  While the Europeans and Americans have been the focus of much of the criticism, the report also singles out Asian protectionist offenders.  The author examines the stance on protectionism of many Asian leaders and warns that Asia has the most to lose if barriers go up.

3. Globalization
Moisés Naím. Foreign Policy, March/April 2009, 5 pages
The author examines the concept of globalization and its future during an economic crisis, disputing the notion that the global economic situation will prevent the further spread of globalization.  He also discusses how this wave of globalization is different than previous advancements towards economic integration.

4. Adjusting to Global Economic Change: The Dangerous Road Ahead
Robert A. Levine. RAND Pardee Center, 2009, 32 pages
The author combines macroeconomic history since the Great Depression with a brief exposition of economic theory that stems from it to explore how past experience may be applied to the future.  He offers suggestions about new tools needed and puts forth policy suggestions for escaping the worst effects of the global crisis.

5. Leading through Good Governance
Michael S. Olson. CIPE’s Economic Reform Feature Service, March 30, 2009, 6 pages
Well-governed non-governmental organizations and associations contribute to a strong democracy. Good governance systems reflect transparency and trust, helping to build effective associations. Structure is important; unclear organizational roles lead to poor decision-making.

6. Vietnam: Country Outlook
Economist Intelligence Unit – ViewsWire, 6 April 2009, 3 pages
The government faces a severe test of its ability to manage the economy, and there is a risk that demonstrations (if only small ones) could occur as economic growth slows sharply and unemployment rises. The government will push ahead with economic stimulus programmes, while the State Bank of Vietnam will maintain an accommodative monetary policy stance in order to support the economy.

REGIONAL SECURITY

7. How to Get Asia Right: Recommendations for the Obama Administration
Ralph A. Cossa. American Foreign Policy Interests, January 2009, 9 pages
Asia is a region of growing economic and strategic importance to the United States today and will be for decades to come.  The author discusses the status of U.S. relationships with the countries of Asia and offers an agenda of issues that the Obama administration should turn its attention to right away.

8. “ASEAN: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations”
Julie Ginsberg. Council of Foreign Relations Backgrounder, February 25, 2009, 4 pages
As the global economic crisis increases the importance of trade, and with both China and the United States eye greater engagement with Southeast Asia, ASEAN may play a more robust role in the region.  The author discusses the increasing role of ASEAN in the region, focusing on regional security and human rights issues, as well as growing trade.

9. “Indispensable World Power”
Heinrich Kreft. The World Today, February 2009, 3 pages
Against the backdrop of the present financial and economic crisis, as well as rekindled discussion about the decline of U.S. power, it is easy to overlook the fact that American is structurally superior to all other countries and will remain so for the foreseeable future.  The author discusses the United States' position as a world power, its various strengths, and why the United States is still indispensable.

10. A Balanced Strategy: Reprogramming the Pentagon for a New Age
Robert M. Gates. Foreign Affairs, January/February 2009, 13 pages
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates discusses his plan to reorganize the American Armed Forces, stating that threats to U.S. national security cannot be met exclusively through the application of higher military appropriations.  He examines an even-handed approach that will manage the nation's three primary defense concerns: the conduct of wars already in existence, the management of future insurgency threats, and preparations for future conventional conflicts.

11. “Film Piracy, Organized Crime, and Terrorism”
Gregory F. Treverton, et al. RAND, 2009, 180 pages
Organized crime and terrorist groups are increasingly involved in counterfeiting products ranging from watches to automobile parts and pharmaceuticals to computer software.  The authors examine case studies from around the globe in the area of film piracy to illustrate the broader problem of criminal — and perhaps terrorist — groups finding a new and not-much-discussed way of funding their activities.

12. “Prevention through Strength: Is Nuclear Superiority Enough?”
Mark B. Schneider. Comparative Strategy, April 2009, 24 pages
The author discusses the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), one of the greatest security threats the Western world faces today, and looks at why western countries need to take the threat of WMD attacks by rogue states a lot more seriously than they do now.  Ways to combat proliferation are also offered.

13. “Where Are the Civilians? How to Rebuild the U.S. Foreign Service”
J. Anthony Holmes. Foreign Affairs, January/February 2009, 13 pages
The article discusses the United States Foreign Service, the section of the U.S. Department of State that stations diplomats in foreign countries.  The author suggests that if the United States is to remain a superpower, President Barack Obama must rebuild the once-robust civilian diplomatic and development capacity that has since disappeared, thus making it a powerful tool of U.S. foreign policy.

14. “Political Realignment In Southeast Asia”
Hal Hill. Far Eastern Economic Review, April 2009, 6 pages
Southeast Asia was at the epicenter of the last major Asian economic crisis in 1997-98, which originated in Thailand and spread quickly to its neighbors. A decade earlier, a similar set of events—a crisis overturning a deeply entrenched authoritarian regime—occurred in the Philippines. What’s in store this time round? Will the global financial crisis permanently alter the region’s political economy and development dynamics? Does it signal the end of the so-called East Asian model, or at least a substantial modification of it? And what about the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean?

