America's Pivot to the Pacific: Selective Primacy, Operational Access, and China's A2/AD Challenge
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 This paper assesses America's recent "pivot" or "rebalance" to the Asia-Pacific. It shows that Obama's pivot represents the beginnings of a strategic choice on "selective primacy" a grand strategy rooted in Washington's worrisome economic and fiscal situation and designed to shape America's global engagement at a time of fiscal austerity, in which primacy in one theatre will be achieved through greater selectivity of commitments elsewhere. As a result, the US military will increasingly prioritize the air and naval services within its force structure, which provides the broader context for more operational joint concepts like Air-Sea Battle. Lastly, while triggered by economic and fiscal exigencies, I will show that such a strategic shift is primarily directed at China's rise as a regional military power, with particular emphasis on its growing anti-access and area-denial (A2/AD) capabilities. The paper concludes with some thoughts on the future direction of Sino-American strategic competition.
Grand Strategy for the Next Administration
Abstract With the current administration's attention, resources and reputation so tied to Iraq, the prospect for significant changes in American foreign policy are limited in George W. Bush's remaining months in office. A new administration coming into power in January 2009, however, gives the United States a chance to revisit the changes to American foreign policy implemented after 9/11, as well as to consider any needed course corrections. The opportunity such changes in administration offers is a major strength of the American political system. Clearly, now is the time to start thinking about such issues.
Analysis: The Agenda 2007 Proposals: Evolution or Revolution?
On 10 February 2004 the Commission published its proposal for the financial perspective 2007-2013. A week later it adopted the third report on economic and social cohesion. These two documents form the basis of the so-called ‘Agenda 2007 reforms’. They will be the greatest challenge for the enlarged EU after the intergovernmental conference, since they will determine the financial basis for EU policy-making until the middle of the next decade. The Agenda 2007 proposals certainly hint at courageous reforms, because they place a previously unheard-of emphasis on performance and quality. Under the proposals, structural operations should generate value for money, and the funds should focus on projects which generate added value at a European level. Overall the Commission’s proposals point in the right direction, because they balance, on the one hand, solidarity for the new Member States and weak regions in the old Member States with, on the other hand, investments in future tasks. Moreover, they constitute a paradigm shift. For the first time, the Common Agricultural Policy will not be the dominant expenditure category. Now it is up to the Member States to examine the proposals politically and find a compromise between sometimes very divergent interests. It is to be hoped that, during the debate over expenditure limits and division of funds, national interests do not outweigh European interests.