Cover Story
Clyde Prestowitz
Conventional wisdom says that America is in decline, that the American century is over, and that the future belongs to the rest, especially the rest in Asia. Dates vary, but...
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Feature essay
Megan H. MacKenzie
Notwithstanding the removal of combat exclusion, obstacles to genuine gender equality in the US forces remain.
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Blogbook
False equivalence: We have a new champ
James Fallows
This took place while I was on the road in China, so I didn't catch up with it until just now. It is an editorial in (surprise!) the WSJ ten...
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American Opinion
Spectre of 9/11 haunts America
Tom Switzer
This year is already a reminder of two important security lessons of the post-9/11 era: that heightened defences against very real terrorist threats in the US remain necessary; and that the twin strategy of...
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Book Review
Ramesh Thakur
Australians have rarely had it so good, yet rarely felt so angry with and alienated from their polity. Kishore Mahbubani, a distinguished scholar and former diplomat from...
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American Talk
James Fallows talks to William Galston, senior fellow at Brookings, contributing editor for The New Republic and former policy adviser to President Clinton
Blogbook
John Barron
Jonathan Bradley
James Fallows
Richard C. Longworth
C Raja Mohan
William Pfaff
American Talk
Andrew Sullivan
Walter Russell Mead
Nicholas Burns
Douglas Feith
Anatol Lieven
James Curran
eBook Special
Totally Hot Man
The 9/11 Decade
Back Issues
Issue 11 (Feb 2013)
Issue 10 (Nov 2012)
Issue 9 (Aug 2012)
Issue 8 (May 2012)
Issue 7 (Feb 2012)
Issue 6 (Dec 2011)
Issue 5 (Aug 2011)
Issue 4 (May 2011)
Issue 3 (Nov 2010)
Issue 2 (May 2010)
Issue 1 (Nov 2009)
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American Opinion
This year is already a reminder of two important security lessons of the post-9/11 era: that heightened defences against very real terrorist threats in the US remain necessary; and that… more»
What does social media mean for the big issues of war and peace? Is the endless conversation of Twitter and the blogosphere going to break down barriers of misperception or reinforce the… more»
“I think Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America, in a way that Richard Nixon did not, and in a way that Bill Clinton did not,” Barack Obama remarked in one of… more»
The United States is facing two interlinked domestic challenges which are unprecedented in their scope. The first is the rise of the Latino (and, to a lesser extent, Asian) populations… more»
The American Midwest, that great belt of farms and factories stretching south and west from the Great Lakes, has always lived on nature’s gifts. First was the farmland, perhaps the… more»
Does social media help start wars or stop them? This has lately become a topical question, not least as China and Japan face off over the contested islands and resources of the… more»
Finally, the rains have come, flung up the Mississippi River valley by the tail of Hurricane Isaac, cooling temperatures and greening the crops—or what’s left of them. It’s been a cruel summer,… more»
Whatever happens, the United States is going to try to redeploy a large part of its armed forces, diplomatic attention, and (perhaps) development aid to East and Southeast Asia. That is now… more»
This was supposed to be the Year of Sino-Japanese Friendship, but rather than celebrating the 40th anniversary of normalising relations, the two nations have derailed bilateral relations over disputed islands in the East… more»
Politicians, political parties, and a hoard of billionaires supporting them have spent upwards of $5 billion on America’s presidential and congressional elections in 2012, a record amount by a wide margin.… more»
Twilight has come to the lonely superpower. We are witnessing the beginning of the end of the era of American primacy. The emergence of China and India in the East,… more»
As far as US strategy in Afghanistan is concerned, the die is now cast and the gamble made. The United States will continue to support the Karzai administration and whatever its successor… more»
In Phoenix earlier this year, I met Tony Valdovenos, one of a small army of on-the-ground volunteers deployed by Barack Obama’s campaign to register new voters in Arizona.… more»
Can the microblog change the megastates? In China and India, social media is leapfrogging official and mainstream media narratives, giving voice to the wants and frustrations of the new middle classes.… more»
The last session of the NATO summit in Chicago in May was devoted to a salute to 13 NATO “partners”, which are nations that don’t belong to NATO but take part in… more»
