Context Of National Goals Research Articles

The Great Wall at Sea: China's Navy Enters the Twenty-First Century

With the world's largest population, largest army, and fastest growing economy, China is now building a large modern navy to assure its status as Asia's predominant power. Yet the West is sorely limited in its knowledge of what could become its greatest naval opponent. This major new study -- the first in more than fifteen years -- provides the specialist and general reader alike with timely, authoritative information about China's developing navy and its quest for power. The author, a professor at the National War College, first looks at China's two-thousand-year-old maritime tradition and then examines China's extensive territorial claims at sea, following up with a path-blazing description of the nation's increasing dependence on energy sources mined from the ocean floor.The main focus of the book is a detailed examination of China's navy, its organization and its submarines, ships, and airplanes that form the heart of the sea-going force. The book also takes into account the officers and sailors who man the growing fleet and Beijing's efforts to train and educate them to be both professionally capable and politically reliable. China's future plans for its navy, including doctrine and operations, are fully discussed. In his conclusion, the author places China's naval developments within the context of national goals and plans as well as in the international arena. He asserts that Beijing will continue as a continental power with a maritime strategy and a navy focused on specific, limited goals, while reminding readers that the reunification of Taiwan is an objective that may well involve the United States.

Immigration and environment: A framework for establishing a possible relationship

This paper considers conceptual, analytic and policy issues concerning US population, immigration and environment. The policy question guiding the analysis is whether the environmental impact of immigration is proportional to its numbers, i.e., additions to the population, or does immigration have a disproportionate effect on the environment, i.e., above or below what would be expected on additional numbers alone? If the effect is proportional, then policy issues concerning the environmental impact of immigration become centered on population policy and programs, and the relative benefit of manipulating immigration as a component of population growth to achieve national environmental (or other) goals. If, however, immigration has a disproportionate effect, thus an effect on the environment beyond the contribution to population growth, then US immigration policy and its administration have unique environmental implications which may be appropriately addressed through immigration policy reform. The IPAT model is presented as a general framework for establishing the proportionality of the environmental effects of US immigration. Given the demands of theory and limitations of data, the framework is decidedly ‘ideal’ and is offered as a long range proposal for policy relevant research on US population, immigration and environment. In order to move to act on the proposed research agenda, however, several important analytic components of national population and environmental research must be strengthened. First, more accurate and comprehensive measurement of the components of US population growth is critical. Second, analysis of population, immigration and environmental processes must occur over time and across regions and local communities in the US. Third, a process of interpreting research results which is both inter- and multi-disciplinary, and is inclusive of national, regional and local concerns must be organized to wisely interpret findings within the context of national goals and traditions.