In The News

Powers Seek Influence in Burma’s Conflict

Bertil Lintner March 18, 2013
Burma’s President Thein Sein, while visiting Europe, announced that the government’s fighting against ethnic resistance forces has ended – even as the government moves more troops into the troubled areas. Meanwhile, the United States and China are scrambling for influence by brokering peace to end the ethnic conflicts. Dozens of think tanks and NGOs from the West are attracting donor funds and...

Kerry Makes Case for Robust Foreign Aid

Anne Gearan February 21, 2013
Foreign policy affects everyday lives, maintained John Kerry in his first address as US secretary of state. Kerry spoke at the University of Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson, and praised the third US president's global curiosity, an insistence on open minds and a campus open to all. Globalization won’t just go away, Kerry warned, adding the challenge is to tame its “worst impulses.” He...

A Forgotten War in the Himalayas

Jeff M. Smith September 14, 2012
Leaders around the world and Americans, too, fret about whether the United States is a reliable or fickle ally. As the US pivots toward Asia and Indian leaders toy with a return to a policy of nonalignment, people of both nations should recall the 1962 Sino-Indian War, suggests Jeff M. Smith, Kraemer Strategy Fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council. India and China had good “brotherly”...

Designing Fair Shares Prosperity in Asia

Chandran Nair May 31, 2012
Societies aiming for social progress have a few mechanisms: Governments can tax wealth and fund programs or NGOs; mandate a level of investment in beneficial programs, while giving companies and investors the benefit of choice; or impose few restrictions, hoping that companies and investors choose to strengthen communities on their own. Social investments can be piecemeal or far-reaching. With...

Afghanistan's Post-NATO Future

Harsh V. Pant May 18, 2012
A newly signed strategic partnership agreement between Afghanistan and the United States stipulates that NATO troops will largely withdraw by the end of 2014 with Afghan security forces taking the lead in securing the nation. The US will provide limited training and counterterrorism support for the next decade, but will be leaving a to-do list for major powers in the region, especially rivals...

China’s Aid Emboldens Cambodia

Sebastian Strangio May 16, 2012
Attendees to the 20th Summit of Association of Southeast Asian Nations, held in Phnom Penh, could not miss the warm welcome for another visitor – billboards and flags honoring Chinese President Hu Jintao. The visit was no coincidence, argues journalist Sebastian Strangio, based in Phnom Penh. A steady flow of loans and investment in Cambodian projects signals rising Chinese influence and possible...

With Hunger Growing, North Korea Returns to Nuclear Talks

Shim Jae Hoon March 7, 2012
China’s policy toward North Korea is increasingly viewed as self-serving, cynical and awkward. On one hand, China sides with the international community, echoing demands for a nuclear-free peninsula and, on the other, props up the Kim regime with food and military aid. At first glance, North Korea’s new leader, Kim Jong Un, has let China off the hook by offering to restart talks on...