I agree that debt accumulation is an intriguing element to consider seeing as wages have shifted and the average debt is currently $78,396 for 24-39-year-olds while the average family in 1989 had a credit card debt of $2,697 (I know these are not directly comparable, but it was the only data I could find). Despite the slightly different contexts, I believe that it gets the point across. Debt accumulation is also interesting in the midst of this election because an important policy that has been proposed, although unsuccessfully, is student debt forgiveness. It would be intriguing to see how this analysis changed if a policy like this was enacted.

The GINI coefficient for Burkina Faso was 35.3 in 2015, which is down from 50 in 2000. In the last five years, this is going in the opposite direction from China who from 2015- 2019 grew to 46.8, although this is down from 49 in 2009. For obvious reasons, the context behind these are very different but given China's involvement and ongoing interest in Africa, I think it is interesting to compare.

@Jay Rosato Another interesting metric to compare is the expense of living in the US compared to China and how capable citizens are of meeting it. In the United States, 10.5% of people live below the poverty line while in China 0.6% do. This sounds dramatic, but their poverty line is much lower than ours, at 2,300 yuan per year ($348.91). This is obviously nowhere near attainable to support even one person, which proves a division in the states' concern for economic stability in the household. I hope to see the "dual circulation" concept inspire a wave of more comprehensive plans for domestic stability to decrease this gap in equity.

Internal economic stability is an interesting metric to measure. I am curious how these charts would have looked if they compared more than just the male experience in the workforce. Economic stability is split by gender, but even more so by the race which has been especially exposed this year due to the increase in racial awareness in America. At the beginning of this document the question "what factors contribute to household-level economic insecurity" is asked which reminded me of a paper I read in an environmental injustice course last year that clearly finds that age, gender, education, remittances, unemployment, inflation, assets, and disease are the most important factors for dictating a household's economic security. All of these other than age and gender are directly impacted by a person's race. Policies that will promote racial equality in all aspects of the human experience (employment, housing, healthcare, etc) will improve the economic security of the country as a whole. I have high hopes for the incoming administration when it comes to their dedication to improving the household economic stability from a holistic perspective. The appointments that Biden has made thus far are already leaps and bound more inclusive and diverse. This, as I said yesterday, will improve the inclusivity of decisionmaking especially after a summer of racial tensions, bringing these issues to the forefront of policy formulation. Proven by voter turnout alone, a higher rate of citizens are engaging in politics due to the tumultuous year and divisive administration, which will hopefully spill over into the next administration as well. As far as this topic relates to China, economic security by household is laughable. This paper discusses how China is moving from traditional economic and social structures and how during this shift "welfare provision by the state has been dramatically reduced". An important aspect of Xi Jinping's upcoming14th Five-Year Plan is likely going to be the idea of "dual circulation". This is the concept that the domestic economy, or "internal circulation", will be "supplemented and reinforced" by the international economy, the "external circulation". This concept would likely focus on job opportunities, wealth redistribution, along with an ongoing push for innovation.

I was curious to hear your thoughts on this document given that it is two years old. The section is brief, although emphasis is given to cyberspace's importance in the coming years. Do you think this policy will change in the next administration?

It is interesting to compare all of the aspects that administrations outline for their "national security". This document is one that I found very interesting, given my region of study. I think it will be interesting to see how the next administration impacts this relationship, specifically in reference to the South China Sea. This issue is one that Michele Flournoy has spoken on in the US-China Economic Security Review Committee and her statements reflect the same idea, that the United States' policy on China will remain tight.

The goal of "defending the homeland and projecting power globally, now and in the future" has been represented fairly consistently throughout the last two years. Donald Trump ran in the 2016 election with an aggressive "America First" platform that was initially thought to play out in an isolationist sense, although in practice it showed up as seemingly abrupt and unhinged decisionmaking in the name of American security. China and Russia have both been defining aspects of Trump's administration due to their centrality to this goal. 2018 began with Mueller indicting several Russian nationals, carrying on through mid-2019 when the investigation was closed. 2018 was also when Trump began targeting China with heavier tariffs and escalating the trade-war that we have seen play put for the last few years. Vice President Pence also gave a speech in October of 2018 dictating a rare clear articulation of policy from the administration stating that they planned to raise tariffs to combat economic aggression as well as condemn their actions in the South China Sea and increased censorship and persecution. It is very important to note that it is unlikely that the next administration will "go soft" on China, but I suspect that their actions will be made more analytically. The next National Military Strategy will be interesting to read in comparison to this one seeing as the current and incoming presidents have opposing views when it comes to defense. Even today, as more of Biden's picks for cabinet positions come to light, it seems at the very least we will have a much more well-rounded and diverse group of decision-makers, compared to the previous administration, which has statistically lead to a higher margin of actions that protect the widest scope of the American population.

