Il vertice del G20 in programma a San Pietroburgo il 5 e 6 settembre era stato pensato per discutere di temi economico-finanziari che ruotano attorno alla sfida di costruire una governance planetaria, per promuovere la crescita sostenibile e l’occupazione, proprio nel momento in cui vengono a galla difficoltà e freni nella dinamica delle economie emergenti.
Mentre crescono i venti di guerra intorno alla Siria, la politica di Washington in Medio Oriente potrebbe rivelarsi un inaspettato, improvviso e improbabile successo, con un cambiamento di prospettive radicale fino a poco tempo fa. Barack Obama è stato criticato in maniera durissima per la sua politica verso i paesi arabi e l’Iran. L’Occidente aveva assistito alla deriva turca ed egiziana verso l’Islamismo autoritario, agli sviluppi della bomba iraniana, ai litigi del
Dopo tre anni di silenzi, di accuse reciproche, nonché di una nuova sanguinosa guerra a Gaza risolta attraverso la mediazione egiziana, Tel Aviv e Ramallah ritornano a dialogare. La cosiddetta shuttle diplomacy di kissengeriana memoria, rispolverata nell’occasione da John Kerry, sembra aver prodotto un certo barlume di speranza nella storica disputa che, in caso di buon esito, rappresenterebbe il più grande successo di qualsiasi amministrazione Usa: la risoluzione del conflitto israelo-palestinese.
The July 10-11, 2013 US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) made major strides in stabilizing and moving forward US-China relations, building upon the momentum spurred by the June presidential summit between US President, Barack Obama, and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Sunnylands, California. The US and China have hosted the annual S&ED since 2009, and before then as a separate Strategic Dialogue and Strategic Economic Dialogue, which were initiated in 2005 and 2006 respectively.
Abstract
While the US is seeking a way of rebalancing China in East Asia its approach left space for interpretation. The strategy of positioning itself in Asia on basis of concrete security issues and alliances while keeping its involvement open is seemingly only one aspect of the new game. Today a more or less refined toolbox of ‘strategic persuasion’ was designed in order to deal with an increasingly influential and powerful China. Instead of engaging in a non-desirable and costly direct military opposition to China, the US tries to pull all the strings in order influence its behavior towards moderation particularly in East Asia. In so doing, Washington is encountering an expectation-perception gap. So far the strategy has not necessarily proven successful. In Beijing, strategic maneuvers were often not fully understood and responses did not turn out not as initially desired. The US’ pivot to Asia has aroused a primordial fear in modern China: containment by outside powers. With a return to more traditional language of balancing, in China the situation was better understood. Yet, the implication remains the same. China has in reaction adopted a more assertive stance in military affairs while gradually trying to limit political damage in the ASEAN framework.
Abstract
“Rebalancing” to the Asia Pacific is the signature foreign policy initiative of the Obama administration. Despite the attention it has rightfully garnered, the rebalance remains poorly understood. In addition to misapprehension about its fundamental principles, discussion appears to be dominated by what this policy isn’t rather than what it is. This essay aims to clear up the confusion, explain what the U.S. is doing as it shifts its strategic focus to the Asia-Pacific region, and its implications for the U.S.-Japan alliance.
Abstract
Although the US’s recent ‘pivot’ toward the East Asian region has been much discussed, inadequate attention has been paid to the political and economic consequences of this initiative. This paper considers the political-economy of the pivot and suggests that it is best understood as part of a long-standing pattern of American engagement with the region. However, the rise of China is placing important new constraints on America’s ability to use economic leverage as an element of its overall policies in the region. The paper explains why and details some of the most important elements in the evolving Asia-Pacific political-economy.
Abstract
This essay discusses the new US grand strategy towards the Asia Pacific, epitomized by the slogan "Asia pivot". It does so by describing the main drivers behind the renewed geopolitical centrality of Asia for the United States, the objectives of the Obama administration in the region and the tools deployed by Washington as a consequence of this new approach. The conclusions briefly examine the limits, dilemmas and contradictions of the "Asia pivot" and of the US attempt to re-balance towards the Far East.
La piazza ha vinto? Parrebbe di sì a giudicare dall'esultanza con cui è stato accolto l'avvertimento prima, l'ultimatum poi e infine il colpo di stato operato dalle Forze armate al comando del generale el-Sisi.
Ma quale piazza? Ha perso quella della Fratellanza musulmana che pure sarebbe erroneo sottovalutare soprattutto nella prospettiva di nuove elezioni.
Edward Snowden ha lasciato Hong Kong a poche ore di distanza dalla formalizzazione delle accuse nei suoi confronti per spionaggio, ma la polemica attorno alle sue rivelazioni non si è placata.