Blogs

Is the US Economy Ready to Navigate the Asia Century?

By jamiecirrito on May 14, 2012 - 9:07pm

 
For years the US has been unmatched in education and innovation. But the past 30 years of relative political stability in China has constituted a unique period in its modern history, providing China with the opportunity for considerable economic growth, which has led to improvements in its national infrastructure and overall competitiveness. China’s proven ability to continue high level economic growth requires the US to shift its foreign policy objectives and adopt a more economic focused policy to successfully navigate the potential Asia Century.
 

The Cooks’ Dilemma

By Nicholas Iorio on May 8, 2012 - 10:01pm

 
With America’s “pivot” toward the Asia-Pacific region, President Obama announced an outline for a trans-pacific partnership that excludes those countries that do not “follow the rules” and signaled U.S. intent to rotate Marines though Australia. These actions suggest that the U.S.-China relationship is trending toward a more confrontational balance of power dynamic. How did this relationship come to such a point of increased tension and friction?
 

Wrestling the Dragon with Ambassador Richard Solomon - YPFP's May 17th Event

By Tripp Copeland on May 3, 2012 - 9:25pm

Forty years ago this past February, former President Richard Nixon visited China, opening economic and diplomatic doors to the Far East. Since then, China has become the world’s second largest economy and a global power.

Philippine Ambassador Cuisia: A Modern Economic Diplomat

By Amanda Marie Riggs on April 6, 2012 - 10:10am

On March 29th, Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP) had the pleasure to hear the Ambassador from the Republic of the Philippines, His Excellency Jose L. Cuisia, address our membership at the Philippine Embassy as part of our Ambassador Series events. Ambassador Cuisia arrived in Washington, DC, in early 2011, as part of the new Philippine government’s focus on economic growth under President Benigno Aquino III. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell testified before Congress earlier this year on the U.S.-Philippine alliance, asserting that the U.S.

Seeking A Solution For Syria

By tvassefi on April 2, 2012 - 8:02pm

Last week, YPFP’s Middle East Discussion Group (MEDG) gathered to discuss four options for U.S. intervention in Syria: diplomacy, military intervention, economic actions, and wait-and-see. Even with the broadest of parameters, the group did not agree on one approach. There were some who made the argument that for both humanitarian concerns and U.S. national security interests, it would be prudent to take military action soon.

Millennials and the Evolving Work Schedule

By Daniel Perez on March 28, 2012 - 6:25pm

 
In this great post on Time Magazine’s website, we see a growing recognition in major news sources about Millennial’s role in shaping the work place of the future. It describes how companies, eager to attract Millennial employees, are allowing them to “to work odd hours, telecommute and otherwise tweak the usual 9-to-5 grind.”
 

How Millennials Can Create Global Systemic Change

By Hila Mehr on March 12, 2012 - 8:23pm

 
Our world doesn’t need people to hand out fish. It doesn’t need people to teach others how to fish. It needs people to change the fishing industry entirely. That was the resounding message at the 2012 Harvard Social Enterprise Conference. The Harvard conference focused on social enterprise, but the underlying emphasis was on how the next generation of leaders can create innovative change, together, to tackle critical global challenges.
 

Policy Implications of a Nuclear Iran for the United States

By Amanda Marie Riggs on March 4, 2012 - 3:10pm

 
Young Professionals in Foreign Policy’s Middle East Discussion Group (MEDG) held its monthly discussion in February on what a nuclear-armed Iran would mean for the United States. MEDG is comprised of academics, government officials, think tank policy writers, and private sector representatives with a combined specialty in Egypt, Israel, Iran, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria. The MEDG members are young professionals working in the Washington, D.C. area, of ages 22-35 on average. The views expressed here are a composite summary of the monthly discussion series.

From Harvard to Revolution - Facebook's Role in the Arab Spring

By Adam Scheuer on February 25, 2012 - 1:13pm

 
It is a cold and bleak winter’s evening in February 2004 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A flurry of excitement sweeps through libraries and dorms on the Harvard College campus. Students in my sophomore class peer at each other’s laptops as they peruse a new website. Launched by our classmate the day before, Facebook has rapidly gained several hundred members.
 

Syria is not Libya

By Haley Cook on February 14, 2012 - 7:45pm

For the foreseeable future, there will be no international military intervention in Syria.  Nor will there be UN sanctions, unlike the international response for Libya last year. The United Nations Security Council cannot even agree that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should step down to make way for a national unity government.