World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

For the first time, the United States has explicitly rejected China’s claims to the South China Sea as measured by what China calls the “Nine Dash Line.”  No other country has accepted the Chinese claim and the claim itself is inconsistent with the United Nations’ Law of the Seas Convention.   China, however, asserts that the claim has been made by China since the founding of the Chinese People’s Republic in 1949.  It is doubtful that the US rejection represents any change of position, but it remains to be seen how the competing claims to the sea will be settled.

The Obama Administration is debating whether it should kill an American citizen living abroad who has been working on behalf of radicals who wish to do harm to the United States.  It is rare for the US to kill a citizen without due process of law, a right guaranteed to all citizens by the Constitution.  Obviously, the ability to pass summary judgments against a citizen without a court hearing is a problematic power.  However, the contrary argument is that the US has a right to protect itself against those who wish to inflict harm on its citizens.  The critical question is how significant the protocols are against possible abuse of power.

The US is currently going through a rather quiet, but nonetheless sustained, debate about whether it should reduce its commitments abroad.  Many believe that such a move is inevitable, given the costs of engagement abroad and the willingness of the American people to suppor a world role for the US.  Joseph Nye, however, argues that the US should not return to what he terms an “isolationist” policy.