New Cold War? China’s naval build up, America’s response, and the implications for globalization and the American economy
Dr. Bruce D. Jones
Brookings Institution
U.S. news media have been reporting in recent weeks that the attention of many foreign policy analysts has been focused on the prospect that an assertive and nationalistic Chinese regime will increase its pressure on its “wayward province,” democratic Taiwan. The challenge that such a development would pose to the U.S. figures prominently in the talk of a “new cold war” between China and the U.S. How valid is the “cold war” comparison, how likely is a military (primarily naval) confrontation, and what repercussions might the growing tensions have on the global economy?
Our December speaker will consider these questions in the context of his widely-hailed To Rule the Waves: How Control of the World’s Oceans Shapes the Fate of the Superpowers, a book that examines the interplay of globalization and geopolitical contestation through the lens of the maritime domain. Bruce Jones’s book, featured in the accompanying press release, will be available at the meeting for purchase (at the discounted price of $20) and signing and will be the focus of the TCFR Book Club’s December meeting.
Dr. Bruce Jones is a senior fellow with the Center for Security, Strategy and Technology in the Foreign Policy program of the Brookings Institution. He has previously served as vice president of the program, and as director of the NYU Center on International Cooperation.
He was appointed by the U.N. secretary-general to serve on the High-level Panel on Peace Operations, and earlier as a senior advisory member on international civilian capacities; and he served in 2010-2012 as a senior advisor to the World Bank’s 2011 World Development Report on Conflict, Security and Development. He has written extensively on international peacekeeping and conflict management, and served in peace negotiation and civilian reconstruction roles in the Middle East and Kosovo.
His current research is on great power relations and their implications for international cooperation.