Introducing My New Blog, "Dancing with Bears"

I am one of those political writers you know who have to remind themselves that it is all right for the president to deal with smaller issues than national security and foreign policy.  That is not only because foreign affairs have such a profound impact on domestic affairs - which they do - but this area of the president's responsibilities is the only one in which their performance can be measured along a continuum that has peace at one end and war at another.  That is why I am starting a new blog at http://dancing-with-bears.blogspot.com/ called "Dancing with Bears", a reference to the bears used to represent the two nations pursuing notions of achieving superpower status - China and Russia - and our relations with those countries.

Over the past two decades, the world has been transformed by a retreat of global communism and an ascent of global capitalism.  Bipolar theory was tossed out (not that it ever truly applied with the fundamental difference that always existed between Communist China and the former Soviet Union) and replaced with a very messy world.  On a macroscopic level, each nation existed in a state of nature where raw power - economic or military - largely determined behavior and outcomes.

In recent years, with China's economic rise and Russia's apparent embracing of expansionist policies, the rules have begun to shift once more.

This new blog is written for the purpose of discussing events that are shaping international relations, specifically in terms of regional and global power blocs.  Although it will contain a great deal of opinion and analysis, I will keep it readable for the non-wonks out there.  These issues are important to everyone, because what is happening out there has a very real effect on all of our lives, even when war isn't breaking out.  Therefore, I want the postings to be able

Go the blog over the next few weeks and read the material.  I will be cross-posting here occasionally, but only when I think the material will be of interest to readers of this blog.

Thanks for reading!  Keep coming back!