In a relatively rare occurrence, early 2013 will see two newly mandated administrations setting up at the same time in the United States and China. If President Obama returns to the White… more»
The two most powerful lobbies in Washington, so the town’s old hands will tell you, are the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Members of Congress,… more»
After an economic winter that has lasted nearly a decade, the first green shoots of thaw are appearing in America’s industrial heartland. Headlines sprout words like “recovery” and “revival”. Factories that had slashed… more»
So far, President Vladimir Putin of Russia has exercised power well—by the standards of the former Soviet republics. His administration has presided over quite impressive rates of economic growth (admittedly aided by… more»
From coup rumours in China through crusade-mongering in Africa to revelations of revolution in the US State Department: social media is cutting a trail of creative destruction across international affairs in 2012.… more»
The growing confrontation between the United States and Pakistan is one of the most dangerous security threats in the world today. It also illustrates the dysfunctionality into which US strategy… more»
Toward the end of 2011, the Minnesota congresswoman and then Republican presidential aspirant Michele Bachmann had an interesting idea. Admittedly, interesting ideas are one of the things for which Bachmann… more»
The American presidential campaign, having given Iowa its prolonged season in the spotlight, moved east to New Hampshire and other states with primary elections. But it will be back to… more»
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Myanmar at the end of November 2011, attracting considerable media attention because it was the first such visit by America’s top diplomat in… more»
During the tense budget talks that bought the United States to the brink of sovereign default in July 2011, Barack Obama tossed a barb at Republicans, reminding them they had… more»
Perhaps history never quite repeats, but now it definitely retweets. Thanks to Twitter and some hardworking and entrepreneurial researchers, students can relive some of the epochal wars of the past,… more»
Barack Obama was once memorably described by a biographer as a shape-shifter, a political being whose racial background and peripatetic upbringing and education gave him unique skills to inspire and… more»
The 2012 presidential campaign has begun in the United States, at least for Republican Party hopefuls. Too often, the rhetoric reminds me of a bad time in the American farm… more»
Private Bradley Manning was arrested in May 2010 and charged with transferring classified data onto his personal computer and disclosing defence information to an unauthorised recipient—namely, Julian Assange of WikiLeaks… more»
Yoshihiko Noda, Japan’s new prime minister—the sixth in five years—has been handed a poisoned chalice. At 54, he inherits all of the problems that his predecessor Naoto Kan was grappling… more»
The boundaries between journalism, intelligence, diplomacy and think tank analysis are dissolving at a rapid rate, thanks to the unstoppable advance of social media. It is not entirely an original… more»
This past April, a momentous anniversary passed by entirely unremarked upon. The 16th day of that month heralded 10 years since the word ‘blog’ first appeared in the pages of… more»
Last June, the then US defence secretary and former head of the CIA under George W. Bush, Robert Gates, launched a rhetorical missile at America's NATO allies. In a speech… more»
In 1980 I attended a graduate seminar focussing on rival claims over the Spratly and Paracel islands in the South China Sea, and recall the professor suggesting that there was… more»
In an interview before a rapt crowd at the Aspen Ideas Festival this July, Bill Clinton wound up a high-toned discussion about global philanthropy with some political-pro handicapping of the… more»
The Arab world is in the grip of critical structural changes. The current popular revolts across the region mark an unprecedented awakening of the Arab people in modern history. The… more»
Foreign policy wonks in droves are turning to Twitter to make their ideas travel faster and further. In just a few years the technique has become so commonplace that established… more»
"Germany's nuclear energy blunder" read the headline in a lead Washington Post editorial. "Panicked overreaction isn't the right response to the partial meltdown," it went on to say. In the… more»
Think tanks strive to dominate that great grey battle space where both journalistic skirmishers and encumbered academics are at a disadvantage: packaging serious ideas for busy policymakers and opinion-shapers. Yet… more»
And then there were 18. The East Asian Summit (EAS) is an annual forum launched in 2005 at the initiative of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It initially… more»
