Q & A Archive

Russia and Japan recently reached an agreement to build a joint liquefied natural gas plant in Vladivostok, Russia. In an e-mail interview, Michael Bradshaw, professor of human geography at the University of Leicester and vice president for Research and Higher Education at the Royal Geographical Society, discussed Russia-Japan energy cooperation. WPR: What is the status quo of Russia-Japan energy cooperation? Michael Bradshaw: Russia has only recently become a significant supplier of oil and gas to Japan. The Sakhalin-1 and Sakhalin-2 projects have progressively exported oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Japan since 1999, and both have Japanese shareholders. The […]

With regard to Judah’s post on the current developments in the Middle East, it’s worth noting one of the arguments floating around among some in Israel — mostly security-minded hawks on the right — about the lessons from events in Egypt and elsewhere. They argue that the turmoil in the Arab world shows that it’s a mistake for Israel to trust its fate to peace treaties with despotic and ultimately unstable Arab regimes. Instead, they say, Israel should look to strategic strength, such as literal control of the high ground from where it can potentially be attacked. That includes the […]

Predicting whether the outpourings of popular disaffection sweeping the Arab world will continue to spread or result in real revolutionary change is a mug’s game. There’s been a change in tone among regional experts from, “Not a chance,” to, “Not likely, but this feels different.” But this kind of phenomenon is by its nature unpredictable, otherwise tyrants and despots would either head it off at the pass or know exactly when to pack their bags and head for the border. That said, everyone knew that in the long term, these regimes were not sustainable. What is now becoming obvious is […]

A civilian nuclear agreement between Russia and the U.S. recently entered into force. Signed in 2008, the 123 Agreement was revived by U.S. President Barack Obama as part of the U.S.-Russia reset. In an e-mail interview, Richard Weitz, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a World Politics Review senior editor, discussed the U.S.-Russia 123 Agreement. WPR: What was the impetus for U.S.-Russia 123 Agreement? Richard Weitz: Russian and U.S. officials wanted to improve their bilateral relationship, while their nuclear industries, two of the largest in the world, wanted to expand their commercial collaboration. Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir […]

As a fundamental part of what I consider to be my parental duties, I’ve been broadening my son’s already healthy exposure to kung fu movies over the past few months. And I’m repeatedly struck by how many insights they offer into the formative folklore that animates modern-day China. Like Westerns for America, they are heavy in caricatures and historic inaccuracies. But they also reflect, at times crudely and at others quite elegantly, Chinese culture’s self-image and its view of the “other.” So as much as I found last week’s bilateral summit between Presidents Barack Obama and Hu Jintao dramatically overblown […]

The South American Common Market, known as Mercosur, is in the process of expanding its membership to include Venezuela. In an e-mail interview, Joao Augusto de Castro Neves, founding partner of CAC Political Consultancy and Ph.D. student at University of Sao Paulo, and Carlos Pereira, visiting fellow in the Brookings Institution Latin America Initiative and professor of political economy at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, discussed Mercosur expansion. WPR: What is the current Mercosur membership, and what are the group’s internal trade dynamics? Joao Augusto de Castro Neves and Carlos Pereira: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay are full members of Mercosur, […]

Well, it seems like I picked a bad week to minimize the effectiveness of social media as tools for organizing political protest against authoritarian regimes. In all fairness to both sides of the discussion, very few observers are arguing that social media alone can topple tyrants, and I was not saying that social media can not help in that effort. But proponents of social media as primary news and information sources during such events are likely to take comfort from the week’s events in Tunisia. Pending more thorough analysis, I still think that would be premature, not only because it’s […]

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently signed an agreement with his counterparts in Acre, Brazil and Chiapas, Mexico, to cooperate on efforts to counter climate change. In an e-mail interview, Harriet Bulkeley, a professor in the Department of Geography and the Durham Energy Institute at the University of Durham, discussed subnational cooperation on climate change. WPR: How extensive is subnational cooperation on climate change? Harriet Bulkeley: Perhaps surprisingly, there is no clear answer to this question. We know that city and regional governments have cooperated in developing responses to climate change since the early 1990s, but the level and extent of […]

