The American Phoenix: And Why China and Europe Will Struggle after the Coming Slump (repost)

Charles Dumas, “The American Phoenix: And Why China and Europe Will Struggle after the Coming Slump”
2011 | ISBN 10: 1846685648 | PDF | 224 pages | 3 MB

2012 will bring another global economic crisis. It could have been avoided if America and other deficit countries had embarked on currency devaluation and tighter domestic policy to sustain recovery and growth, boost exports and savings, while cutting excessive debts built up in the pre-crisis ‘gilded age’. But they didn’t. Instead they continued to run large government deficits, effectively transferring debt from private to public hands, rather than reducing it through rising national savings rates.

Savings-rich countries, notably China, have not helped. To get the global economy in better balance they needed to reduce exports by revaluing their currencies and encouraging domestic demand. Instead,the second, third and fourth largest economies in the world have continued to increase their net exports, thwarting recovery in the United States, Britain and southern Europe. This economic imbalance, say Dumas and Choyleva, is going to cause another global economic crunch.

And afterwards? Perhaps surprisingly, but with impeccable reasoning, Dumas and Choyleva go on to argue that America will emerge from the slump in the strongest shape, China will struggle unless it takes steps to tackle its structural problems, Eurozone countries like Spain, Portugal and Greece are in for a depressing decade, while Britain, because of its labour market and exchange rate flexibility, will be in better shape to emulate America’s recovery. These are precarious times. To understand and prepare for them, this book will be invaluable

Asia"s New Battlefield: The USA, China and the Struggle for the Western Pacific

Richard Javad Heydarian, “Asia’s New Battlefield: The USA, China and the Struggle for the Western Pacific”

ISBN: 1783603135, 1783603127 | 2015 | EPUB | 192 pages | 4 MB

This compact, insightful book offers an up-to-the-minute guide to understanding the evolution of maritime territorial disputes in East Asia, exploring their legal, political-security and economic dimensions against the backdrop of a brewing Sino-American rivalry for hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region. It traces the decades-long evolution of Sino-American relations in Asia, and how this pivotal relationship has been central to prosperity and stability in one of the most dynamics regions of the world. It also looks at how middle powers—from Japan and Australia to India and South Korea—have joined the fray, trying to shape the trajectory of the territorial disputes in the Western Pacific, which can, in turn, alter the future of Asia—and ignite an international war that could re-configure the global order. The book examines how the maritime disputes have become a litmus test of China’s rise, whether it has and will be peaceful or not, and how smaller powers such as Vietnam and the Philippines have been resisting Beijing’s territorial ambitions. Drawing on extensive discussions and interviews with experts and policy-makers across the Asia-Pacific region, the book highlights the growing geopolitical significance of the East and South China Sea disputes to the future of Asia—providing insights into how the so-called Pacific century will shape up.