Cover Story
American Renewal (Issue 12, 2013)
Despite multiple calls to review the combat exclusion for women, impending lawsuits, and growing evidence of women’s contribution to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pentagon’s 24 January announcement to lift its ban on women in front-line combat roles was surprising. For years, Congress and the Department of Defense… more»
Conventional wisdom says that America is in decline, that the American century is over, and that the future belongs to the rest, especially the rest in Asia. Dates vary, but predictions that China’s gross domestic product will soon surpass that of the US to become the world’s largest economy are… more»
Second Term Agenda (Issue 11, 2013)
When Barack Obama took office in January 2009, he invited comparison to Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat who also took office in the midst of an economic crisis. Echoing Roosevelt, Obama promised an initial “hundred days” of achievement, and let it be known that he had been reading Jonathan Alter’s book, The Defining Moment: FDR’s First… more»
Ron Johnson spent his career running a small plastic sheeting company he founded with his brother-in-law in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, before entering politics, and had never been to Washington, DC before winning a seat in the Senate. So it is no surprise that when the blue-eyed accountant sits down with the… more»
In his second term, President Barack Obama faces three choices in the Asia-Pacific: to pivot, poison, or make peace. So far Obama’s contribution to regional strategic discourse has been the word “pivot”. After some reflection, his administration wisely decided to drop the use of the word. But the policy behind… more»
In 1782, William Pitt became prime minister of Great Britain at the age of 24, “Pitt the Younger” taking the office that Pitt the Elder — his father the Earl of Chatham — had earlier held. In 1886, Robert, Marquess of Salisbury, became prime minister. Three of his sons would be members of parliament, and… more»
The Long Thaw (Issue 10, 2012)
In early 1833, a United States delegation led by Edmund Roberts arrived in Vietnam on the sloop-of-war USS Peacock, which anchored in Vung Lam Bay, off modern Phu Yen province. As a “special confidential agent” of President Andrew Jackson, Roberts proposed to sign a treaty of commerce with the Nguyen Dynasty but failed in his mission… more»
United States Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta’s June 2012 appearance at Vietnam’s magnificent deepwater port, Cam Ranh Bay, was rich in symbolism. In one of his many (unanswered) letters to President Harry S. Truman appealing for American help in gaining his country’s independence from France, Vietnamese revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh proposed a US naval base… more»
In the days after the last helicopter lifted off the United States embassy helipad, the Saigon sky fell silent and the victors got busy raising the red and gold standard of the National Liberation Front on the flag poles of foreign missions. The fortress-like American embassy alone did not have the NLF flag. Asked about… more»
Who's afraid of Iran? (Issue 9, 2012)
The 2012 American presidential race has been notable for the tough rhetoric from almost all Republican candidates on whether or not to use force against Iran. In the debates they out did each other in pledging their commitment to the defence of Israel against possible Iranian threats, and in promising to never allow Iran… more»
Why should Iran not have nuclear weapons? Israel has them. India and Pakistan have them. Europe is full of them, most of them American, tucked away by the US and NATO in inconspicuous corners in case they might be needed; some of them in locations probably forgotten. Russia and China have plenty of them.… more»
For many foreign observers, Iran’s determination to pursue a nuclear program appears both incongruous and nonsensical. This is particularly the case in light of the growing international isolation and the economic costs being inflicted through increasingly punitive sanctions, culminating in an embargo on Iranian oil by the European Union.… more»
As war agitation intensifies over Iran’s nuclear program, much of the world’s attention naturally focuses on the three men at the centre of the storm—Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and US President Barack Obama. Each brings his own attributes, impulses, sensibilities and limitations to the lingering crisis. But each is also… more»
The China Campaign (Issue 8, 2012)
American presidential elections turn chiefly on domestic issues, not foreign policy, and within that category China for years played only a bit part. In 1952 Dwight D. Eisenhower attacked the incumbent Democrats for the loss of China to communism and their failure to end the war in Korea. In 1960 Richard Nixon and John… more»
