Article Alert - August 2011

The U.S. Embassy's Information Resource Center is pleased to offer you Article Alert, the monthly current awareness publication of the Information Resource Center, U.S. Embassy Public Affairs, Bangkok, Thailand. It offers abstracts of approximately 27 current articles and policy briefs from leading American journals and think tanks in six thematic areas with an emphasis on East Asian regional affairs. The views expressed in the articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect U.S. government policies.

Full Text Availability: Hyperlinks to full texts are provided for U.S. government documents. Full hard copy texts of non-U.S. government documents are available upon request to IRC service subscribers only. To request full texts, please contact us at irc@state.gov, tel: 02-205-4640; or fax: 02-650-8918, citing the article number(s). Current and back issues of Article Alert are also available in our homepage at http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/services/irc/alert/alert.html.

SPOTLIGHT: SUSTAINING DEMOCRACY

1. “The Great Democracy Meltdown”
Joshua Kurlantzick. The New Republic, June 9, 2011, 4 pages.
The author, a fellow for Southeast Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations, discusses the worldwide erosion of democracy, particularly the transformation of elected leaders into autocrats and the acquiescence on the part of citizens.

2. “Social Networks vs. Governing Authority”
Nathan Gardels. New Perspectives Quarterly, Spring 2011, 3 pages.
The author, an editor of New Perspectives Quarterly, discusses how to balance the participatory power of social networks with the legitimate governing authority required for providing the common good and sustaining a democratic society over the long term.

THE UNITED STATES AND ASIA

3. “Asia's Century and the Problem of Japan's Centrality”
Brendan Taylor. International Affairs, July 2011, 15 pages.
The author examines Japan as a central component of the America's grand strategy in Asia, particularly  its role in an evolving security order, where China and the United States emerge as Asia’s two dominant powers by a significant margin.

4. “The Role of East Asian Regional Organizations in Regional Governance: Constraints and Contributions”
Rosemary Foot. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Commentary, June 7, 2011, 10 pages.
The author, a professor of international relations at St Antony’s College, explores the role that Asia-Pacific regional organizations play in the governance process, and examines some of the differences between the formal versus informal institutional arrangements.

THE UNITED STATES AND WORLD AFFAIRS

5. “How to Last Alone at the Top: US Strategic Planning for the Unipolar Era”
Alexandra Homolar. The Journal of Strategic Studies, April 2011, 29 pages.
The author, an assistant professor at the Department of Politics and International Studies at University of Warwick, analyzes how key actors within the U.S. defense policy community realigned their interests to forge a new consensus on the redirection of U.S. defense strategy following the 'peace shock' they faced with the collapse of bipolarity.

6. “Does Obama Have a Grand Strategy? Why We Need Doctrines in Uncertain Times”
Daniel W. Drezner. Foreign Affairs, July/August 2011, 12 pages.
Is it true that President Barack Obama has no grand strategy?  And even if it were, would that be such a disaster?  The author, a professor of International Politics at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, examines if President Obama has a grand strategy and the importance of such an approach if there is none.

ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

7. “Southeast Asia: Crouching Tiger or Hidden Dragon?”
Vikram Nehru. International Economic Bulletin, July 7, 2011, 6 pages.
As China confronts economic, social, environmental, and international challenges, will Southeast Asia be buffeted by any instability that may emerge?  The author, a World Bank Chief Economist for the East Asia & Pacific, examines economic prospects for Southeast Asia.

8. “The Poor Will Inherit the Earth”
Uri Dadush and William Shaw. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, June 20, 2011, 2 pages.
The authors explore the rise of developing countries and how they will reshape the global economic landscape.  The effects of this seismic shift on the main avenues of globalization—trade, finance, migration, and the global commons, are also discussed.

9. “More Than 1 Billion People Are Hungry in the World”
Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo.  Foreign Policy, May/June 2011, 7 pages.
Are there really more than a billion people going to bed hungry each night?  The authors examine this question, having collected data and spoken with poor people around the world, about what they eat and what else they buy.

10. “The Innovation Crossroads”
Jim Tankersley, et al. National Journal, July 7, 2011, 6 pages.
What are the innovations of tomorrow?  Five experts offer their predictions on advancements that will help fuel economic growth and improve the basic quality of life.

11. “Competing Against Free”
David J. Bryce, et al. Harvard Business Review, June 2011, 8 pages.
The authors discuss how established companies should respond to the "free" business models popularized in the digital world by companies such as Google, Adobe, and Mozilla, that are spreading to markets in the physical world.

CHILD LABOR

12. “Dominant Discourses, Debates and Silences on Child Labour in Africa and Asia”
Tatek Abebe and Sharon Bessell. Third World Quarterly, May 2011, 22 pages.
The authors analyze key debates and controversies on child labor in the context of Africa and Asia, focusing on three perspectives: the work-free childhood, the socio-cultural perspective, and the political economy of the issue.

