Articles written by Thomas P.M. Barnett
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
06 Apr 2010 |
World Politics Review
National security analysts have long assumed that the international
telecom landscape would be defined by vast struggles over competing
technical standards, with ownership of highly sensitive infrastructure
being the grand prize. But it's becoming increasingly clear that the infrastructure owned
matters less than the services delivered, which are themselves simply a
means of winning consumer loyalty and, along with it, the "business
intelligence" that will determine economic power in the modern era
of globalization.
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
05 Apr 2010 |
World Politics Review
When asked for his assessment of the French Revolution's historical
impact, Zhou Enlai famously replied, "It is too early to tell."
Historians are fond of citing the quotation, but at times ignore its
fundamental insight: that they often arrive at their judgment of
historical events prematurely. Nowhere does this seem truer than in the
case of America's controversial intervention in Iraq.
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
29 Mar 2010 |
World Politics Review
In the last half-decade, blogs have gone from a quirky personal sideline
activity to a mainstream, almost
de rigeur professional activity --
following the previous trajectory of Web sites and, before them, e-mail
itself. To many, this democratization of the flow of information is a
distinct blessing, to others it is the epitome of data deluge. As far as I'm concerned -- no blog, no grand
strategist.
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
22 Mar 2010 |
World Politics Review
For almost a decade, I've been spreading the message that the world's core powers must develop a systemic approach to postwar and
post-disaster interventions. Although that vision, combined with operational experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, has generated
ad hoc responses, real
progress can only come when it finds a home where
such experimentation can mature. Last week I toured such a home.
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
15 Mar 2010 |
World Politics Review
A recent report issued by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs
highlights an enduring but growing "God Gap" between America's conduct of foreign policy and the increasingly religious world beyond the West. The report decries Washington's "uncompromising Western secularism" as a self-imposed
obstacle to engagement of religious actors in
emerging economies and failed states -- and rightfully so.
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
08 Mar 2010 |
World Politics Review
Congress' most prominent military vets hail from the
Vietnam era, which has led many to instinctively reject the necessity
and utility of nation-building and counterinsurgency.
Clearly, our lengthy interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan will alter
this generational equation, but how will the experiences of today's
veterans impact their votes in tomorrow's Congress? An Iraq war novel attempts to answer that question.
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
01 Mar 2010 |
World Politics Review
The upcoming Iraqi parliamentary elections loom large in the political
fortunes of so many players, both internal and external, that it
constitutes a historical referendum of sorts -- not just for Iraq, but
beyond as well. The election's outcome
will leave winners on some fronts, losers on others,
and will trigger plenty of bandwagoning by those worried about being
left out or left behind.
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
22 Feb 2010 |
World Politics Review
The list of problems caused by globalization goes on and on. And yet, this is
humankind's best set of problems yet, because within them lie the seeds
of future successes -- but only if we maximize our definitions of "us"
and narrow our definitions of "them." For starters, that means
getting past our current fear-driven agenda and accepting that many of the solutions will be locally derived and not
globally mandated.
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
15 Feb 2010 |
World Politics Review
Many of the course corrections President Barack Obama has made in U.S. foreign policy merely extended or expanded upon those made
during the last two years of the Bush administration. But now, in responding to growing populist anger, Obama seems dangerously intent on
re-vectoring what was arguably George W. Bush's smartest and most
sophisticated endeavor: U.S.-China bilateral relations.
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
08 Feb 2010 |
World Politics Review
As one of the "last in" on globalization's bandwagon, China has naturally become an aggressive integrator of frontier economies. Nowhere is this expansion more apparent, and controversial, than in sub-Saharan Africa, where Chinese foreign
direct investment and trade have increased several-fold in the past
half-decade. That has triggered rising strategic interest in a region long-ignored by the West.
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
01 Feb 2010 |
World Politics Review
If the 2008 Olympics were China's big coming-out party, and 2009 the
year that Beijing merely managed to save global capitalism with its
rapid -- and accurate -- stimulus package, then one might assume 2010
holds even better things in store for the People's Republic. But China's "golden moment" is slipping away, and fast. In short, time is most definitely on our side.
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
25 Jan 2010 |
World Politics Review
It's taken as gospel by most pundits today that we live in an increasingly dangerous, deadly and unstable world. In retrospect, the Cold War has even taken on a nostalgic hue, reminding us of simpler, more manageable times. This creed is a complete lie, unforgivably peddled by fear-mongering "experts" as a way to justify their mindless schemes.
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
18 Jan 2010 |
World Politics Review
We are heading toward a world in which pharmaceutically enhanced living will be the norm
throughout life,
and not just among the chronically impaired and the elderly. While there's plenty of upside potential here, one significant
challenge will be developing and enforcing a complex set of rules
regarding
who can do
what while using
which drugs.
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
11 Jan 2010 |
World Politics Review
Thanks to the recent global financial crisis, we've heard much talk
about the coming "de-globalization." Increasingly, deals no longer seem to suffice: Direct ownership is now desired. That may appear to signal de-globalization, but if it
suggests anything, it is actually a deepening of connectivity -- dashed
horizontal lines replaced by solid vertical ones.
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
04 Jan 2010 |
World Politics Review
Pundits across America seem committed to the notion that our
just-concluded decade deserves the moniker "worst ever," with the
formulations ranging from Time's demonic "decade from hell" to Paul
Krugman's self-flagellating "Big Zero." But if Krugman could call it "a
decade in which nothing good happened," much of the planet might find
our myopic bitterness a bit much.
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
21 Dec 2009 |
World Politics Review
If you thought the neocons were gone, better think again. Charles Krauthammer & Co. see no reason to surrender America's dominance to the Chinese simply because Beijing holds the pink
slip on our national economy. And their mindset still
animates most of what the GOP offers in opposition to President Barack
Obama's magical apology tour.
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
14 Dec 2009 |
World Politics Review
A funny thing happened on the way to China's presumed domination of the
world's natural resources: It ran into the same core problem that
America suffers -- namely, skyrocketing health care costs combined with
too many citizens lacking access. In fact, health
care reform stands at the center of both nations' efforts to address
the "rebalancing" challenge revealed by last year's global financial
panic.
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
07 Dec 2009 |
World Politics Review
Defense hawks are accusing Democrats of an ulterior motive in addressing health care
in America: a longterm plot to curtail defense
spending. This charge is at once hypocritical and
correct, but not for the dark reasons ascribed to the Obama
administration. Instead, the Democrats' implied plot to rebalance domestic versus foreign spending merely responds to inescapable realities.
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
30 Nov 2009 |
World Politics Review
"Rebalancing" has been the watchword of President Barack Obama's
foreign policy, and soon enough it will be applied to the international security burden among the
world's great powers. One number explains why: It costs the U.S. $1 million a year to keep a
soldier inside a theater of operations such as Afghanistan. With that as a bottom line, we must turn eastward and southward for future key allies.
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
24 Nov 2009 |
World Politics Review
AUSTIN, Texas -- Official
representatives from the Tejas Confederation, the Northern Alliance of
Mexican States, and the U.S. government signed a comprehensive
treaty that will immediately "re-admit" the Tejas states
to the American union, and submit to Congress formal pleas for new
statehood on behalf of Baja
California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila and Nuevo Leon.
