Showing papers in "Foreign Affairs in 2015"

Democracy in Decline

Abstract: 3 0. Introduction (by Plattner, Marc F.) 4 1. Why is Democracy Performing so Poorly? (by Fukuyama, Francis) 5 2. The Weight of Geopolitics (by Kagan, Robert) 6 3. Crisis and Transition, but Not Decline (by Schmitter, Philippe C.) 7 4. The Myth of Democratic Recession (by Levitsky, Steven) 8 5. Democracy Aid at 25: Time to Choose (by Carothers, Thomas) 9 6. Facing Up to the Democratic Recession (by Diamond, Larry) 2 0. Acknowledgements 1 0. Foreword (by Rice, Condoleezza) 11 0. About the Authors 12 0. Index 10 0. Notes 1 0. Foreword (by Rice, Condoleezza) 2 0. Acknowledgments 3 0. Introduction (by Plattner, Marc F.) 4 1. Why Is Democracy Performing So Poorly? (by Kagan, Robert) 5 2. The Weight of Geopolitics (by Fukuyama, Francis) 6 3. Crisis and Transition, but Not Decline 7 4. The Myth of the Democratic Recession (by Levitsky, Steven) 8 5. Democracy Aid at 25: Time to Choose (by Carothers, Thomas) 9 6. Facing Up to the Democratic Recession (by Diamond, Larry) 10 0. Notes 11 0. About the Authors

China’s Soft-Power Push

Abstract: The Search for Respect As China's global power grows, Beijing is learning that its image matters. For all its economic and military might, the country suffers from a severe shortage of soft power. According to global public opinion surveys, it enjoys a decidedly mixed international image. While China's economic prowess impresses much of the world, its repressive political system and mercantilist business practices tarnish its reputation. And so, in an attempt to improve perceptions, Beijing has mounted a major public relations offensive in recent years, investing billions of dollars around the world in a variety of efforts.

Will humans go the way of horses

Abstract: The debate over what technology does to work, jobs, and wages is as old as the industrial era itself. In the second decade of the nineteenth century, a group of English textile workers called the Luddites protested the introduction of spinning frames and power looms, machines of the nascent Industrial Revolution that threatened to leave them without jobs. Since then, each new burst of technological progress has brought with it another wave of concern about a possible mass displacement of labor

Petroleum to the people : Africa’s coming resource curse—and how to avoid it 1

Abstract: In October 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion to seize a palatial cliff-top home in Malibu, California. The 16-acre property towers over its neighbors, with a palm-lined driveway leading to a plaster-and-tile mansion. Situated in the heart of one of the United States’ most expensive neighborhoods, the $30 million estate includes a swimming pool, a tennis court, and a four-hole golf course. In its complaint, the Justice Department also set its sights on high-performance speedboats worth $2 million, over two dozen cars (including a $2 million Maserati and eight Ferraris), and $3.2 million in Michael Jackson memorabilia—in total, assets equaling approximately $71 million. What made these extravagant possessions all the more remarkable was that they belonged to a government worker from a small African country who was making an official salary of about $80,000 a year: Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, the oldest son of and heir apparent to Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the longtime president of Equatorial Guinea. Home to over one billion barrels of oil reserves, Equatorial Guinea has exported as many as 400,000 barrels of oil a day since 1995, a bonanza that has made the country wealthier, in terms of gdp per capita, than France, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Little of this wealth, however, has helped the vast majority of Equatorial Guinea’s 700,000 people: today, three out of every four Equatorial Guineans live on less than $2 a day, and infant mortality rates in the country have barely budged since

Ebola's Lessons

Abstract: The article argues that the group the World Health Organization (WHO) reacted poorly to the Ebola epidemic that began in West Africa and impacted the U.S. and Europe during the early 21st century. The article briefly reviews the history of the Ebola virus disease, argues that the WHO did not recognize the significance of HIV and AIDS during the 1980s and 1990s, and examines the importance of the organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in fighting the Ebola virus disease. It also discusses the mobilization of U.S. military personnel to West Africa by U.S. president Barack Obama, the WHO policy meetings known as the World Health Assembly (WHA), and the necessity of WHO

Embracing China’s “New Normal”.

Abstract: The article discusses economic growth in China, focusing on the slowing rate of growth of its GDP (gross domestic product) and whether the Chinese economy is likely to crash. Topics include economic diversification, economic redistribution and globalization; cost and standard of living for the average Chinese citizen; and the so-called catch-up growth model. A discussion of demand for economic inputs such as energy, the environmental cost of modernization and high-speed economic growth, and China's position in the world economy is also included.

The Amazons: : Lives and legends of warrior women across the ancient world.

Abstract: the amazons lives and legends of warrior women across ancient world are a good way to achieve details about operating certainproducts. Many products that you buy can be obtained using instruction manuals. These user guides are clearlybuilt to give step-by-step information about how you ought to go ahead in operating certain equipments. Ahandbook is really a user's guide to operating the equipments. Should you loose your best guide or even the productwould not provide an instructions, you can easily obtain one on the net. You can search for the manual of yourchoice online. Here, it is possible to work with google to browse through the available user guide and find the mainone you'll need. On the net, you'll be able to discover the manual that you might want with great ease andsimplicity

Regime Change for Humanitarian Aid

Abstract: How to Make Relief More Accountable The global humanitarian system, already under considerable strain, will soon be tested as never before. In 2013, the gap between the funds available for humanitarian aid and estimated global needs reached $4.5 billion, leaving at least one-third of the demand unmet. The gap seems certain to widen, as key donors cut their contributions and humanitarian disasters grow more frequent and severe. Complex humanitarian emergencies, such as the war in Syria, have shown just how poorly the world is prepared to respond to human suffering on a large scale, despite considerable practice. The international community's response to last year's outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, for example, was slow off the mark and then stumbled, leaving everyone worried about future public health emergencies. Meanwhile, climate change has increased the destructive force of natural disasters, which fuel violence and put tremendous pressure on governments and aid agencies alike. And rapid urbanization, coupled with massive migration to coasts, has amplified the toll of such crises

Obama’s way

Abstract: The article discusses U.S. President Barack Obama's foreign policy, including his decision making, policy towards international crises, policy toward Russia and the U.S.'s role in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO's) intervention in Libya. An overview of Obama's policy towards American involvement in the Syrian Civil War, including the U.S.'s anti-ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, a terrorist organization) operations and providing rebels fighting the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with weapons and arms, is provided.

