In The Media
David Rothkopf
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Source: Getty
Testimony
A World Transformed: The Great Hollowing Out and the Rise of New Threats
The turmoil of the global economic crisis will beget political turmoil, posing a range of security threats that the U.S. must address carefully and pointedly.
Published on Mar 12, 2009
Source: House Armed Services Committee Hearing
Rothkopf outlined a range of dire forecasts for the global economy, then elaborated on the ways the crisis will drive destabilization on national, regional, and global scales. Ultimately, the destabilizing effects of the crisis will spark geopolitical tensions with far-reaching impacts. He stressed that the U.S. must choose its priorities carefully and address the most critical issues first.
The greatest threats associated with the crisis include:
- The economic and political constraints placed on the United States
- The economic and political constraints placed on the EU, China and other potentially stabilizing actors
- The crisis of confidence in institutions worldwide, and the threats to the international system
- The exacerbation of critical threats associated with proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
- The consequences of protracted crisis for the world’s weakest states
- The threats to weak and weakened states directly impacting U.S. national interests
To address these threats, Rothkopf offered a set of recommendations that could minimize the national security risks posed by the crisis.
Key recommendations for U.S. policy:
- Be strategic about marshalling and maintaining U.S. Resources (exercise fiscal restraint and rethink defense budgeting)
- Maximize the means of leveraging U.S. power (maintaining critical institutions and alliances)
- Lead a coordinated, proactive global effort to reduce, eliminate or contain threats (beginning with economic threats)
- Maintain a credible deterrent against bad actors
- Recognize the likelihood of crises emerging beyond the Iraq and Afghanistan-Pakistan conflicts that currently preoccupy the U.S.
- Fight the temptation to turn inward at home and abroad
About the Author
David Rothkopf
Former Visiting Scholar
David Rothkopf was a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment as well as the former CEO and editor in chief of the FP Group.
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David Rothkopf
Recent Work
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.
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