U.S. POLITICS

13. “How to Turn Republicans and Democrats into Americans”
Mickey Edwards. The Atlantic, July/August 2011, 4 pages.
The author, a vice president of the Aspen Institute, discusses the role of political parties in U.S. politics, the dominance of the Democratic and Republican parties, and how to improve U.S. elections and legislative processes.

14. “The Battle from Waterloo”
Robert Costa. National Review, July 18, 2011, 5 pages.
The author, a Washington-based political reporter for National Review, profiles U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann and discusses her decision to run for President in 2012.  Costa examines her political past, which includes campaigning for former President Jimmy Carter and switching to the Republican Party when she grew disillusioned with liberal ideology.

POPULATION GROWTH

15. “Population Inflation”
Wolfgang Lutz. World Today, May 2011, 3 pages.
The author, a founding director of the Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital, examines predictions about increases in global population and attests that there is a chance that the population will actually be lower than many demographers are reporting.

GLOBAL INTERESTS

16. “Planet Fixers”
Tom Brokaw, et al. Discover, June 2011, 8 pages.
Is it possible to address global warming without harming the economy?  The authors discuss global warming and the implications of rising global temperatures, focusing on the impact of climate change on health and health care costs, and the impact on developing countries.

17. “Natural Resources: Curse or Blessing?”
Frederick van der Ploeg. Journal of Economic Literature, June 2011, 55 pages.
Are natural resources a "curse" or a "blessing"?  The author, an economics professor at the University of Oxford, analyzes a variety of hypotheses and supporting evidence for why some countries benefit and others lose from the presence of natural resources.

18. “Scent of a Human”
John R.Carlson and Allison F. Carey. Scientific American, July 2011, 4 pages.
The authors discuss research investigating the physiology of a mosquito's olfactory system and how identifying chemicals that can fool or block a mosquito's tuned receptors could help improve traps and repellents and reduce the spread of malaria.

INFORMATION LITERACY

19. “All the News That's Fit to Post. Or Is It?”
Nancy K.Herther. Searcher, June 2011, 9 pages.
The author, a sociology/anthropology librarian at University of Minnesota Libraries, examines the impact of Internet technology on the ability of people to discern fact from fiction, gossip from exaggeration and truth from lies.

20. “Not Just for Teens”
Angelina Benedetti. Library Journal, June 15, 2011, 4 pages.
The author, a library manager at the King County Library System, Washington, explores the increased popularity of so-called young adult literature, fiction created to be read by teenagers, among older adult readers, particularly library users, and offers tips for librarians on promoting teen books to adult readers.

JOURNALISM

21. “Creating a Public Square in a Challenging Media Age”
Norman J. Ornstein, et al. American Enterprise Institute White Paper, June 2011, 27 pages.
The authors examine the challenges the digital age presents for traditional media and an increasing gap in access to these media and communications technologies.  They lay out four major challenges posed by the current era and propose ways to meet these challenges and boost civic participation.

22. “The Failing of the Fishwrap”
John Derbyshire. National Review, August 15, 2011, 2 pages.
Will the last printed-paper newspaper be a broadsheet or a tabloid?  The author, a writer at National Review, discusses the demise of printed newspapers and their loss of advertising revenue to television and the Internet.

EDUCATION

23. “Grasping the Realities of Educating in the Digital Age”
Phil Schubert. Educause Review, March/April 2011, 2 pages.
The author, President of Abilene Christian University, discusses education in the digital age, focusing on how mobile-learning strategies can reconnect students to their peers, challenge them with real-world data, and involve them in real-world conversations—all providing the relevance students need for academic, social, and professional success.

24. “Tactics for Teaching (Almost) Paperless Writing”
A. J. Ferguson. The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 13, 2011, 4 pages.
The author, an instructor of English at Florida Atlantic University, offers suggestions to college teachers regarding ways in which they can reduce, and even eliminate, paper as a medium of communication within their classes.  The reasons why paper copies of writing assignments are necessary for peer-review writing workshops are also discussed.

25. “Word-Learning Study Finds Sudden Insights Trump Flash Cards”
Sarah D. Sparks. Education Week, June 8, 2011, 2 pages.
The author, a regular contributor to Education Week, discusses a study showing that the learning of unfamiliar words comes from insights rather than repetition such as flash cards, and analyzes a University of Iowa study about fast-mapping, a model based on creating a first and best guess.

26. “Technology for Learning”
Bob Coulter. Connect Magazine, May/June 2011, 2 pages.
The author, a director of the Mapping the Environment at the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Litzsinger Road Ecology Center, discusses the use of mathematics trail, which involves walking through the community to see the many ways in which math is used “in the real world,” in the community and its technology extensions that can be incorporated in the classroom to improve the experience of the students.

AMERICAN MUSEUMS

27. “Seven All-American Curiosities”
Abigail Tucker, et al. Smithsonian, June 2011, 10 pages.
The authors explore seven off-beat American museums that should suit every distinguished taste, from the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum to the Kansas Barbed Wire Museum, and discuss the histories of the collections featured in those museums.