America's 'Pivot' to Asia: Substance and Sustainability
VIEW EVENT DETAILSLuncheon Presentation by Dr. Kenneth Lieberthal, Director, John L. Thornton China Center & Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy and Global Economy, Brookings Institution
In late 2011, President Obama laid out a relatively integrated American strategy for all of Asia from the Indian Ocean to Japan, including Oceana. This strategy included significant initiatives in the diplomatic, economic and trade, military, and human rights realms. What is in fact new and what amounts to little more than repackaging? What are the strategy’s positive contributions and what should be the concerns? On balance, what does the credibility of this “pivot to Asia” strategy depend on?
Kenneth Lieberthal is Director of the John L. Thornton China Center and Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy and Global Economy and Development at the Brookings Institution. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan, where he was Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Political Science and William Davidson Professor of Business Administration until 2009. Dr. Lieberthal served as special assistant to the President for national security affairs and senior director for Asia on the National Security Council from 1998 to 2000. Dr. Lieberthal has written and edited 19 books, including Bending History: Barack Obama’s Foreign Policy and Managing the China Challenge. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, he has consulted widely on Chinese and Asian affairs and has been a consultant for the US Departments of State, Defense and Commerce and the World Bank, as well as the private sector. Dr. Lieberthal has a BA from Dartmouth College, and two MAs and a PhD in political science from Columbia University.