Looking backward and forward : policy issues in the twenty-first century / Charles Wolf Jr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wolf, Charles, Jr., 1924-2016.

Series:

Hoover Institution Press publication ; 560.

Hoover institution press publication ; no. 560

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Economic policy.

International economic relations.

International relations.

Physical Description:

xi, 165 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Stanford, Calif. : Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University, [2008]

Summary:

This collection of twenty-five essays written over the past five years by international economic policy expert Charles Wolf Jr. covers a range of worldwide economic, political, security, and diplomatic issues. Wolf looks at the challenges facing the United States at home and around the globe including critical issues regarding China, Japan, Korea, Russia, Iraq, and other key locales. These essays-many of which originally appeared in such respected publications as the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the International Herald Tribune, among others-reflect the pattern of policy issues to expect in the twenty-first century: a variety and complexity of themes that spill over the standard boundaries of political, economic, and military affairs.

Throughout the book, the author offers his often-controversial viewpoints, such as his assertion that unilateralism in U.S. national security policy may sometimes be preferable to multilateralism or that the erroneous expectation that Iraq possessed nuclear weapons does not imply that the intelligence leading to this expectation was flawed. Wolf reexamines each essay in the light of later developments with a "postaudit" comment that addresses whether the original argument is still valid and relevant compared with when it was first written.

Contents:

China. Capitalism, Chinese style ; Foreign investment leverages China's growth ; Fault lines in China's economic terrain ; China's currency dilemma and how to resolve it ; More about the Chinese currency ; Two major problems confronting China: one hard, the other harder ; U.S.-China relations: mostly partners, sometimes rivals

Other Asia. Japan's comfortable stagnation ; Dealing with North Korea: unilateralism, bilateralism, or multilateralism? ; Kim Jong-Il's financial bind

Other regions. Europe's unilateralism may have a brighter side ; Absent weapons don't imply faulty intelligence ; Resolving the UN dilemma ; What if Iraq had not been invaded ; How Sunni capitalism can trump Sunni insurgency ; Signs of regress and progress in Russia's economy

The global view. The case for selective unilateralism ; Whether multilateralism is better or worse than unilateralism is, well, situation-dependent ; Traditional allies are not permanent allies ; The principal global imbalance lies elsewhere

The United States. Doomsday for the doomsayers? ; The mythology surrounding energy security ; Efficient equity markets require smarter investors ; Public diplomacy: how to think about and improve it (coauthored with Brian Rosen) ; Liberals and conservatives: who's what and where?

Notes:

Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780817948726

0817948724

0817948716

9780817948719

OCLC:

159822341