The precision agriculture revolution.

Abstract: The article discusses the use of precision agriculture, in which information technology and data collection is used to analyze and customize the cultivation of land by the square foot, focusing on the possibility that it will cause an agricultural revolution. Topics include the effect of precision agriculture on yields and seed productivity; its ability to lower the environmental impact of farming why reducing waste and energy consumption; and the use of GPS (global positioning system) data to conduct yield monitoring.

Putin’s power play in Syria

Abstract: The article discusses Russia's involvement in the Syrian Civil War under Russian President Vladimir Putin, including in regard to U.S.'s policy towards Russia's military strategy in Syria and Russian involvement in the Ukrainian Conflict. An overview of the role that Russian intervention in Syria's Civil War played in Russia's world power status is provided.

Inequality and Globalization

Abstract: When thinking about inequality, it makes sense to approach the world as a single community. When looking at the world through this lens, some notable trends stand out. The first is that global inequality greatly exceeds inequality within any individual country. This observation should come as no surprise, since global inequality reflects the enormous differences in wealth between the world's richest and the world's poorest countries, not just the differences within them. Much more striking is the fact that, in a dramatic reversal of the trend that prevailed for most of the twentieth century, global inequality has declined markedly since 2000. Even as global inequality has declined, however, inequality within individual countries has crept upward. To counteract this trend, states should pursue policies aimed at redistributing income, strengthen the regulation of the labor and financial markets, and develop international arrangements that prevent firms from avoiding taxes by shifting their assets or operations overseas.

ISIS as Revolutionary State

Abstract: The article discusses the revolutionary nature of the terrorist organization the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), with a particular focus on its role in acting like a state and the power it has throughout the world. The article compares the revolutionary nature of ISIS with revolutions throughout history, including the French Revolution in the late 18th century and the Bolshevik revolution in the early 20th century. An overview of the U.S.'s anti-ISIS efforts in Iraq and Syria is provided

The Next Safety Net

Abstract: Social Policy for a Digital Age As advanced economies become more automated and digitized, almost all workers will be affected, but some more than others. Those who have what the economists Maarten Goos and Alan Manning call “lovely jobs” will do fine, creating and managing robots and various digital applications and adding lots of value in service sectors such as finance. Those who have what Goos and Manning call “lousy jobs,” however—in sectors such as manufacturing, retail, delivery, or routine office work—will fare less well, facing low pay, short contracts, precarious employment, and outright job loss. Economic inequality across society as a whole is likely to grow, along with demands for increased state expenditures on social services of various kinds—just as the resources to cover such expenditures are dropping because of lower tax contributions from a smaller work force

The robots are coming

Abstract: How Technological Breakthroughs Will Transform Everyday Life Robots have the potential to greatly improve the quality of our lives at home, at work, and at play. Customized robots working alongside people will create new jobs, improve the quality of existing jobs, and give people more time to focus on what they find interesting, important, and exciting. Commuting to work in driverless cars will allow people to read, reply to e-mails, watch videos, and even nap. After dropping off one passenger, a driverless car will pick up its next rider, coordinating with the other self-driving cars in a system designed to minimize traffic and wait times—and all the while driving more safely and efficiently than humans.

The coming robot dystopia

Abstract: The term “robotics revolution” evokes images of the future: a not-too-distant future, perhaps, but an era surely distinct from the present. In fact, that revolution is already well under way. Today, military robots appear on battlefields, drones fill the skies, driverless cars take to the roads, and “telepresence robots” allow people to manifest themselves halfway around the world from their actual location. But the exciting, even seductive appeal of these technological advances has overshadowed deep, sometimes uncomfortable questions about what increasing human-robot interaction will mean for society

Help Refugees Help Themselves

Abstract: The article discusses the Syrian refugees, displaced persons and asylum seekers from the Syrian Civil War, with a particular focus on the employment of Syrian refugees in Jordan. The authors suggest that Jordanian and international business enterprises should be established in industrial zones near Syrian refugee camps in Jordan. An overview of Syrian refugees' role in the labor markets of foreign countries, including the refugees' competing with Jordanians for employment and the refugees' impact job loss, is provided

Europe’s shattered dream of order.

Abstract: The article discusses political conditions in Europe at the end of the Cold War in 1989, focusing on the destruction of the post-Cold War security order by the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Topics include Russia's invasion and annexation of Crimea; attitudes towards European institutions such as the European Union, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and International Criminal Court; and the failure of soft power to check Putin's actions. A discussion of the ramifications of the U.S. and Europe's failure to formulate a cohesive response to Russian actions in Ukraine is also included.

How China sees Russia

Abstract: The article discusses the relations between Russia and China from the end of the Cold War in 1989 through the mid 2010s, including trade, cooperation, investment and national security relations between the two countries. The author comments on the possibility that Russian and China may form an alliance against the U.S. An overview of Chinese attitudes' towards Russian foreign policy, including in regard to the latter's involvement in the Ukrainian Conflict, is provided.