In The News

Will China Delay Reform – Again?

Mary Kay Magistad October 29, 2012
Every decade, China’s Communist Party undergoes a leadership transition. The Brookings Institution estimates that about 70 percent of the members of three leading institutions - the Politburo Standing Committee, the State Council and the Central Military Commission – will be replaced, marking the largest shift in power in three decades. Party power in recent years is increasingly linked with...

Assange Asylum Raises South America’s Ire

Alistair Burnett October 12, 2012
By fleeing to the Ecuadoran embassy in London, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, an Australian, escaped extradition to Sweden for charges of sexual assault and potentially being deported to the United States for spying. Intentionally or not, he also unleashed South American resentment over two centuries of domination, first by Europe and more recently by the US. Ecuador’s embassy in London, which...

One Country, Many Voices

Jeffrey Wasserstrom September 24, 2012
China under one-party rule fosters an image of harmony, with unified goals and opinion on any cultural event or political issue. Discussions of the same topics are more lively in online commentary and on China’s streets, argues Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Chinese specialist and author. He compares the sensational, perfectly choreographed opening ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, with recent angry...

Is Islam to Blame for Freedom Deficit in Middle East?

Riaz Hassan July 5, 2012
The fury of the Arab Spring, with widespread demands for freedom quickly followed by a re-emergence of authoritarian ways, has renewed debate about Islam and democracy in the Middle East, notes sociologist Riaz Hassan. Circa 1000 AD, the Middle East represented 10 percent of global GDP, as compared to Europe’s 9 percent – religious powers in both regions protected elites and the status quo. Seven...

The Court Rules in Pakistan

Paula Newberg June 21, 2012
Pakistan has a history of its civilian government being removed from power by the military, and last week the country’s Supreme Court mounted what could be the first judicial coup. As Pakistan faces terrorist challenges, political turmoil and economic crises, the activist Supreme Court has compounded the challenges – ruling that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani’s contempt-of-court conviction...

Asia as Global Leader – Not So Fast

Ho Kwon Ping May 14, 2012
Some Asians boast that their continent has found the formula for success and will inevitably provide leadership to the world. But a Singapore business leader and thinker cautions about the hubris. A study of the history of Western civilization offers insights on a formula for such global dominance. The rise of Europe and the United States as influential cultures was not simply due to economic...

A Plague on All Houses

Pranab Bardhan May 2, 2012
In China, India and the United States – political leadership is trapped in systems of governance that reinforce power, encouraging short-term gain with grave long-term costs. Complex policies mask dysfunction, curtail innovation that threatens the status quo, and ease corruption for those in the know. Dysfunctional government is unleashing inequality and dangerous populism in all three nations,...