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Foreign Policy
Summer 1998
Articles
Be honest . . . which would you rather see as the dominant power in the international system: France or the United States? If you answered the United States, you are not alone—you may even be European. The world may decry American arrogance, but it depends on the sole remaining superpower as a guarantor of stability and prosperity.
Not since ancient Rome has a single power so towered over its rivals. From U.S. military might to the “virtual power” of software, America reigns supreme. Yet not only does the American Imperium threaten to become dangerously overbearing, but also to impose costs that could prove intolerably high.
The world was paralyzed by indecision as genocidal wars swept Bosnia and Rwanda. After all, how can tribal and religious conflicts that have simmered for centuries be stopped? Well, start by recognizing that ethnic conflicts are neither as ancient nor as “ethnic” as they seem.
Promoters of transparency claim that the full disclosure of information can solve everything from the Asian crisis to global warming. But although regulation by revelation may be the wave of the future, it is running up against traditional notions of secrecy and national sovereignty.
he discovery of billions of dollars in energy wealth has put the Caspian Sea back on the map. Yet for most of the region's inhabitants, the oil boom has so far been more of a bust. It is also sparking developments that threaten to turn all of Central Asia into a zone of instability and crisis.
Across Asia, scores of empty skyscrapers show what can happen when global finance meets emerging markets. Will Shanghai, with its rocketing GDP and slumping real estate values, be the Asian flu’s next victim? A guide to the perils of globalized real estate and the limits of the Asian Miracle.
Just one year ago, the IMF praised parts of Asia as a model for the world’s emerging markets. Now, it blames the region’s financial crash on poor domestic policies and insists on stringent, sweeping changes. But a look at the IMF’s history suggests it could use a little structural adjustment of its own.
The triumph of democracy and open markets was supposed to usher in a new era of freedom and opportunity. It has, but not for everybody.
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