Recent cstch_rw items

A Multilateral Moment: A New US Foreign Policy?

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Paul Schroeder presents a historical argument for the declining possibility of wars between the world’s great powers. In large part this new era of peace is generally a success story rooted in practical experience, historical knowledge and institution building since the Concert of Europe. He also contends that the history of US foreign policy has largely been successful though not as commonly asserted. The US was largely a “rent-receiving state”, in the international system, before taking on a role as a “rent-paying state” following World War II. Schroeder concludes that the US must continue to play a vital role in global affairs and not turn inward especially based on a false and myth-based history. General Wesley Clark maintains that the Obama administration has effectively deployed itself in the realm of domestic politics to begin to rebuild US social capital in the international arena. Obama’s appointment of Republican-leaning men to critical foreign policy and defense...

Climate Change and Public Policy After Copenhagen

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Richard Somerville argues that one of the most important factors left out of debates on policies to address climate change is population growth. He asserts that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report of 2007 probably understates the rapid rise of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere and rising temperatures as measured and observed from a wide variety of sources: CO2 levels, melting of ice sheets, sea level rising, changing ocean temperatures et cetera. Moreover, it is clear that these phenomenon result from human activities. If anthropogenic climate change is not mitigated a whole host of threats will manifest themselves that demand policy-makers address these challenges quickly and frankly. He hopes that scientists will have a central role in crafting and negotiating new policies as well as raising the public’s scientific knowledge of the problem.

Matthew Kahn agrees with the general conclusions presented by Richard Somerville and turns to some economic...

Trading Places: China and the US in the International System

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Richard Baum does not foresee China and the US “trading places” in the near future but does not rule out this scenario in twenty to thirty years. He evaluates China’s role in the international system. China’s strong economic growth continues, though probably slowing, and it has become powerful regional actor. Yet, China also faces problems with the United States and other sovereign nations in Asia as well as its membership in WTO, World Bank and IMF. Baum considers these and other tensions for China on the international front. He includes in his discussion the different positions of various China scholars take on these developments.

Barry Naughton argues that China has become the world’s Number Two superpower following three decades of record economic growth. It is unlikely that China wants to challenge US primacy in the near term but rather seeks to improve and build upon its regional standing. The Communist Party is in the process of recalibrating its relations with...

The Obama Presidency After One Year

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Joyce Appleby outlines the first year of Barack Obama’s presidency noting a number of his successes on the domestic front as well as some notably failures and reverses of course. She focuses on some of the future struggles that his administration faces from the electorates’ “buyer’s remorse”, to passing health care and regulatory reform, to various international problems. Unfortunately for President Obama, he must navigate these shoals within the context of economic crisis, partisan rancor, and high public discontent with government. Professor Appleby concludes by noting that it is important that a larger Democratic majority in both houses of Congress and how the president might achieve those ends.

Michael Lind places Barack Obama in the camp of New Democrats whose political platform is akin to Rockefeller Republicans and supported by the media and the finance sectors. New Democrats differ from Roosevelt Democrats in their opposition to most forms of direct government...

What is Good for Goldman Sachs is Good for America The Origins of the Present Crisis

Fri, 2 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Robert Brenner outlines the long-term causes of the present economic crisis. Rather than understanding the current downturn as merely a function of financial incompetence and miscalculation, he demonstrates that the US economy and that of the G7 has been slower growth in most of the major indices with each passing business cycle since the 1970s. In the last two cycles, asset bubbles inclined US consumers to take on more debt in order to spend and achieve limited GDP growth. Brenner outlines in detail how and why the financial sector played a key role in the creation and inflation of debt bubbles with new financial instruments. The implications for the US and the global economy are also outlined including the US current account deficit, trade imbalances, the rise of China and the East Asian economies as well as declining investment in the real economy and overcapacity in manufacturing worldwide.

Edgy Cities, Technoblurbs and Simulcrumbs: Depthless Utopias and Dystopias on the Sub-urban Fringe

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Edgy Cities, Technoblurbs and Simulcrumbs: Depthless Utopias and Dystopias on the Sub-urban Fringe

Environmental Planning and Policy in the Los Angeles Region: Openings and Opportunities

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Environmental Planning and Policy in the Los Angeles Region: Openings and Opportunities

Los Angeles 1965-1992: Six Geographies of Urban Restructuring

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Los Angeles 1965-1992: Six Geographies of Urban Restructuring

Explaining New York City's Aberrant Economy: Post-Industrial vs Classical Perspectives

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Explaining New York City's Aberrant Economy: Post-Industrial vs Classical Perspectives

Is the Japanese Economy in Crisis

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Is the Japanese Economy in Crisis

Is There A Crisis in the World Economy?

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Is There A Crisis in the World Economy?

The Dilemma of Durable Goods

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0000

The Dilemma of Durable Goods

From National Movement to Nation

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0000

From National Movement to Nation

THe Market and the Origins of American Economic Development, 1750-1850