One thing I’d add to my remarks on France 24’s The World this Week regarding social media as tools for political protest. As I said on Friday, I’m an agnostic with regard to how decisive these emerging communication technologies are when it comes to defying authoritarian power. Certainly they facilitate information-sharing, which is one component of effective resistance. But it’s not the only component, and it’s far from the decisive one. Organizational networks, physical acts of contestation and/or the cooptation of existing centers of power — whether the police, the military or some other determinant of social order — remain […]

The Brazilian aerospace conglomerate Embraer recently signed a deal with China’s state-owned AVIC International Leasing to finance the sale of $1.5 billion worth of aircraft over the next five years. In an e-mail interview, Daniel Vertesy, Ph.D. fellow in the Innovation Studies and Development program at UNU-MERIT, discussed Brazil’s aerospace sector. WPR: What is the current state of Brazil’s aerospace sector? Daniel Vertesy: The aerospace industry is once again growing in Brazil. Over the past three decades, Brazil has secured a place among the top 10 global producers, owing to the regional-scale aircraft-maker, Embraer. The financial crisis hit the sector […]

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the changing nature of power in the emerging geostrategic landscape, and one theme that I find myself returning to repeatedly is that of hub states. The idea being that in an increasingly integrated world, the best way to advance strategic interests is to maximize connectedness. But although connectedness is in itself valuable, some kinds of connectedness are more strategically valuable than others. So the key is to be a node that is highly integrated not just within the network, but within the right parts of the network. Now, like the old gag about […]

John Mearsheimer’s National Interest piece titled, “Imperial by Design,” has been getting a bit of attention, although less than I assumed it would judging from the attractiveness of its thesis in war-weary times. Although I agree in principle with the prescription, I found the diagnosis poorly argued. Mearsheimer declares that the U.S. has pursued a grand strategy of global dominance since the end of the Cold War, culminating in the Bush administration’s decision to remake the Middle East in its own image. He argues instead for a strategy of offshore balancing intended to economize American power and resources without abandoning […]

The consensus has it that the big winner of the Iraq War was Iran, in that the toppling of the Saddam Hussein regime removed the major barrier containing Iran’s regional ambitions. Certainly the Shiite-dominated and Iran-friendly government in Baghdad has freed up Tehran’s hand across the region — even if, as I’ve argued before, the inherently volatile nature of Iraqi politics means that Iran has inherited some time- and energy-consuming responsibilities in Iraq along with its increased influence. But I’d argue that the fears among Middle Eastern Arab states of Iran’s growing regional reach have more to do with their […]

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, a South Korean shipbuilder, recently submitted a $3.5-billion bid for a Brazilian warship contract. In an e-mail interview, Mingi Hyun, research fellow at the Korea Institute for Maritime Strategy (KIMS), discussed South Korea’s naval shipbuilding sector. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of KIMS. WPR: What is the current state of the South Korean military shipbuilding sector? Mingi Hyun: Korea possesses a capable naval shipbuilding sector, composed of four government-designated naval shipbuilders: Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction (HHIC) and STX Offshore & […]

Turkey has been pursuing an active trade agenda in South America recently. Bilateral deals negotiated or ratified in the past two months include an oil agreement with Venezuela, a free-trade agreement with Chile and a taxation agreement with Brazil. In an e-mail interview, Gareth Jenkins, senior associate fellow with the Silk Road Studies Program and Turkey Initiative, discussed Turkey-Latin American relations. WPR: What is the extent of Turkey’s diplomatic and trade ties with South America? Gareth Jenkins: During the Cold War, Turkey’s ties with South America were so limited as to be almost nonexistent, but a 1995 visit by Turkey’s […]