I was also surprised to learn where they are operational, as Jay said, I was not expecting there to be programs in China, especially surrounding the protection of Tibetan culture. Their goal to promote inclusivity within a democracy is also very important work. This comes in many forms in including job and entrepreneurship opportunities, promotion in political participation, increased education opportunities, decreasing gender-based violence, an increase in legal rights, awareness around human trafficking, and minimizing the spread of HIV and AIDS.

Researching Africa it makes sense that you come across them so often. Their work lines up very well with needs in that region. The article about Burkina Faso is fascinating, as they are a stable nation as far as African regions go, yet they still have a large issue with voter visibility. Do you think this is a problem that is solvable by USAID work, or will this change have to come from the regime and political change?

@Jay Rosato I believe that this is why their third action is to assist the Chinese law enforcement. I think that to allow their presence, USAID had to agree to these provisions.

USAID has three missions related to China. These include aiding Tibetan societies in China, assisting regional programs, and assisting in law enforcement, and decreasing emissions. The Tibetan program promotes employment opportunities, helps them manage natural resources important to community livelihoods, and preserving their culture. Regional programs aid in cross-border challenges specifically preventing disease spread, fighting wildlife trafficking, collaborate with the Asian Development Bank, and encourages infrastructure investment minimizing negative impacts in Lower Mekong. The third initiative is at the direction of China's Congress and has less priority placed on it than the other two.

@Jay Rosato One very interesting example of a cultural failure that serves as a warning as far as the grand impact that failures like this can produce is the Ebola outbreak. When assistance arrived in many parts of Africa operations began taking place without a broad explanation to those in effected villages about a plan. As you probably know, for many of the groups in Africa there are very specific and heavily spiritually significant burial rituals for deceased members of the community. When personnel came to Africa and began removing the bodies many villagers did not understand the significance of this precaution and would, without the knowledge of the aid workers, steal back the bodies during the night to perform said rituals. This obviously leads to a much higher spread of the virus that was vastly harder to contain, solely due to the United State's negligence in cultural competence.

The Department of Defense has been criticized widely over the past decade and I believe that one of the most prevalent complaints is budget and spending decisions. I fully agree with the analysis of Miller that focusing on a more multifaceted approach to war is the way that we will both be more successful and use money more wisely. Cyberwarfare is often much cheaper and more accessible for countries like the United States, lending itself to a perfect alternative to the idee fixe in the modern era.

The Department of Defense's specific and detailed operations are not something I know much about. This document was dense and took me longer to read as to fully absorb the intent, but seeing a shift in DoD procedures is very interesting. As we discussed yesterday in our meeting intercultural awareness is something that the DoD is trying to implement at a more fundamental level in many of their current campaigns to assure the highest and most long-lasting successful outcome. The Center for Operational Culture Learning, a sector under the United States Marine Corp, published the 2018 Military Cross-Cultural Competence Annotated Bibliography addressing the ways in which cross-cultural competence (compliance, communication, and coordination are discussed heavily and referred to as the 3c's throughout the document) is implemented. This gives contextual evidence about the regard for cross-cultural competency that was being practiced in 2018 and the resources they are banking their strategies off of. In 2017 a paper was released by Marines detailing "Intercultural Training in the United States Military" which details how troops are taught to conduct interactions and historical factors that have lead to these actions. However, there are still a number of reviews that depict quite a bit of work that still needs to be done in intelligence and defense departments to sustain successful communication across conflict lines. An article on War Room from the United States Army College declared a prolonged failure in cross-cultural communication being a strong capability of leading officers in the military, leading to less successful cooperation than otherwise possible. Watching this development will be important over the coming years as the United States and China get closer to military power and the United States slowly reduces in total influence.

