Contenu du sommaire : Varia

Measuring Social Security's outlook within an aging society. The U.
S. Social Security program provides an important first pillar of retirement income for most Americans and is currently the largest single outlay in the U.S. federal budget. Considerable attention is paid to the financial viability of the program, therefore. However the measures used are not revealing of the program's true long-term financial status. Although they are given scant attention, the new measures recently introduced more fully convey the dimensions of Social Security's financial hole, as they adopt intergenerational accounting measures.

The American model and Asia's economic rise
The scale of the imbalances of the global economy threaten to undermine the entire arrangement and upset global growth and stability. The rise of China and India could overwhelm the capacity of the international system to sustain itself. While America is virtually the only net consuming country in the world, the Asian export-led-growth approach has long tended to shrink U.S. productive capacity, and the phenomenon now goes beyond commodity manufacturing to include high-tech and sophisticated services. A rebalancing act of savings and consumption on a global scale is necessary to make globalisation sustainable.

Transatlantic Approaches to International Law
Hearing the many European critics about the US acting “lawlessly”, America and Europe would be increasingly at odds in their approaches to international law. From Kyoto to the ICC and from Guantánamo to the ABM Treaty, the rule of law governing international politics would provide yet another cause of disrepute for U.S. actions. However a closer look at the criticisms of U.S. policy shows that transatlantic policy differences are essentially recast as disputes about international law, and that those accusing United States of disregard for international norms do often ignore the law itself. An essential element of both U.S. and European democracies, commitment to law and legal institutions remains a shared value across the Atlantic.

Roberts, Alito, and the U.
S. Supreme Court in 2020The designation of John Roberts and Samuel Alito at the Supreme Court were exceptional for three reasons at least: the absence of a nomination during 11 long years and the changes in the timing of these nominations; the personality and role of the departing Justices, and the highly tensed political context due to the war in Iraq and the declining popularity of the President, that all form the context in which these designations were made.

Neoconservatism, the GOP and America: l'Esprit du Temps. Born in Europe but fully grown up in the U.
S., neoconservatism revives America's « manifest destiny » and exceptionalism. As a philosophy or current of thought it celebrates the humanity of mankind, accusing the Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) strategy abroad to be immoral and promoting economic well-being and compassion at home. The successful encounter of neoconservatism and the Republican Party is meant to revive America's virtue and prosperity.

German-U.S. relationships after Merkel's election
Itself in search of a new identity and greater independence, Germany is no longer the priority it once was in U.S. foreign policy. The result of these reassessments is a widening gap between the two countries' approach to foreign affairs, particularly with respect to the role of international institutions and the use of military force. While the recent change of government in Germany should serve in part to reinvigorate a historically close relationship, the growing divergence between Germany and the United States experienced during the Schroder years is likely to be a longstanding phenomenon.

U.S.-NATO-EU: toward a virtuous “ménage à trois”Time and experience has improved American and European understanding of the strengths and limitations of NATO, the EU's European Security and Defense Policy, and bilateral or “coalition of the willing” arrangements. Given the complex and demanding global security environment in the post-9/11 world, it is time to think more grandly--but also more pragmatically--of a virtuous “ménage à trois” among the Union, the Alliance, and the United States. Will France help or hinder this effort?