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Friday, November 16, 2012

WPR Articles 10 Nov 2012 - 17 Nov 2012


Weekly headlines from World Politics Review.

World Politics Review

WPR Articles 10 Nov 2012 - 17 Nov 2012

The Realist Prism: Obama Should Go Broad, not Bold, on Foreign Policy

By: Nikolas Gvosdev | Column
Following an electoral victory, it is very easy to get caught up in the excitement of possibilities. Indeed, the mood of some supporters of U.S. President Barack Obama following his re-election was that happy days are, if not here again, then at least near again. The reality is that every second-term president over the past 30 years overestimated the amount of political capital their re-election generated.

China's Xi Inherits New Approaches to Changing Media Landscape

By: Maria Repnikova | Briefing
As China unveils its next generation of leaders, the experience of the past decade shows a party-state struggling to adapt to a fast-changing media landscape. Under President Hu Jintao, official discourse on the media shifted, with the term “leading" replacing “guiding” when it came to public opinion. The change represents a move away from suppressing information to “spinning” it.

Capriles, Opposition Seek to Solidify Gains in Venezuela

By: Andrew Rosati | Briefing
With campaigning for Venezuela’s December gubernatorial races now officially under way, the country's political opposition finds itself in a tough spot. Still licking its wounds from its loss in October’s presidential election, the Democratic Unity Coalition (MUD) must get quickly off the mat to prove its credibility not only to a weary electorate but also to its own fractious members.

Global Insights: Russia's Defense Industry Purges Reformers

By: Richard Weitz | Column
The reason behind Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to remove Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov has become clearer in recent days with the firing of other senior defense officials and military officers. Taken togeter, the dismissals suggest the purge was the result of a power struggle over who should control the distribution of $700 billion that Putin pledged to spend on new weapons by 2020.

The Continentalist: U.S., EU Must Move Beyond 'Old' Strategic Thinking

By: Ulrike Guérot | Column
President Barack Obama was re-elected by America’s "next" generation, which responded to a message of a more social, peaceful and ecological America. What is truly remarkable is the winning Obama coalition of young white suburbanites, women and urban minorities in what is still a center-right country. This has profound lessons not just for U.S. Republicans, but also for European conservative parties.

Strategic Posture Review: Nigeria

By: Alex Thurston | Report
Nigeria is a diplomatic force within West Africa, a major participant in continental African politics and an important international actor. As the world’s seventh-most-populous country, its 14th-largest oil producer and home to Africa’s fifth-largest military, Nigeria possesses tremendous resources. Yet Nigeria’s internal security challenges and political dysfunction constrain its role on the regional, continental and world stages.

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Antarctic Marine Protection Is Working

By: Julia Jabour | Trend Lines
Characterizing the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) as a “failure” due to its inability to agree on marine reserves in the Antarctic is unnecessarily alarmist and a misrepresentation of the enduring robustness of this group of decision-makers.

Despite Taiwan Ties, China's Xi Likely to Maintain Cross-Strait Continuity

By: Jens Kastner | Briefing
The man set to take over as China's leader is reputedly very well-versed in Taiwanese affairs. Throughout his political career, Xi Jinping has maintained close links to the Taiwanese business community based in China, and members of his wife's clan live in Taiwan. But those who assume that Xi's background might lead to rapid evolutions in Beijing’s cross-straits policies are likely to be disappointed.

Global Insider: Japan Looks to Central Asia for Energy Resources

By: The Editors | Trend Lines
In an email interview, Timur Dadabaev, an expert on Central Asia at Tsukuba University in Japan, discussed Japanese relations with Central Asia.

Japan's Post-Fukushima Nuclear Energy Conundrum

By: Shihoko Goto | Briefing
While Japan has backpedaled on its initial post-Fukushima plan to phase out nuclear energy entirely by 2040, it remains on the path to wean itself off atomic power in direct response to last year’s nuclear disaster. Yet even the gradual phase-out of nuclear power could be fatal to Japan’s economic as well as political future, as the country grapples with regaining its foothold in the global economy.

International Action Needed to Fight Fake Drugs

By: Catherine Cheney | Trend Lines
Ahead of a World Health Organization summit bringing 100 countries together for the first meeting of member states on falsely labeled medical products, a group of public health experts is calling for an international treaty on substandard and counterfeit medicines.

Strategic Horizons: Redesigning the American Military

By: Steven Metz | Column
Beginning in the 1970s, the United States dramatically improved what was already the top military in the world. Today the U.S. military remains among the best in history, perhaps the very best. But sustaining this quality is becoming increasingly difficult. Big problems, including personnel costs and recruitment challenges, are looming due to a wicked combination of economic and demographic trends.

Syria's Neighbors Have Few Options as Security Concerns Over Refugees Grow

By: Catherine Cheney | Trend Lines
In one of the largest single-day movements of refugees since the Syrian crisis began, 11,000 Syrians fled into neighboring countries Friday, with 9,000 of them entering Turkey, according to the United Nations.

World Citizen: Syria Spillover Changes Intervention Calculus

By: Frida Ghitis | Column
Over the past 20 months, the world has watched the conflict in Syria with concern, but without taking meaningful action. Now, as the war draws exchanges of fire across the borders with Israel, Turkey and other neighboring countries, the conflict is approaching a crucial line. This tipping point, once reached, is likely to spur a much more urgent international effort to push the crisis toward a resolution.

Global Insider: U.K.'s Cameron Aims to Shore Up British Role in Gulf Defense

By: The Editors | Trend Lines
In an email interview, Rosemary Hollis, a professor of Middle East policy studies at City University London, discussed relations between the U.K. and the Persian Gulf states. 

Australia Strengthens Military Ties With U.S. Amid Broader Defense Debate

By: Roxane Horton | Briefing
This week’s high-level U.S.-Australia defense and security consultations, which saw U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and their Australian counterparts, Bob Carr and Stephen Smith, meet in Perth Wednesday and Thursday, took place amid domestic debate over the primacy of Australia's military alliance with the U.S. and Australian defense procurement.

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