This being an election year in America, reports of the death of its economic primacy are exaggerated, as are expectations of future Chinese dominance. The past 15 to 20 years have seen a huge Chinese catch-up with the advanced economies and many experts predict this trend to continue. But the distortions entailed by China’s… more»
Talking tough on China is back in vogue. Republican candidate Mitt Romney has resorted to strong language and tough threats. “China steals our designs and patents and our know-how,” declared Romney. “They have walked all over him [Barack Obama]. If I am president that is going to end.” He has promised to brand China… more»
The Right Candidate (Issue 7, 2012)
For well over 30 years, the Christian right, a loose coalition of fiscal and social conservatives predominantly from white evangelical and Catholic traditions, has played a significant role in US politics at home and abroad. From its emergence during the late 1970s as a reaction to perceived moral decline and… more»
The Tea Party movement gets plenty of support from established right-wing financiers and media, but the mood that drives it is as real as it is sometimes bizarre. In 2010, nearly one-third of Republicans told pollsters they believed Barack Obama was a Muslim, and a quarter affirmed the astonishing thought… more»
Respectable journalistic opinion in the United States and abroad has coalesced in recent months around several points of agreement regarding the current foreign policy tendencies of the Republican Party. First, that the Republican or Grand Old Party (GOP) has no foreign policy approach today—at least nothing worthy of the name.… more»
Populism is an ambiguous term: it is at once an insult and a description.… more»
America in Asia (Issue 6, 2011)
Something remarkable happened in Washington in October. After three years of recession and inaction on free trade, amid America’s vituperative partisan gridlock, and with rising fears of a double dip recession, a battered and beleaguered Barack Obama managed to convince Congress to pass free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and… more»
So I don’t think there is any doubt, if there were when this administration began, that the United States is back in Asia. But I want to underscore that we are back to stay.… more»
What seemed impossible five years ago is a reality today; China has risen more rapidly and in different ways than most had anticipated. This has profoundly affected the region, the West and the concept of the West. China has chosen its own path; it will not become a member of… more»
The Obama Administration might have returned the United States to East Asia, but it was George W. Bush who brought America back into South Asia at the turn of the millennium. When he came to power in January 2001, Bush was determined to deal with the rise of China and… more»
The Day That Changed America
It is never easy to judge the significance of any major event, especially one as momentous as September 11. Looking back, it is perhaps surprising that we were quite as shocked as we were. After all, there had been at least one serious attack on the United States itself in… more»
Terrorism isn’t a 20th-century phenomenon, but the circumstances of September 11—the way al Qaeda organised and funded itself and conducted its operations—could only have come out of the globalising world of the 1990s.… more»
From Lincoln’s Gettysburg address to FDR’s “righteous might” response to Pearl Harbour, wartime speeches by presidents of the United States have been enduring snapshots of history. The most obvious candidates from the 9/11 decade would be George W. Bush’s address to Congress on 20 September 2001 saying “our war on… more»
The Legacy of Terror (Issue 5, 2011)
The terrorist attacks of September 11 on New York and Washington led to a remarkably unanimous response, not just from the West but from the entire international community. For the only time in its history, NATO invoked the principle of collective defence enshrined in Article 5 of its founding treaty.… more»
A year after atomic bombs flattened Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Albert Einstein said: "The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything save our modes of thinking and we thus drift toward unparalleled catastrophe." This was much quoted after September 11, 2001. Although it has been 10 years since that tragic… more»
Like most terrorist attacks launched by little-known underground groups, al Qaeda's September 11 attacks were an attempt to capitalise on wide-ranging social and political frustrations. Al Qaeda's goal was to paint itself as heroic, thereby attracting a broad following. Such endeavours can only be successful—to various degrees—where deep frustrations already… more»
