The Impact of Space Budget Cuts on the Supply Chain: The End of An American Era

12/21/2012
2012-12-21 by Richard McCormack   A substantial percentage of companies that specialize in the space industry are on the brink of extinction.  According to the initial findings of an industry survey conducted by the federal government of 1,087 companies in the space supply chain, 38 percent said they would be insolvent…

Beijing Backs Kim Dynasty

12/21/2012
2012-12-21 by Richard Weitz As soon as North Korea had announced its plans to launch another nuclear test, Chinese officials had expressed “deep concern” and had dispatched a senior official to lobby against the test on behalf of the new Chinese leadership headed by Xi Jinping. Although Pyongyang ignored these warnings,…

The PRC Shapes the Pacific Future: Can the US and Its Allies Meet the Challenge?

12/20/2012
2012-12-18 by Richard Weitz Yesterday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, China experts Andrew J. Nathan and Andrew Scobell presented some of the themes in their new book entitled China’s Search for Security (Columbia University Press, 2012). Their articles in Foreign Affairs and The Washington Quarterly repeat the same…

Moving Forward with Japan-US Defense Cooperation

12/19/2012
2012-12-19 By Richard Weitz The change in government in Japan offers an opportunity to move forward in re-shaping the US-Japanese Alliance. The Alliance has now a long history, but re-shaping the Alliance will be crucial in the period ahead, notably with the challenges from North Korea, the PRC and new regions…

Globalization and Supply Chain Security: The Mining Transportation Case

12/18/2012
2012-12-18 The decade ahead is defined by threats which are once generated by globalization and are based in geographical realities.   The globalization dynamics create vulnerabilities and proliferation challenges; geography provides the flash points where such dynamics are translated into conflict. A good corrective to getting carried with away with globalization…

Insights on Japan’s Future Course: Dealing with the Chinese “Findlandization” Strategy

12/18/2012
2012-12-18 by Richard Weitz This weekend’s parliamentary elections have returned Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, to power after several years of rule by the centrist Democratic Party of Japan (DJP). The LDP is projected to have increased its total to around 300 seats in the…