Asia & the Pacific

The influential policy thinker who coined the term "soft power" examines the changing nature of power since the Cold War, the new ways in which it is exercised, and how those changes impact America's role in the world.

Over several years, some of the most distinguished Chinese and American scholars have engaged in a major research project, sponsored by the China- U.S. Exchange Foundation (USEF), to address the big bilateral and global issues the two countries face. Historically, the ascension of a great power has resulted in armed conflict. This group of scholars—experts in politics, economics, international security, and environmental studies—set out to establish consensus on potentially contentious issues and elaborate areas where the two nations can work together to achieve common goals. Featuring essays on global warming, trade relations, Taiwan, democratization, WMDs and bilateral humanitarian intervention, Power and Restraint finds that China and the United States can exist side by side and establish mutual understanding to better cope with the common challenges they face.

Developments in information and communication technology and networked computing over the past two decades have given rise to the notion of electronic government, most commonly used to refer to the delivery of public services over the Internet. This volume argues for a shift from the narrow focus of "electronic government" on technology and transactions to the broader perspective of information government—the information flows within the public sector, between the public sector and citizens, and among citizens....

Governance and Information Technology: From Electronic Government to Information Government is the result of a collaboration between the authors, the Dubai Initiative, and the Dubai School of Government (DSG). The original papers were presented at a DSG conference held in Dubai in May 2005.

"This chapter first lays out the current state of understanding of electronic government, because most of the attention to information and government in the last decade has come under this rubric. We then present our vision of an 'information government' paradigm, which focuses on the flow of information within, to, and from government. We conclude with an overview of the contributions to this edited volume."

"The greatest value of 'Taming American Power,' ... is that it places its readers in the minds of the leaders and citizens of other states, including the country's rivals...."

—ANATOL LIEVEN,  New York Times Sunday Book Review

"...the United States still has an interest in retaining the good wishes of most other countries, if only because its ability to accomplish positive ends will decline if other states are resentful or fearful...."