WPR Articles 29 Oct 2011 - 04 Nov 2011

The New Rules: 3-D Printing Could Ease Strains of Global Population

By: Thomas P.M. Barnett | Column

Having reached 7 billion today, the trajectory of global population growth will proceed somewhat more slowly toward our eighth billion. Even with such a plateau-ing, the growth of the world’s middle class will raise living standards in emerging economies. That may seem like a Malthusian scenario, but the future global middle-class’ standard of living might not require Western consumption levels.

Global Insights: Integrating Afghanistan into Regional Economy

By: Richard Weitz | Column

One purpose of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s recent trip to Afghanistan and Central Asia was to secure the flow of military supplies entering Afghanistan through the Northern Distribution Network. Another was to promote Afghanistan’s economic integration with the region. Both tasks are essential, but we cannot allow the first to distract us from the long-term necessity of the second.

Over the Horizon: Global Submarine Forces in Stable Asymmetry

By: Robert Farley | Column

Although the total number of submarines in service worldwide has declined since the end of the Cold War, the number of countries operating relatively advanced submarines has increased, even as anti-submarine capabilities have atrophied. The balance of undersea capabilities bears attention, but a closer look suggests that a roughly stable asymmetry has been achieved, both in quantitative and qualitative terms.

At the G-20, Look to the Swing States

By: Daniel M. Kliman | Briefing

As the leaders from the 20 largest economies gather this week in Cannes, France, observers will note the difficulties in forging consensus. But this G-20 summit will highlight another challenge to coordinated international action: the rise of democratic powers that are ambivalent about the prevailing international order and have yet to decide whether to bolster it, replace it or bypass it altogether.

For Kenya, the Threat of a Quagmire in Somalia

By: Brian Dabbs | Briefing

Less than a mile from the Kenyan border, dozens of soldiers saunter along the derelict and flooded roads. Some are members of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG). Others pledge allegiance to a local, allied militia. All are pitted against the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabaab militant group. And all welcome Kenya’s two-week-old military foray into Somalia that aims to eradicate al-Shabaab from the region.

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India, Japan Reinforce Economic, Security Ties

By: Saurav Jha | Briefing

An Indo-Japanese entente in Asia has been a much-discussed, but somewhat amorphous proposition -- till now. China’s belligerent posture in the South China Sea and the perceived decline of U.S. influence has managed to focus minds in both Tokyo and New Delhi. Japan and India are moving to put in place a strategic economic structure that can enrich both sides while maintaining the Asian balance of power.

Virtual Peacemaking: The End of ETA's Violence

By: Teresa Whitfield | Briefing

Progress toward getting the violent Basque separatist group ETA to declare a definitive end to its armed activity can be attributed to many factors, including successful police action that decimated the organization. Overall, however, the process illustrates the benefits of “policing down” a terrorist campaign, but also the impossibility of “policing it out” without dialogue of some kind.

Pakistan's Afghanistan Plan: Strategic Depth 2.0

By: Shehzad H. Qazi | Briefing

The relationship between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban has often been described as Pakistan’s “double game” and is explained as arising from Islamabad’s desire to gain “strategic depth” in Afghanistan. While Pakistan is still pursuing “strategic depth," some evidence now suggests that the precise meaning of the concept has changed from its 1990s version.

World Citizen: Arab Spring Economies Face Daunting Challenges

By: Frida Ghitis | Column

The governments that emerge in the aftermath of the uprisings in the Middle East will face a challenge as daunting as any faced by the men who ruled for decades before them: They must urgently improve living standards for the millions who now demand change -- and they must do it in the wake of unrest that has caused already-dismal economic conditions to worsen even more. The task is monumental.

The Realist Prism: Palestinian UNESCO Admission a New Blow to U.S. Leadership

By: Nikolas Gvosdev | Column

Scarcely was the ink dry on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s interview with Time magazine extolling U.S. global leadership than the Palestinian bid for membership in UNESCO called into question her optimistic appraisal of American influence around the world. The UNESCO vote represents a major setback at a time when the U.S. was beginning to dust off talk of being the “indispensable nation.”

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