World Politics Review WPR Headlines 03 Nov 2012 - 10 Nov 2012

WPR Headlines 03 Nov 2012 - 10 Nov 2012

Obama Must Seize Opportunity for Bolder Foreign Policy

By: Judah Grunstein | Briefing

As President Barack Obama turns his sights to his second term, he has the benefit of four years of executive experience and is buoyed by the political capital that comes of even the most modest electoral victories. Both could translate into a more determined hand at the helm of the ship of state. But for the Obama administration to solidify what has to date been an uneven record, a number of shifts are necessary.

Serdyukov's Fall Puts Russia's Military Reform Under Threat

By: Richard Weitz | Briefing

The reasons for the sudden dismissal of Russian Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov remain uncertain. Russian President Vladimir Putin insists that he dismissed Serdyukov due to allegations of widespread corruption in the Defense Ministry. However, there is another possible reason for Serdyukov's fall: The successes he achieved in reforming Russia's military antagonized much of Russia's military establishment.

Not an Arms Race: Parsing Asia's Defense Spending

By: Guy Ben-Ari | Briefing

Driven by strong economic growth, Asia's five largest defense spenders -- China, India, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan -- have steadily increased their defense budgets in the past decade, fueling reports of an Asian arms race. However, a detailed analysis of these countries' defense spending, crucial to understanding their military priorities and capabilities, suggests an emphasis on quantity over force quality.

Global Food Security in a Volatile World

By: Timothy A. Wise | Feature

This summer’s drought in the U.S. has triggered the third major food price spike in the past five years, leaving the world’s poor to wonder if global leaders learned anything from the first two. To judge by their actions so far, they haven’t: The food crisis has energized policymakers, bringing attention to chronic problems. But price spikes have yet to prompt leaders to address the key drivers of the food crisis.

Force Reduction Key to South Sudan's Military Transformation

By: Lesley Anne Warner | Briefing

South Sudan has embarked on a program to transform the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, the country’s preindependence guerrilla army, into a professional, conventional force by 2017. However, the success of this strategy, referred to as Objective Force 2017, is contingent on a number of factors, not least of which is the military’s ability to undertake such a significant reduction in force.

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Global Insider: Emir's Visit to Gaza Highlights Qatari Adventurism

By: The Editors | Trend Lines

In an email interview, Simon Henderson, director of the Gulf and Energy Policy Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, discussed the Qatari leader’s visit.

The Continentalist: EU-Russia Ties Drift Toward Divergence

By: Ulrike Guérot | Column

At the end of the Cold War, some observers suggested that Europe might be able to bind the U.S. and Russia together in a bold trilateral relation defining the new West. Twenty years later, it seems clear that Europe has failed to do so. Rather than being the powerful glue that secures a renewed relationship between Russia and the U.S., Europe could soon find itself the object of benign neglect by both.

Global Insights: No Matter Who Wins, China Will Top U.S. Agenda

By: Richard Weitz | Column

Though it will be at least another 12 hours before we know whether President Barack Obama or Republican nominee Mitt Romney will be in the White House come January 2013, we already know the most important challenge the next U.S presidential administration will face: how to deal with China. Yet, the bipartisan consensus on U.S policy toward China makes major changes unlikely regardless of the election outcome.

U.S. Should Show Restraint on Drone Strikes

By: Alan W. Dowd | Briefing

After a decade of wars that have cost billions of dollars and claimed thousands of American lives, the American people overwhelmingly support the U.S. military's ongoing transition to an unmanned air force. After all, drones are inexpensive and pose zero risk to American personnel. But what looks like an essential national security tool to Americans appears very different to international observers.

Beyond Ideology: Rebalancing Education Aid

By: Stephen P. Heyneman | Feature

Education first began to be included as a component of foreign assistance in the early 1960s, initially emphasizing vocational training, engineering education and immediately applicable work skills. By the 1990s, however, an approach known as “Education for All,” with a strong emphasis on primary education, had become the dominant paradigm of education aid, with significant and often negative consequences for the sector as a whole.

Cities After Sandy: Climate Change and Urban Resiliency

By: Nancy E. Brune | Feature

Many of the world’s cities, and some of its biggest, may be particularly vulnerable to climate change, which is expected to lead to greater droughts in some areas, as well as greater storm surges, flooding from glacier melt and rainfall, and rises in sea level. Climate adaptation and mitigation policies are quite expensive, on the order of billions of dollars, but they are dwarfed by the cost of inaction.

Global Insider: Marine Reserve Failure Undermines Antarctic Treaty States' Credibility

By: The Editors | Trend Lines

In an email interview, Alan D. Hemmings, an environmental consultant and specialist on Antarctic governance and environmental management, discussed the bid to protect the Ross Sea. 

Strategic Horizons: U.S. Army Prepares for Human Domain of War

By: Steven Metz | Column

The recent announcement by the Army, Marines and Special Operations Command that they would be opening an Office of Strategic Landpower was initially perceived as simple Defense Department politics. According to this line of thought, the land forces were attempting to counterbalance the Air Force and Navy's AirSea Battle Office to protect their share of the defense budget. In reality there is much more at play.

Mekong Hijacking Sentences Raise Questions of Thailand's Role in Regional Security

By: Catherine Cheney | Trend Lines

On Tuesday, a Chinese court sentenced four members of a Myanmar drug gang to death for hijacking two Chinese cargo boats and kidnapping and killing 13 Chinese crewmembers on the Mekong River last year.

World Citizen: U.S., Israel not Bluffing on Iran

By: Frida Ghitis | Column

In the aftermath of the U.S. elections, a central question regarding the West’s standoff with Iran remains crucial: How serious are U.S. and Israeli leaders who assert their determination to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon? The looming question is whether the U.S. and Israel have been bluffing when they suggest they might attack Iran if it does not desist from its nuclear ambitions.

The Realist Prism: Obama's Caretaker Presidency

By: Nikolas Gvosdev | Column

Over the next several weeks, President Barack Obama’s second-term national security and foreign policy team will begin to take shape. Both Hillary Clinton and Leon Panetta are expected to tender their resignations, and there has also been talk of a shake-up in the White House staff. However, the election results have already given us some indications of what will be shaping policy in the coming months.

Obama's Myanmar Visit Culmination of 'Regime Reform' Policy

By: Catherine Cheney | Trend Lines

President Barack Obama will visit Myanmar later this month, the White House announced Thursday, in a trip meant to underscore the U.S. foreign policy shift toward the Asia-Pacific.

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