Julia F Lowell

China's importance in the Asia-Pacific has been on the rise, raising concerns about competition the United States. The authors examined the reactions of six U.S. allies and partners to China's rise. All six see China as an economic opportunity. They want it to be engaged productively in regional affairs, but without becoming dominant. They want the United States to remain deeply engaged in the region.

This report, the final in a series of four on state arts agencies, looks at these agencies' efforts to rethink their roles and missions, reflecting on what the changes may mean for state arts policy and the structure of state arts funding. The author offers a view of what the future may hold for state arts agencies and for state arts policy if current trends and strategies continue.

What does it means to cultivate demand for the arts? Why is it important and necessary to do so? What can state arts agencies and other arts and education policymakers do to make it happen? The authors set out a framework for thinking about supply and demand in the arts and identify the roles that different factors, particularly arts learning, play in increasing demand for the arts.

State government spending on the arts is minimal-and may be losing ground relative to other state expenditures. The authors examine efforts made by state arts agencies, or SAAs, to address a changing political and fiscal environment and present their findings on the risks and rewards of bringing the arts and political worlds closer together.