It is interesting to analyze the contexts in which the United Nations comes to aid an election. Most often it is at the request of a Member State, the guidelines for which I have linked here, but there are other venues for requests. Requests can come from the head of government of a nation or the minister of foreign affairs of the UN and sometimes from a minister that is in charge of the election itself. About halfway down this link, there is a more in-depth description of the process, but it is fascinating.

@Jay Rosato I agree 100%. One aspect that I respect very highly in the United Nations' plans when they intervene in elections is that they do their best to set the states up for future individual success. This is some thing that the United States has fallen short in accomplishing, often setting up a democratized state that ultimately fails when our forces are removed. By involving local and minority voices I believe that the nations become much more capable and adept for their elections to come.

It is interesting to hear that the Côte d’Ivoire's current election is as contention as it is, I was expecting after the UN's prior intervention that this round would be slightly more orderly. The UN mission in the Côte d’Ivoire has made it clear that the elections are the top priority in stabilizing the region and begin pulling them out of their humanitarian crisis. The UN has several times recommended that citizens remain civil in their reactions and that politicians discuss democratically the situation at hand. Obviously, that is easier said than done when an incumbent President is attempting to break the law to remain in office, but not much progress has been made. The African Development Bank is also located in the Côte d’Ivoire, making it even more important that the region remains as stable as possible.

The United Nations is an entity that I have studied in many different capacities and find fascinating. When the UN was created it developed for main purposes including "maintaining worldwide peace and security, developing relations among nations, fostering cooperation between nations in order to solve economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian international problems, and providing a forum for bringing countries together to meet the UN's purposes and goals". Promoting democracy bolsters every single one of these, creating severe exigence to proliferate democratic elections around the globe. The vast number of purposes that the UN serves elevates almost every aspect of the human experience, yet one of the most important and unique privileges is their aid to democratic elections around the world. Historically, the United Nations have facilitated elections in contentious states such as Timor-Leste, El Salvador, Afghanistan, CAR, DRC, Iraq, and Sudan, along with several others. They provide several different types of assistance as well, assuring the most productive use of resources that will bode the most ethical and representative election possible for the region. These types of assistance include technical, creating an environment that is more accepting of a democratic election, organizing and actually conducting the process, verifying results, observing election procedures, and providing groups of political and electoral experts for the region. The classification of the needs of a region provides the United Nations with more specific information allowing it to individualize its assistance for the greatest success. At the 2005 World Summit, the Secretary-General Kofi A. Annan from Ghana released a Guidance Note that detailed even more specific "principles for effective assistance" including initiatives to "adopt proactive approaches to threats to democracy, do no harm, uphold local ownership, broaden domestic engagement and participation in democracy building, explicitly address the effects of discrimination against women, develop democracy support strategies with a long-term horizon, and invest in a comprehensive approach to democratization". These actions prove sustainability as one of the most important parts of implementation in the democratic election process. Some of these that stand out the most to me and are apparent in success stories of UN aided elections are upholding local ownership, addressing the effects of discrimination against women, and developing democracy support strategies that will persist long-term. This paper displays very clearly that the work that is done by United Nations Peace Keeping Operations (UN PKOs) is vastly more successful in a shorter time frame and is sustained much longer when the decision making involves local members and diminishes future conflict, they use the example of the Côte d’Ivoire in 2011-2016. Similarly, this paper shows the clear benefits of women being included in the democratic process and the lasting efforts of equality that stem from their inclusion.

I was also very interested in how this document addressed threats to the United States. In other documents I have been skeptical of the analysis of the threat China and Russia pose to the US. From my research, China poses a very immediate threat to the United States economically, politically, and militarily and this seems to be downplayed in other documents. The US Presidential election tomorrow will be another way to dictate how soon China will overcome the US, based on the length of destabilization that follows.

Quantum computing has been in development for several decades and will continue to be one of the most important pieces of technology to develop seeing as it will change national security, among almost everything else, for better or worse. This will impact national and personal security in a very severe way, making most systems of protection obsolete. As you said, the implication of the United States being the first ones to attain this technology will likely create a domino effect pushing other states to work harder to access it, and therefore becoming a serious global threat.