By Thomas P.M. Barnett
29 Jun 2009 |
World Politics Review
Back before the Iraq surge, "military operations other than war" were treated as "lesser includeds," filed deep under subsections of big-war plans. Today, by contrast, the U.S. national security establishment is increasingly embracing what I like to call the "greater inclusive" paradigm, which recognizes such operations, not as some rare exception, but as the new rule.
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
22 Jun 2009 |
World Politics Review
China's global priorities might not match up that well with those of your average American policymaker. But they do match up quite well with President Obama's agenda. That's the sense I got after spending last week in Shanghai with a bevy
of China's top foreign affairs academics. In short, China worries about how things seem to be coming together, while we worry about how things seem to be falling apart.
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
15 Jun 2009 |
World Politics Review
The skyrocketing use of UAVs by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan has generated intense debate about how useful they are against insurgent/terrorist networks. But despite the charge that drones represent a technology in search of a strategy, there's no question that: 1) drones are here to stay, and 2) they're truly re-symmetricizing the battlefield.
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
08 Jun 2009 |
World Politics Review
Our increasingly interconnected global landscape suffers less
catastrophe than ever, even if the potential for bad things to spread with great speed has increased dramatically. The result is an odd juxtaposition of a world that's relatively safer
and more peaceful than it's ever been, with most people convinced that we live in truly terrifying times. Guess what? The sense of alarm doesn't stand up to historical comparisons.
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
01 Jun 2009 |
World Politics Review
Cash-rich emerging markets and Arab oil states have recently been buying farmland in poorer parts of the world to insure themselves against future food shortages. And if you think that's just a reaction to last year's spike in prices, think again. The new trend speaks to the impact global warming will have on where food will be produced in abundance in coming decades.
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
25 May 2009 |
World Politics Review
When the global financial contagion kicked in last fall, the
blogosphere was quick to predict that a sharp uptick in global
instability would soon follow. While we're not out of the woods yet,
it's interesting to note just how little instability -- and not yet a
single war -- has actually resulted from the worst global economic
downturn since the Great Depression.