A bank clerk counts U.S. dollar notes near bundles of Chinese renminbi notes at a bank in Hefei in central China's Anhui province.
AP Photo
"Bad Debts"
As a result of the recent financial crisis, the United States has grown increasingly dependent on foreign sources of credit. U.S. policymakers worry that China, in particular, could use its financial power to influence U.S. foreign policy.
FEATURED PUBLICATIONS
AP Photo
Fall 2009
"Bad Debts: Assessing China's Financial Influence in Great Power Politics"
International Security, issue 2, volume 34
As a result of the recent financial crisis, the United States has grown increasingly dependent on foreign sources of credit. U.S. policymakers worry that China, in particular, could use its financial power to influence U.S. foreign policy. However, two case studies (the contestation over the regulation of sovereign wealth funds and the protection of Chinese investments in the United States) demonstrate that their concerns are somewhat exaggerated. The current relationship between the United States and China is one of mutual dependency. Unless the balance shifts, China will be able to resist U.S. entreaties, but not coerce the United States into changing its policies.
AP Photo
Fall 2009
"China's Naval Nationalism: Sources, Prospects, and the U.S. Response"
International Security, issue 2, volume 34
By Robert Ross
Three factors - nationalism, a demand for great power status, and domestic interests - suggest that China will soon begin to build a power-projection navy. The first step in this process is likely to be the construction of an aircraft carrier. Challenges to China's territorial security as well as its commitment to a large ground force capability, however, will constrain China's maritime power and limit its ability to challenge U.S. maritime security. Still, the United States should begin to develop policies that will help to manage U.S.-China naval competition and promote continued political cooperation between the two nations.
AP Photo
Fall 2009
"What’s in a Line? Is Partition a Solution to Civil War?"
International Security, issue 2, volume 34
By Nicholas Sambanis and Jonah Schulhofer-Wohl
Partition proponents advocate dividing territory with or without formal recognition of sovereignty as a stable solution to ethnic civil wars and a way to enforce a lasting peace. A new data set and analysis, however, show that partition does not have the pacifying effects its proponents suggest it does, nor does it reduce the risk of a return to war. In some cases, it may even increase this risk.
AP Photo
Fall 2009
"Transformative Choices: Leaders and the Origins of Intervention Strategy"
International Security, issue 2, volume 34
Leaders of great powers have different causal beliefs about the origin of threats, which in turn shape the cost-benefit calculation they make when contemplating foreign interventions. An analysis of John F. Kennedy's and Lyndon B. Johnson's decisionmaking processes during the Vietnam War illustrates how different intervention strategies can influence leaders' decisions whether or not to become involved in a war. Scholars can apply this typology to George W. Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq.
AP Photo
Fall 2009
"Long Time Going: Religion and the Duration of Crusading"
International Security, issue 2, volume 34
By Michael Horowitz, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2005-2007
Religious beliefs can act as a genuine motivator in war or they can serve as a proxy for materialist objectives. An analysis of the Crusades reveals that religion was a driving force behind the wars and helps to explain why, despite spectacular failures and rising costs, Crusading lasted much longer than it should have. The evidence suggests that policymakers ought to consider how, in certain instances, religious beliefs can influence when actors go to war, how they fight, and when and how wars end.
Fall 2009
"Correspondence: Another Skirmish in the Battle over Democracies and War"
International Security, issue 2, volume 34
By Dan Reiter, Allan Stam and Alexander B. Downes, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 2007-2008
Dan Reiter and Allan Stam respond to Alexander Downes's Spring 2009 article "How Smart and Tough Are Democracies? Reassessing Theories of Democratic Victory in War."
