--- description: Why the White House pivot to Asia is actually working, how a train can store energy, and more. title: How Obama's Foreign Policy Plan Is Working image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Innovation](/tag/innovation/) ## Innovation Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How Obama's Foreign Policy Plan Is Working by [The Aspen Institute](/author/the-aspen-institute/) ## The Aspen Institute Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 23, 2016 4:01 PM CUT by [The Aspen Institute](/author/the-aspen-institute/) ## The Aspen Institute Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 23, 2016 4:01 PM CUT **1\.** [**Actually, the White House ‘pivot to Asia’ is working.**](http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-mcmanus-pivot-asia-china-aggression-20160522-snap-story.html "undefined") By Doyle McManus in the Los Angeles Times **2\.** [**Here’s how a train can store energy — and help improve the power grid.**](http://motherboard.vice.com/read/this-grid-scale-battery-is-based-on-train-cars-and-good-old-gravity "undefined") By Michael Byrne in Motherboard **3\.** [**Driverless cars will revolutionize America’s infrastructure. We should get ready.**](https://www.wired.com/2016/05/lets-use-self-driving-cars-fix-americas-busted-infrastructure/ "undefined") By Rep. Earl Blumenauer in Wired **4\.** [**Could Pope Francis end the Catholic Church’s doctrine of so-called ‘just war?’**](http://www.usip.org/publications/2016/05/18/what-happens-when-you-replace-just-war-just-peace "undefined") By Maria J. Stephan at the U.S. Institute of Peace **5\.** [**Humanitarian crises are moving to the world’s cities. Are aid agencies ready?**](http://news.trust.org/item/20160523050942-7f0xo/ "undefined") By John de Boer and Robert Muggah at the Thomson Reuters Foundation  [_The Aspen Institute_](http://www.aspeninstitute.org/ "undefined") _is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C._ Here's How Obama's Foreign Policy Plan Is Working ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4344616/obama-pivot-asia-working/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4344616/obama-pivot-asia-working/"},"headline":"How Obama's Foreign Policy Plan Is Working","datePublished":"2016-05-23T16:01:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:59:58.480Z","description":"These are today's best ideas","url":"https://time.com/4344616/obama-pivot-asia-working/","keywords":["Innovation","Obama","Pope Francis topic","energy","Asia","Aid","driverless cars"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Aspen Institute","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/the-aspen-institute/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/innovation/","name":"Innovation"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4344616/obama-pivot-asia-working/","name":"How Obama's Foreign Policy Plan Is Working"}}]}] ```