The September 11 strikes continue to profoundly influence American foreign and national security policy choices.… more»
The 911 Decade (Issue 4, 2011)
The essays in this collection were written well before Osama bin Laden was killed by the US Navy SEALs in early May. His death marked the end of the September 11 decade, even though the 10th anniversary was still over four months away. Though the themes explored in this volume… more»
It is tempting to view the events of September 11, 2001, as having shattered the faith in historical progress that had been the secular faith of the West since the Enlightenment. Its late 20th-century iterations dominated the thinking of American policymakers across the political spectrum, and its intellectual underpinnings ranged… more»
As with the bombing of Pearl Harbour and the assassination of President Kennedy, all adult Americans know where they were on September 11, 2001. On that Tuesday morning I was five blocks from the White House at the 5th-floor offices of National Affairs in Washington, an office that housed both… more»
Foreign policy issues were notably absent in the 2000 American election campaign, but they came roaring back within a year. The crisis of September 11, 2001 shocked the country and produced an opportunity for George W. Bush to express a bold new vision of foreign policy. Effective visions combine feasibility… more»
The Road Ahead (Issue 3, 2010)
If anyone had been asked in 1994 to provide a two-year assessment of Bill Clinton's performance, even supporters would have had a difficult time mustering a strong case. Two years into what we now know was president Clinton's first term, a fair observer might have described him as inept, overreaching,… more»
Barack Obama seemed in 2007–2008 a figure who had all but miraculously appeared in the United States, promising to end what was, to a great many Americans, a hateful and shaming national period, that of the George W Bush administration, in which the Republican Party of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore… more»
If, as Winston Churchill declared on 1 October, 1939, Russia is "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma", then the foreign policy of the Obama administration is an ambivalence wrapped in a mentality inside a perplexity. The latter is not as inclined to malignity as was the former… more»
In September 2008, the global economy and financial system experienced an earthquake, registering high on the economic Richter scale. The epicentre of this earthquake was the financial system in the United States. It was the end of the Bush presidency. The presidential elections were two months away. The timing from… more»
For the past 30 years, Americans have been experiencing an increasingly ugly political and social scene featuring a lot of anger and hate. There are ample reasons for Americans from all parts of the political spectrum to be angry, perhaps not least that during the first nine years of the… more»
Book Reviews
Kishore Mahbubani shows once again why he is one of the world’s leading thinkers more»
How Mexican food entered American popular culture more»
The gulag solidifies the Kim family regime more»
Inside the mind of America's most well-known forecaster more»
Once elected, American presidents discover the impotence of office more»
Despite his denials, David Marr has written a political tract more»
A social history of 20th century America through the life of a sports broadcaster more»
A former foreign policy insider looks to what could, would and should happen next more»
A rare glimpse into the daily routine of a bohemian from Down Under more»
Is the US ready for free-for-all First World immigration? more»
A sports novel with a twist more»
The political idiosyncrasies of Murdoch and of the Australian population more»
An 80-year battle of ideas underlies today’s economic debate more»
Buoyed by the mining boom, Australians reflect on their fortune. more»
Steve Jobs was a product of his time— ‘60s counter-culture. more»
Although George Kennan predicted the collapse of the Soviet Union, his advice was seldom listened to. more»
Books to boost coffers and confidence. more»
Spreading wealth is the key to continuing economic prosperity, so says this Nobel laureate more»
The inimitable Harold Bloom marries literary theory, critical prowess, and figurative eloquence in his self-described swansong more»
There are lessons for present-day policymakers in Eisenhower’s military restraint more»
Public opinion against Australia’s involvement in Afghanistan has reached a turning point
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America must decide if it is to compete with China or cede power to Asia. more»
John Curtin’s most famous quote redefined Australia. more»
Leading historian Niall Ferguson seriously overstates his case that the West has lost its nerve under deadly assault. more»
There goes the Lucky Country. more»
