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March/April 2001
Vol 80, Number 2 << Previous: Jan/Feb 2001 | Next: May/June 2001 >> FIND FOREIGN AFFAIRS ON A NEWSSTAND NEAR YOU
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America's Two-Front Economic Conflict
C. Fred Bergsten
America now faces the prospect of economic conflicts with both Europe and East Asia. The United States and the European Union have already fired the first shots of retaliatory sanctions over their ever-growing trade disputes. On the other side of the world, meanwhile, Asian countries are creating a bloc of their own that could include preferential trade arrangements and an Asian Monetary Fund. These developments could produce a tripolar world and hamper global economic integration. To avert this outcome, the United States must quell its domestic backlash against globalization and reassert its economic leadership in the world. The new Bush administration should make multilateral trade liberalization a top priority -- or it will face unpleasant economic and political consequences as the U.S. and foreign economies slow.
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Middle East Peace Through Partition
David Makovsky
After all the recent bloodshed in the Middle East, many have pronounced the Oslo peace process dead. But Oslo's core principle -- that peace requires an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza -- remains as sound as ever. Friendly cooperation between the two sides appears a long way off; even final-status talks may be premature. But in the interim, there is one step Israel can and must take: withdrawal from the territories, whether the Palestinians are ready or not.
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The Uneasy Americas
Peter Hakim
Hemispheric relations seem at an all-time high, as democracy and prosperity blossom throughout Latin America. But President Bush still faces potential problems south of the border, from mission creep in Colombia to chaos in Peru, from Chávez in Venezuela to Castro in Cuba. And then there is Mexico, where the first-ever democratically elected president is eager to engage Washington -- on his own terms. Only one thing is certain: Latin America must not be ignored.
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Time To Leave Korea?
Selig S. Harrison
After the historic summit between Pyongyang and Seoul last June, the Koreas could be on their way to eventual reunification. To ensure such progress, Washington should consider making military and economic concessions -- including the possible withdrawal of U.S. forces -- to formally end the Korean War.
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The Great Disruption
Clayton Christensen, Thomas Craig, and Stuart Hart
A key reason national economies rise and fall these days is their ability to nurture "disruptive technologies" -- innovations that lead to new classes of products that are cheaper, better, and more convenient than their predecessors. America's ability to exploit disruption has led to its recent boom, while Japan's failure to do so has led to stagnation. Other countries should heed the lesson.
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Digitally Empowered Development
Allen L. Hammond
The information revolution has created unexpected wealth around the globe, and technology and policy can work together to help all countries reap the benefits. From microloans to village mobile phones to innovative partnerships among governments, corporations, and citizens' groups, the answers are already out there. Now it is time to act on them.
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The Knowledge Gap
Avinash Persaud
To date, the Internet economy -- with its emphasis on knowledge and innovation -- has widened the global income gap. Rich nations must help level the playing field in areas from trade to banking to intellectual-property laws. Poor nations, meanwhile, must help themselves by taking steps to promote foreign investment, tackle corruption, and improve education.
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China's Cyber-Strategy
Nina Hachigian
The Chinese Communist Party is simultaneously fostering the growth of the Internet and weaving a web of regulations to limit network content and use. But regulations cannot entirely block Internet communication, and the state's previously solid control over information is shifting to the citizens. If a future economic or political crisis spurs a challenge to party rule, this shift in information control may decide the outcome.
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Trade Policy for a Networked World
Charlene Barshefsky
The information economy creates both opportunities and challenges for global trade. The United States must lead its trading partners and multilateral organizations to extend the free-trade, open-market principles that govern physical goods to cover the intangible products now zipping through wire and air. Trade policy can lay the path for future growth in the new economy -- or block it.
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