by Zhang Xiaomao Historical events are always astonishingly similar. In the early Korean War, China ruled by the Chinese Communist Party(CCP) frequently publicly warned the U.S. not to go beyond the 38th  parallel north to invade North Korea or China … Continued

by Bob Baker After assignments in London and Germany, I became the Consulate’s public affairs officer in Sydney, Australia. The left wing of the ruling Australian Labor Party wanted to show its displeasure with the Reagan re-armament program, especially its … Continued

by Mirco Reimer “In the 1990s, we thought we had the magic formula for everything. We were rich and invincible, and even Germany was expected to do what we wanted” – Stephen M. Walt, professor at Harvard University, on the … Continued

by Paul Levine In March David Shambaugh published an op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal under the headline, “The Coming Chinese Crackup.” “The endgame of communist rule in China has begun,” the article continued, “and Xi Jinping’s ruthless measures … Continued

by Donald M. Bishop America’s career diplomats—the Foreign Service—are assured when they deal with thorny political, economic, trade, and development issues. During my own Foreign Service career, however, I found them uncomfortable speaking of religion. Like it or not, I … Continued

by Matthew KooAbstract The international community has welcomed the reforms implemented by President Thein Sein of Myanmar since 2011. Even so, with the authoritarian nature of the Myanmar government remaining fundamentally unchanged, these reforms are arguably more procedural than substantive. … Continued

by Bob Baker I got more and more lonely as I drove North before dawn from my tiny motel to avoid the blazing desert heat. I was half way between Cairns in Northern Queensland and Darwin, capital of The Northern … Continued

by Benjamin L. Landis It is apparent without further explanation that the world of Islam from the shores of the Atlantic to the extremities of the Indian Ocean is today in tumult. The causes for these chaotic conditions are rooted … Continued

By Thomas Donilon, Council on Foreign Relations Fellow Text: http://www.cfr.org/china/keynote-address-obama-china-preserving-rebalance/p33778 Review by Francis P. Sempa, Contributing Editor Thomas Donilon of the Council on Foreign Relations spoke recently at the Brookings Institution about the Obama Administration’s rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific region. … Continued

by David A. Langbart Even before the United States formally entered World War II, the conflict had a significant impact on the Department of State.  In the 36 months leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Department saw … Continued

By Dr. Thomas Gold, Professor, University of California Text: https://www.fpri.org/articles/2014/10/occupy-centralsunflower-popular-resistance-greater-china Review by David T. Jones Dr. Thomas Gold is professor of sociology at the University of California and Executive Director of the Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies, a consortium … Continued

Review by Ted Wilkinson Pot Shards: Fragments of a Life Lived in CIA, the White House and the Two Koreas by Donald Gregg, New Academia Publishing, 2014, ISBN-13: 978-0990447115, 332 pages, $38.00 (Hardcover), $26.00 (Paperback), $7.99 (Kindle). Apart from its … Continued

by John Vincent This is an almost nostalgic think piece by Stratfor’s Robert Kaplan that first resurrects an analytic hypothesis called “oriental despotism” of absolute power involving “hydraulic societies”, first suggested by Karl Marx and elaborated as recently as 1957. … Continued

By Roger Kimball, Editor of The New Criterion Text: http://www.newcriterion.com/articles.cfm/Guilt-trip–Versailles–avant-garde—kitsch-7942 Review by Francis P. Sempa, Contributing Editor Roger Kimball, the editor of The New Criterion, delivered the David Armstrong Memorial Lecture in Melbourne, Australia, in August. Kimball’s lecture mixed history … Continued

by Paul Kreutzer Introduction The operational level of foreign policy is the essential crucible for the formulation of diplomatic approaches to international challenges. This article identifies ten principles for conducting operational level diplomacy to help practitioners frame the development and … Continued

Review by Peter Kovach
Religion and Public Diplomacy by Philip Seib, Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN-13: 978-1-137-29111-0, 2013, 236pp., $90.00 (Hardcover List)

by Benjamin L. LandisThe Economist in its “Holiday Double Issue” dated December 21st, 2013-January 3rd, 2014, gave its readers an unexpected and surprising Christmas present: the specter of World War III. Happy New Year to one and all! In its … Continued

By Sheila A. Smith, Senior Fellow, Counsel on Foreign Relations Text: http://www.cfr.org/asia-and-pacific/us-alliances-northeast-asia/p32533 Reviewed by Francis P. Sempa, Contributing Editor In recent testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sheila Smith of the counsel on Foreign Relations highlighted the importance of … Continued

Review by Sol Schindler Dancing With The Devil: The Perils of Engaging Rogue Regimes by Michael Rubin, Encounter Books, ISBN-1-59407-723-X, 2014, 384 pp., $27.99 (Hardcover List). The United States has a long history of dealing with rogue nations. During Thomas … Continued

By Dean Cheng, Research Fellow, The Heritage Foundation http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2014/01/the-challenge-of-china-s-expansionism-in-east-asia-and-us-policy-responses Reviewed by John Sylvester A major challenge for any American administration just now is maintaining a wise balance as we cope with a rising China. It is not an expansionist power … Continued