Reference Update
July 2009
1. "Tamed Tigers, Distressed Dragon"
Brian P. Klein and Kenneth Neil Cukier. Foreign Affairs, July/August 2009, 10 pages.
Why are most Asian countries being hammered even harder than the West while they did all the right things to cushion themselves from the economic crisis? The authors analyze the core of Asia's economic problems, focusing on Asia's export model of growth and its impacts. They offer some recommendations for Asian countries to undertake to avoid widespread problems such as a generation that recently moved out of poverty slipping back in, and a prolonged slump that could ignite social and political unrest.
2. "Trade Policy in a Time of Crisis: Suggestions for Developing Countries"
Gary Hufbauer and Sherry Stephenson. CEPR Policy Insight #33, May 2009, 26 pages.
Developing countries are hit especially hard by the current economic and financial situation, but have fewer tools and financial resources to deal with these challenges and risk a stronger negative impact on their growth and economic welfare. The authors examine the impact of the financial crisis on the world's poor and explore whether a change in developing countries' trade policy might relieve some of the pain from the current crisis.
3. “State Capitalism Comes of Age”
Ian Bremmer. Foreign Affairs, May/June 2009, 16 pages.
The author examines state interventions which have occurred around the world during the global financial crisis to see if the state's heavy hand in the economy is indicating a strategic rejection of the free-market doctrine. He goes on to discuss the transference of levers of economic power and influence to the central authority of the state and the increase of state capitalism.
4. “A Sense of Unreality”
Francis Fukuyama. The American Interest, May/June 2009, 3 pages.
The renowned political economist argues that the Obama administration is wrong if it assumes that the U.S. financial sector’s problem is still one of illiquidity rather than insolvency. Positing that the long-term conditions for the current crisis were a result of Asian responses to the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, he examines the reality behind the economic crisis facing the United States and the world.
5. “Innovative Approaches to Building Market-Based Democratic Values”
Jaroslav Romanchuk and Elena Suhir. CIPE’s Economic Reform, June 30, 2009, 6 pages.
Good governance is rooted in a process and engagement that includes wide-scale stakeholder participation through concrete communication channels. Consensus-based coalitions formed around a set of tangible, reform-oriented priorities are a fundamental, pragmatic component of successful advocacy. Successful public-private dialogues are based on a positive spirit of mutual respect and concrete recommendations for reform. Strategic partnerships between pro-market think tanks and business associations committed to reform are essential for successful policy-based and grassroots advocacy efforts.
6. "Military Change in Asia"
Richard C. Smith. Asia-Pacific Review, May 2009, 11 pages.
If military power in Asia were moving in the same direction and at the same pace as its growing share of the global economy, the strategic consequences would be even greater, the author opines. He examines the trends in Asian military spending and modernization, including the nature of the capabilities and equipment they are acquiring and the way in which forces are being structured, commanded, and managed.
7. “The Taming of the Great Nuclear Powers”
Godfried van Benthem van den Bergh. Policy Outlook, May 2009, 20 pages.
According to the author, nuclear weapons have unintended beneficial consequences, compelling the major powers to avoid war amongst themselves even as they conducted an arms race and competed in the Third World. The author discusses the implications of the present nuclear order and the positive effects of nuclear weapons, focusing on the role of nuclear weapons in international politics and how to prevent destabilizing rapid proliferation.
8. “Farm Futures”
Catherine Bertini and Dan Glickman. Foreign Affairs, May/June 2009, 13 pages.
With nearly a billion people living in hunger around the world, the United States should put agriculture at the center of development aid – and make it a key part of a new U.S. foreign policy. The authors discuss the plight of the world's poor, focusing on hunger and famine, and what the U.S. government could do to alleviate it. They analyze the systemic difficulties facing small farmers in places such as Asia and Africa and discuss the scale and type of U.S. assistance that would be required to significantly improve the situation.
9. “Climate Change and the Global Water Crisis: What Businesses Need to Know and Do”
Pacific Institute and United Nations Global Impact. May 2009, 12 pages.
This paper explores how global warming is affecting water and energy resources, and the challenges and opportunities this presents globally, from both scientific and corporate management perspectives. It covers a number of critical areas, including how climate change is expected to impact water scarcity, water quality, and water demand; the ways in which water and energy are interconnected, including trade-off scenarios; and how businesses can strategically manage water-climate risks.
10. “The Power of Renewables”
Matthew L. Wald. Scientific American, March 2009, 6 pages.
The author examines the motivations for using alternative energies and the struggles associated with them, including how to collect them economically, how to send the energy to where it can be used, and how to convert it to convenient forms. The various types of alternative energy sources and the problems that the United States is facing in collecting and distributing them are discussed.
11. "The Quality-Control Quandary"
Carl Sessions Stepp. American Journalism Review, April/May 2009, 6 pages.
As newspapers shed copy editors and post more and more unedited stories online, what’s the impact on their content? The author discusses how the reduction of copy editors at newspapers and the posting of news stories online have affected the quality of journalism and collaboration between reporters.
12. “New Media Tools and Public Diplomacy”
Elliott Schrage. Council on Foreign Relations, May 11, 2009, 4 pages.
Facebook's Vice President of Global Communications Elliott Schrage discusses in this interview how governments should think about new media. Schrage outlines a strategy for governments seeking to incorporate online social networking into their public diplomacy efforts with an emphasis on authenticity.
13. “Hitting the Tweet Spot”
Barb Palser. American Journalism Review, April/May 2009, 1 page.
The author argues that Twitter is a suitable social media tool to reach elusive and sought-after audiences, such as 18- to 34-year-olds, who are more likely to read a newspaper on a mobile phone or Web site. He explains how news agencies and outlets can use the micro-blogging service Twitter to relay information and how news outlets may generate revenue using Twitter.
