Boost-glide Weapons and US-China Strategic Stability

ABSTRACT

The United States and China are testing boost-glide weapons, long-range strike systems capable of flying at Mach 5 or faster through the upper atmosphere. For the United States, these systems would provide a conventional prompt global strike capability, which, together with US ballistic missile defense programs, Chinese experts regard as a threat to China's ability to conduct nuclear retaliation. This perception is encouraging the Chinese military to modify its nuclear posture in ways that tend to create greater risks for both sides. If China's own boost-glide systems are meant to carry nuclear payloads only, their deployment would not fundamentally alter the current situation between the two states. However, if they were conventionally armed or dual-purpose, or if the United States could not determine the payloads they carried, the deployment of Chinese boost-glide systems could compound problems of strategic stability created by the introduction of ballistic missile defense, antisatellite, and antiship ballistic missile capabilities. If the technical hurdles can be overcome, it may be difficult for the two sides to refrain from these deployments in the absence of strong mutual trust or an established arms-control relationship. New confidence-building measures and expanded mutual transparency are warranted to avoid creating new dangers.     

COMPREHENSIVE NUCLEAR-TEST-BAN TREATY

President Barack Obama has pledged to secure the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which was previously rejected by the U.S. Senate in 1999. This article attempts to predict the potential implications of Washington's ratification for the treaty's future by analyzing the positions and options of the eight other essential holdouts. The authors conclude that without the United States to hide behind, facing domestic and international constraints, and lacking substantial strategic reasons to remain outside the treaty, most holdouts will move toward ratification. Nonetheless, the process is likely to be time consuming, and several of the key actors remain unpredictable.     

The Long-run Causal Relationship Between Military Expenditure and Economic Growth in China: Revisited

This paper re-examines the long-run causal relationship between military expenditure and economic growth in China over the period 1952–2010. An empirical econometric analysis based on a Barro-style growth model is conducted. By employing the Bartlett corrected trace test, which provides better approximations of the finite sample distribution to determine the rank of cointegration, the results support the existence of a single long-run equilibrium relationship between the variables. Furthermore, it is confirmed that the cumulated shocks of military expenditure primarily originate from different components of shocks that relate to economic development rather than the other way round.     

Defense Expenditure and Income Inequality: Evidence on Co-integration and Causality for China

There are conflicting views as to the relationship between a nation’s defense expenditure (DE) and its population’s income inequality (INEQ). DE, always an important part of government budget, can easily crowd out transfer payments, necessary to improve INEQ; however, these payments may also create a demand that may raise the income levels of the lower income earners. Consequently, the relationship between DE and INEQ is an important question. This paper examines the relationship between DE and INEQ in China for the period of 1989–2012. Utilizing basic cointegration and causality tests, our objective is to add to the literature by providing evidence that China’s DE, in fact, do have an impact on INEQ.     

西北农村地区幼儿教育存在的主要问题及对策

西北地区自然环境恶劣,经济发展落后,严重制约了学前教育的发展。中央和地方政府对农村学前教育不够重视,财政投入城乡差距大,同时,农村幼儿园管理者学历不高,专业教师所占比例过小,教师社会地位低且生存压力大,呈流动性大特征。加之,西北农村幼儿教育小学化严重,家长重视幼儿的教育,但没有掌握科学、正确的教育幼儿的方法。此外,西北农村幼儿园硬件设施较差,很少有符合办园条件,存在较大安全隐患。     

谈国人视野中的中国崛起

随着中国的快速发展,中国正在崛起已成为国内外有目共睹的事实。一些西方学者把中国崛起看成是对世界和平与发展的"威胁",中国人民则根据中国崛起所带来的巨大变化,把中国崛起看成是对人类文明的重大贡献。对中华民族而言,中国崛起造福13亿中国人,使中国人民基本过上了幸福的小康生活;对全人类来说,中国崛起惠及全世界,推动了世界经济的发展乃至人类文明的进步。     

不断探寻夺取新胜利的“法宝”

中国共产党在领导中国人民不断前行的进程中,善于总结,勇于创新,不断探寻出攻坚克难的“法宝”,夺取了一个又一个胜利。在新时期,党将继续保持这一优良传统,为实现中华民族伟大复兴的中国梦而奋勇前进。     

加拿大与中国双语教育评价比较研究

双语教育评价是双语教育过程中一个不可或缺的环节,关系到双语教育的成败。加拿大双语教育取得了举世瞩目的成就,全面研究加拿大双语教育评价对我国双语教育实践发展有一定的借鉴价值。研究首先系统梳理了加拿大与中国双语教育评价,在此基础上比较分析了两国双语教育评价的异同点及背后深层次的原因,最后针对我国双语教育评价中存在的问题提出了相应的建议。     

India's Evolving Nuclear Posture

This article analyzes India's nuclear doctrine, finding it to be critically flawed and inimical to strategic stability in South Asia. In pursuing an ambitious triad of nuclear forces, India is straying from the sensible course it charted after going overtly nuclear in 1998. In doing so, it is exacerbating the triangular nuclear dilemma stemming from India's simultaneous rivalries with China and Pakistan. Strategic instability is compounded by India's pursuit of conventional “proactive strategy options,” which have the potential to lead to uncontrollable nuclear escalation on the subcontinent. New Delhi should reaffirm and redefine its doctrine of minimum credible nuclear deterrence, based on small nuclear forces with sufficient redundancy and diversity to deter a first strike by either China or Pakistan. It should also reinvigorate its nuclear diplomacy and assume a leadership role in the evolving global nuclear weapon regime.     

The Requirements of Nuclear Stability in South Asia

While recent history arguably demonstrates a high level of nuclear stability in South Asia, this article argues that this stability has historically been a function of India's relative weakness. It argues that, as India becomes stronger, attention must be paid to the technical and political requirements of nuclear stability: the reliability of weapons and command and control and the political conditions that underpin stable relations between nuclear-armed states. It concludes by recommending the United States aim to modify the perceptions of regional elites about their various intentions and decision-making processes and the role of the United States as crisis manager.