Strategic Asia 2004-05: Confronting Terrorism in the Pursuit of Power
A new book provides broad trend analyses of the major Asian sub-regions, as well as an array of transnational topical studies. It also evaluates current threats to regional peace and stability, considering how the strategic environment in Asia could change.
"The Strategic Asia Program is ambitious by drawing upon the best people in the nation, by analyzing key dynamics, and by tracking changes in the region."
—Robert A. Scalapino, University of California at Berkeley
Edited by Ashley J. Tellis and Michael Wills, and written by some of America’s leading specialists including Michael Swaine, senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, this new study provides an authoritative, independent assessment of the implications of the U.S.-led war on terrorism in Asia and analyzes its effects on the grand strategies of the region’s major powers.
Strategic Asia 2004–05: Confronting Terrorism in the Pursuit of Power includes broad trend analyses of the major Asian sub-regions, as well as an array of transnational topical studies. The reportcontains studies of five major powers in the region—the United States, China, Japan, Korea, and Russia—and regional studies on Central, South, and Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. It includes special studies on trends in energy security, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and science and technology in Asia, as well as alternative outcomes to the North Korean nuclear crisis.The book also evaluates current threats to regional peace and stability, and, through innovative forecasts, considers how the strategic environment in Asia could change surprisingly and underscores the reasons for, and implications of, such strategic discontinuities.
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
China’s political future will be shaped between now and next October. As the Communist Party enters its intense “campaign season” to prepare for a major political transition in 2027, reading Beijing's actions and responses may become more difficult as domestic politics weigh on its behavior more than usual.
China has showcased its engineering prowess with small modular reactor demonstration projects. But turning these technological achievements into commercial success will be a greater challenge.
The Plaza Accord was not an externally imposed punishment of Japan but part of a broader restructuring that Japanese economists and policymakers themselves recognized was necessary. Its effects were undermined, however, when Tokyo responded to the resulting slowdown with policies that exacerbated investment, credit expansion, and the very imbalances the adjustment was intended to resolve.
The nuclear relationship between China and the United States is increasingly shaped by widening perception gaps rather than deliberate strategic design.
China’s banking crisis in the 2000s was resolved by transferring the costs to households through financial repression—a decision that recapitalized the banks while exacerbating the structural imbalances that continue to shape the Chinese economy today.