Purchase
A New Way to Understand Why Nations Rise and Fall
Simon and Schuster
September 2006
On Sale: August 29, 2006
320 pages
ISBN: 0743274717
EAN: 9780743274715
Hardcover
Add to Wish List
Non-Fiction
What Freakonomics does for understanding the
economy, The J Curve does for better understanding
how nations behave. The J curve is a visual tool that allows
us to see at a glance why some crucial countries are in
crisis and unstable while others are prosperous and
politically solid. In this imaginative, playful, and
practical guide, Ian Bremmer, an expert on the politics of
international business, turns conventional wisdom on its
head. He reveals how the United States can begin more
successfully to act in its own interests. But The
J Curve is not only for policymakers and their critics.
It can help investors better manage the risks they face
abroad. It answers puzzling questions we all have. Why does
North Korea seem to invite a military conflict it can't
possibly survive? Why is India so surprisingly stable? What
are the internal pressures eroding stability in Saudi
Arabia? How long can China's politics resist the pressure
for change provoked by the country's economic revolution?
Why are Iran's ruling clerics trying to push their nation
toward international isolation? What will happen to Israeli
democracy when demographic pressures change the balance of
political power within? And crucially, how should the United
States respond to the challenges posed by these
questions? U.S. policymakers have sought to manage
security threats with a simple formula: reward your friends
and punish your enemies. Has it worked? The U.S. imposed
harsh sanctions on Saddam Hussein's Iraq and isolated it
from the international community. This strengthened the
dictator's grip on the Iraqi people and the country's
wealth. The world now faces a similar dilemma in Iran. Will
the United States continue to try to isolate that country or
can Iran be guided into the international mainstream,
allowing its people eventually to directly challenge their
harsh leaders? Bremmer's tour of the nations of the
world -- our friends, our foes, and others in between --
shows us how to see the world fresh, get rid of shopworn
attitudes, and discover a new and useful way of thinking.
Comments
No comments posted.
Registered users may leave comments.
Log in or register now!
| 
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy