Joseph Nye on the U.S.-Japan Alliance and Transnational Threats

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Joseph Nye, Harvard University International Relations professor and coiner of the term “soft power,” has an interesting article on RealClearWorld asking “Will the U.S.-Japan Alliance Survive?” Nye addresses various challenges to the U.S.-Japan alliance and makes a compelling case for its enduring importance.

China’s Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

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Christina Larson, a new fellow at the New America Foundation, has written two great pieces this week (here and here) on the bloody clash between the Chinese government and the Uighur population in Xinjiang province.

Guest Post by Patrick Doherty: Blowing Away The Embargo

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Patrick Doherty directs the New America Foundation/U.S.-Cuba 21st Century Policy Initiative. My latest article, called “Cuba, Nothwithstanding” is now available online and in the stores, thanks to the good people at the Washington Monthly. Here’s the teaser: President Obama doesn’t necessarily need Congress’s support to lift the trade embargo on Cuba.

Is Hillary in Charge of American Foreign Policy?

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Marc Ambinder over at the Atlantic interprets Hillary Clinton’s speech yesterday at the Council on Foreign Relations as an indication that President Obama has placed her firmly in charge of American foreign policy – and that Richard Holbrooke, George Mitchell, and Dennis Ross are subordinate to her.

Does Team Obama Believe in Manufacturing?

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The Obama administration doesn’t put any particular emphasis on rebuilding America’s manufacturing. Manufacturing doesn’t even make the cut for the list of jobs they see growing over the next seven years.

Curious News From Gaza

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Last week Hamas militants arrested two members of the hard-line Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group while the men were in the act of setting up mortars to fire into southern Israel. This may not seem like big news, but it comes amid various developments in the interminable slog known that is the “peace process.

Guest Post by Richard Vague: Economic Crisis Report Card

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This is a guest post by a colleague and TWN regular Richard Vague Handling the Economic Crisis – A Report Card If we really want to have enduring, muscular economic growth, then where’s the enhanced support for the truly cutting edge things that will make that happen? Repatriating telemarketing jobs from the Philippines and textile…

Guest Post by Caroline Esser: The G8’s Food Security Initiative

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Caroline Esser is a research intern at the New America Foundation/American Strategy Program. Although the G8 summit in Italy resulted in little progress toward establishing greenhouse gas emissions targets, the leaders of the G-8 countries are claiming a small success in the realm of food security.