14. "Top 10 Threats to Computer Systems Include Professors and Students"
Jeffrey R. Young. The Education Digest, May 2009, 4 pages.
With a growing number of network professional criminals, security threats such as spam, malware and phishing have become harder to contain. The author discusses the role that teachers and students play in ensuring computer security at colleges, cautioning that online social networks make students and teachers into vulnerable sources. He supports education and awareness of good computer hygiene over keeping networks clean and data safe.
15. "Online Education—The Revolution That Wasn't"
William R. Doyle. Change, May/June 2009, 3 pages.
When online distance learning was first proposed as a viable alternative to site-based education, many predicted the demise of traditional colleges and universities. The author explores the development of online learning and uses the best current evidence to examine the outcome of some of the predictions about online distance education.
16. "Student Self-Assessment"
James H. McMillan and Jessica Hearn. The Education Digest, April 2009, 6 pages.
The authors discuss student self-assessment and its impact on student performance in both classroom assessments and large-scale accountability assessments. They analyze the self-assessment process, focusing on how student self-assessment can promote motivation, internally controlled effort, goal orientation, and more meaningful learning.
17. “The Power of Place on Campus”
Earl Broussard. The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 1, 2009, 2 pages.
According to the author, transformation spaces on campuses can help create lasting relationships between students and institutions. He analyzes how landscaping and architectural design can foster an environment that is more conducive to studying and scholarship.
18. "Global Leadership for the 21st Century: A Strategy for the New American President"
Holly Benner. The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, Winter/Spring 2009, 23 pages.
The author discusses why the moment is ripe for the United States, and President Obama in particular, to redefine American leadership for the 21st century. She offers a four-track path for accomplishing the task, urging President Obama partner with global powers to build an international security system.
19. “Beyond the Water’s Edge: The Role of Ex-Presidents in U.S. Foreign Policy”
Alex J. Douville. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, Winter/Spring 2009, 8 pages.
Ex-presidents are increasingly asserting a more active role in foreign policy due to the relatively young age at which they retired, longer life expectancies, and the reach of the Internet and 24-hour communications networks. The author, focusing on the post-Cold War era, examines the role of ex-presidents in foreign policy and their public policy activities after retirement. The future role and implications of ex-presidents in foreign policy in the 21st century are also discussed.
20. “The Consequences of Democratization”
Giovanni Carbone. Journal of Democracy, April 2009, 15 pages.
For the past few decades, scholars have been focusing on the causes of democratization. Now it is time to devote systematic attention to analyzing the costs and benefits that democracy brings. The author discusses democracy and its impact on the world, analyzing the likely specific consequences of a transition to democracy, and assessing whether there are significant drawbacks which could be expected from such a transition.
21. “Democracies, Human Rights, and Collective Action”
Ruth Wedgwood. Ethics and International Affairs, Spring 2009, 11 pages.
The author examines the social and political obstacles which stand in the way of governments who strive to engage in collective action to help establish democracies and support the development of human rights in areas of the world lacking them. The history of the United States' efforts in engaging in collective action and encouraging the protection of human rights around the globe is discussed.
22. "Rule of Law Temptations"
Thomas Carothers. The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, Winter/Spring 2009, 13 pages.
Rule-of-law development has received increasing interest and enthusiasm from Western policymakers and aid practitioners in recent years, but a tendency exists toward uncritical and wishful thinking on the subject, often resulting from a mix of clashing factors and political agendas. The author discusses the development of the rule of law, its temptations, and its connection to economic and political development.
23. "Obama's Team: The Face of Diversity"
James A. Barnes. National Journal, June 20, 2009, 5 pages.
A mere glance around President Obama's Cabinet table provides ample evidence of the president's philosophy that diversity is an important element of good government. The author discusses the Obama administration’s diversity in comparison to earlier administrations, and examines how this increased diversity reflects the overall changes in politics.
24. "Michelle Obama's Soft Power"
James A. Barnes. National Journal, June 27, 2009, 3 pages.
The First Lady Michelle Obama's standing is head and shoulders above those of her two immediate predecessors early in their husbands' presidencies: Laura Bush and Hillary Rodham Clinton. The author discusses how Michelle Obama raises her profile on issues of importance to her husband's administration and explains why even a majority of Republicans have a favorable view of the first lady.
25. “King, Obama, and the Great American Dialogue”
Clayborne Carson. American Heritage, Spring 2009, 5 pages.
What would Martin Luther King Jr. — had he been alive today — think of the current U.S. president's oratory? The author discusses the oratory of social activist Martin Luther King Jr. in March 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. and compares it with the inaugural address of U.S. President Barack Obama.
26. “Remarks by President Obama at the New Economic School in Moscow”
www.america.gov, July 7, 2009, 8 pages.
The following articles are from “The Global Financial System”, an electronic journal of U.S. State Department, May 2009:
27. “Globalization and the U.S. Financial System”
Charles R. Geisst, Manhattan College, 4 pages.
Globalization helped fuel the current financial crisis, and it will undoubtedly be employed to help resolve it.
28. “Revise Regulation: The Theory of Market Equilibrium Is Wrong”
George Soros, Soros Fund Management, 3 pages.
While international regulation must be strengthened for the global financial system to survive, we must also beware of going too far. Markets are imperfect, but regulations are even more so.
29. “Global Financial Trouble: Causes, Cures, Responses”
Joel P. Trachtman, Tufts University, 4 pages.
No doubt, economic historians will argue for years to come about the causes of the global financial crisis. The primary causal factor was macroeconomic, but appropriate regulation might have averted or ameliorated the crisis.
30. “The Evolving Global Financial System”
Richard Vedder, Ohio University, 3 pages.
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there was little coordination of international finances. That changed substantially after World War II, and the change is continuing today.
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