Strategic Paradigms by Ehsan Ahrari

America’s most potent weapon is not its military, but its democratic culture.  If anyone has any doubts about that reality, he/she should read the most recent essay penned by President Hu Jintao of China. “China’s President Pushes Back Against Western Culture” http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/04/world/asia/chinas-president-pushes-back-against-western-culture.html?ref=global-home&pagewanted=print

The continuing economic crisis has created new pressures and demands for reduced expenditures inside the United States.  The chief question is how to lower defense spending without damaging America’s capacity to project power globally and being able to fight more than one war in different regions of the world.  The fact that no such situation [...]

As much as the world’s attention is focused on the loss of the United States’ AAA rating and the related long-term consequences for its global dominance, the PRC seems to be taking full advantage of the politics of symbolism related to its military modernization.  Its decision to show off its first aircraft carrier is one such [...]

The news that China and the U.S. have reestablished their military-to-military (mil-to-mil) contacts is indeed a positive development. However, the differences between these two major actors promise to keep the element of competition both alive and steady. Thus, while not denying the benefits of sustaining such contacts, one has to keep in mind that they [...]

China has always followed the U.S. military’s strategic as well as operational innovations.  That is an important basis for its emergence as a rival of the American armed forces in the distant future.  That very fact also bothers the U.S. military.  Reading China’s latest White Paper (“China’s National Defense in 2010”), once again, convinces one [...]

When the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission gives a good grade to China for doing well in its exercise of “soft power,” that is a big plus, because that organization is known for its hawkish.  It also indicates that the Chinese leaders are developing their unique style of handling global affairs – a style [...]

The Arab awakening is about the yearning of people to be free, to be able to enjoy a decent standard of living, and, above all, to be governed effectively by responsive leaders.  Of these, the Chinese people are deprived of two requirements.  Even regarding a decent standard of living, the evidence in China is mixed, [...]

The lame duck factor is a fact of American political grammar. It describes the third year of the second term of a sitting president. From then on, all important policy decisions or policy changes must wait until the election of his successor. Is a similar phenomenon also emerging for China, which is not a democracy? [...]

  One unexpected development from the U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ highly publicized trip to China is that there are rumors and speculation that President Hu Jintao does not really have a firm grip on his country’s foreign policy; that the PLA is getting ahead of the PRC’s civilian leadership in conveying its displeasure [...]