Pardon me while I think out loud

This morning I started doing research for a paper on international law. We have pretty broad discretion in topic choices, so I am thinking about writing a paper that shows how the United States has failed to adapt to China's use of soft power, sovereign wealth, and competition policy to safeguard and promote China's interests abroad.

Basically I want to talk about how China uses economic policy to supplement international law. So I am thinking that I will argue that, despite corruption and the danger of political upheaval, the unitary nature of the Chinese government allows for more efficient promotion of national interests than diffuse systems of government like that of the United States and the European Union. (Particularly when Madame Wu is involved in the negotiations) And if we use growth in GDP as an indicator of national power and health, I think the evidence is pretty clear that China's system is winning, despite recent bumps in the road.

What worries me about this argument, however, is a logical corollary. My father and my mother will tar and feather me for even thinking this, but I wonder if the Bush Doctrine might be the answer to China's rise, albeit in a highly modified form, Ed Koch's assertions notwithstanding.



On its face, it seems the Bush Doctrine died because it relied too heavily upon military force and absolute rhetoric to pursue national interests. The Bush Doctrine might ultimately succeed, however, in that W and his cronies concentrated so much power in the executive branch to effectuate bad policies that a subsequent Democratic president will be better able to coordinate foreign, economic, and defense policy to meet the competitive pressures posed by China and the EU. In other words, Bush laid the right groundwork for the wrong ideas; faced with an emerging international triumvirate, Bush should have consolidated executive authority to project soft power instead of military force. (Cough.)

Maybe if he had China's think tank, Bush might have arrived at the right conclusion.