GLOBAL ISSUES AND ENVIRONMENT

15. "From Rhetoric to Reality: U.S. and Global Energy Security"
Shirley Ann Jackson. Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, February 5, 2009, 11 pages
How can the United States tackle its own energy security and what role will it take as the world addresses this challenge?  The author examines the complex state of global energy security affairs and looks at the options and opportunities inherent within them.  Steps for the Obama administration to begin crafting a comprehensive energy security roadmap are also offered.

16. Thirsty Energy: Water and Energy in the 21st Century
World Economic Forum. February 2009, 56 pages
This report explores the risks and opportunities inherent in the ancient relationship between energy and water, which has taken on a new urgency as competition for finite freshwater resources rises.  It illustrates water-related challenges and potential solutions with perspectives from distinguished leaders in energy, water provision, engineering, and academia, concluding that local solutions must be found to optimize the use of both of these resources around the world.

17. Help Wanted for Green Jobs
Liza Featherstone. The Nation, February 16, 2009, 5 pages
The author discusses how environmental-friendly jobs are being created and how the U.S. government can stimulate green industries, such as the wind industry, thereby producing even more green jobs.  The author examines how the wind industry produces jobs involving the building, maintaining, and transmission of electricity and discusses the ways that U.S. President Barack Obama's administration can create and promote them.

18. Saving the Environment: Five Creative Approaches
Clifton Anderson. The Futurist, March-April 2009, 4 pages
This article provides insight into how the actions of five individuals -- a globe-trotting community development specialist, a designer who learns from nature, a leading bio-regionalist, a Good Samaritan intent on helping humans (and nonhumans), and a scholar who sees signs that a new global cultural transformation is now in progress -- can help the world move toward a more environmentally sustainable future.  Not only do they each share a deep concern for Planet Earth and its inhabitants, but they also express their concerns in very different ways.

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

19. Networking News
Arielle Emmett. American Journalism Review, December 2008/January 2009, 4 pages
The author examines how mass media -- journalists and news gathering organizations alike -- is employing and interacting with online social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter in their efforts to compete in a challenging and fast-changing media landscape. 

20. Goodbye to the Age of Newspapers (Hello to a New Era of Corruption)
Paul Starr. The New Republic, March 4, 2009, 8 pages
The author discusses the problems experienced by the newspaper industry in the financial crisis of 2009 and how newspapers are being replaced by Internet news.  He explores the lack of funding for public service journalism, as well as how philanthropic support is needed to keep public service journalism alive and how the decline of newspapers will affect U.S. politics and society.

21. U-Content: Doing It with Wikipedia
Nicholas Tomaiuolo. Searcher, April 2009, 8 pages
The author discusses criticisms against the free online collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia, as well as looks at its popularity as an online reference source.  The author shows how a number of staff at university libraries are working to make Wikipedia better for their students and everyone else who makes this free, online resource a first stop for information.

U.S. SOCIETY AND CULTURE

22. Democracy Promotion under Obama: Finding a Way Forward
Thomas Carothers. Policy Brief No. 77, February 2009, 8 pages
The author argues that while a careful post-Bush process of repair and recovery on democracy policy is in order, the idea that President Obama should embrace a broad, realist corrective is a mistake.  He offers the key to finding a positive new way forward, discussing how elements of President Obama’s political style and philosophy can translate naturally into useful steps forward.

23. Is Democracy Possible?
Bruce Gilley. Journal of Democracy, January 2009, 15 pages
The author argues that an anti-democratic thought is enjoying resurgence with new claims of citizen incompetence, ignorance, and irrationality.  While these claims have a long pedigree, they have become more widely held in a democratic age.  In this piece, the author discusses the spread of the emerging belief that the democratic form of government is not the best form of government for people.  

24. Transnational Terror and Human Rights
James A. Piazza and James Igoe Walsh. International Studies Quarterly, March 2009, 24 pages
Do terrorist attacks by transnational groups lead governments to restrict human rights?  The authors examine the links between terrorism and human rights, analyzing data pooled on the human rights behavior of governments from 1981 to 2003 while using transnational terrorist attacks as a key independent variable of interest.  

25. Sheriff Joe?
Will Englund. National Journal, March 7, 2009, 4 pages
More visible than Dick Cheney, more free-ranging than Al Gore, more influential than Dan Quayle, Joe Biden has spent his first days as vice president charging into every big issue.  Is Biden at the center of things or is he all over the map?  The author discusses the evolving role of the U.S. Vice President, noting that Biden is one of most visible in recent history, being involved in every major agenda issue of the Obama administration.

26. Virtual Schools
John E. Chubb, et al. Education Next, Winter 2009, 11 pages
Will education technology change the role of the teacher and the nature of learning?  Is technological change likely to increase significantly the amount of home schooling?  Can new education technologies short-circuit change-resistant politics and help to remake schools?  The authors discuss the transformative power of today’s technology and the potential impact of technology on education.

27. Logging On to the Ivy League
Andrea Ford. Asia Time, Apr. 16, 2009, 3 pages
Why top-tier universities are racing to give the public free online access to their best lecturers.

TRANSLATED DOCUMENTS

28. Address by Senator John McCain at Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam
U.S. Embassy Hanoi, April 7, 2009, 4 pages