In The News

Protesters Across the Nation Try to “Stop Business as Usual”

Kate Zernike March 21, 2003
The day after bombing began in Iraq, thousands of American anti-war protesters took to the streets, walking out of classes and work, shutting down roads, and congregating on open spaces to proclaim their opposition to the US-led war in Iraq. Honoring the promise to “stop business as usual,” protesters confronted pro-war rallies and police in cities across the US. Even as arrests were made all...

Excluding Taiwan from the World’s View

Daniel Lynch March 3, 2003
Taiwan, though still unrecognized as a state internationally, has achieved economic success and democracy as other Asian countries have floundered. Yet China continues to talk of recovering Taiwan, and the UN will not use the country’s name. Daniel Lynch attributes this to China’s international wealth and power and the world’s acquiescence to the Chinese government’s bullying. He calls on the...

President Bush’s Nation-Building

February 27, 2003
In a speech to the American Enterprise Institute, President Bush announced plans for rebuilding Iraq in the wake of a war against Saddam Hussein. The plan would likely require hundreds of thousands of troops and years of occupation, not unlike the occupation of Japan and Germany after the Second World War. Turning Iraq into a democratic and peaceful nation would serve as a model for other...

War for Peace? It Worked in My Country

José Ramos-Horta February 25, 2003
In this opinion article in The New York Times, José Ramos-Horta, East Timor's minister of foreign affairs and cooperation – and a man who shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 – supports the possible use of force in removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq. East Timor was only liberated from Indonesia, he writes, thanks to an international peacekeeping force. Although he urges the Bush...

Lessons from History: Globalization Then and Now

Harold James February 5, 2003
The debate about globalization has changed since September 11th. Princeton University history professor Harold James points out that the terrorist attacks have led to calls for more controls on the free flow of capital, goods, and people, while the Enron scandal has sparked debates about regulation of business practices. Citing numerous historical parallels, James shows how such responses to the...

Election for Criminal Court Judges Starts

Mark Turner February 4, 2003
The upcoming election of the first bench of judges for the International Criminal Court has raised interesting debates among the 88 member states on issues of sovereignty and citizenship; especially between some European countries and the United States, which differ greatly on these issues. The Court will handle trials of crimes against humanity, and while diplomats have expressed satisfaction at...

Political Will Needed to Eliminate Racial Discrimination

Zakki Hakim February 4, 2003
For those who take a long-term view of globalization, the phenomenon is in many ways a story of the movement of people. In some countries of Southeast Asia, Chinese descendants of early sojourners often hold positions of great economic strength but little political power. In Indonesia, people of Chinese descent are a tiny but wealthy minority of the population. Despite criticisms from observers...