In The News

A European Generation Takes to the Streets

Mathieu von Rohr, Helene Zuber June 13, 2011
Europe’s youth are showing new awareness of the implications of deficit spending, a lack of jobs, widening gaps in income and social protections, and other systemic problems. Governments in Europe, like those in Arab states, must contend with discontent as increasing numbers of educated, yet unemployed youth analyze their plight, organize protests and develop policy proposals via social media....

Can Turkey’s Rise Lift Arab Neighbors?

Katinka Barysch June 9, 2011
Turks head to the polls on June 12th, and are expected to approve a third consecutive single-party government led by popular Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. But consolidation of power and his party’s overconfidence could hamper democratization and reforms. The government has failed to display regional leadership by steadfastly ignoring the pressures at its borders and this affects...

The Battle for Pakistan

Bruce Riedel June 2, 2011
Pakistan's conflicting policy of fighting Al Qaeda while supporting Islamist militants against India has boomeranged spectacularly. Former intelligence official Bruce Riedel, now senior fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy in the Brookings Institution, discounts the notion that Pakistan is a failed state. It is a state under siege by the very radicals nurtured by elements of...

Obama Europe Trip

May 23, 2011
The US and partners in Europe face many challenges – growing unrest in North Africa, winding down war in Afghanistan as well as leadership of the International Monetary Fund – all to be discussed during the G8 meeting and Barack Obama’s weeklong visit to the continent. Elections are scheduled in Tunisia and Egypt later this year, but for the West to exercise influence requires funds, and debt...

Young Adults Don’t Follow News, It Follows Them

Susan Moeller May 19, 2011
A few decades ago, the well-informed relied on doorstep delivery of a newspaper or two. As the computer age dawned, the young roamed the internet, often searching for news sites reinforcing their view of the world. Newsgathering is undergoing another phase of evolution with the advent of social media. Journalism professor Susan Moeller describes youths “sitting like spiders in the middle of a...

Not a Laughing Matter

Peter Hartcher May 12, 2011
Australia, member of the Commonwealth of Nations, has gradually shed symbolic homage and perfunctory reports to the British crown, notes Peter Hartcher of the Sydney Morning Herald. Likewise, the percentage of Australians yearning for a break from the monarchy has declined. Hartcher quotes an observation from Wayne Hudson of the University of Tasmania: “tension doesn't erupt much because the...

The Threat to Africa's Fledgling Democracy

Kofi Annan April 26, 2011
The yearning for democracy is not enough. Citizens must set high standards for elections – ensuring secret ballots, secure polling places and fair rules – Kofi Annan argues in an opinion essay for the Financial Times. Candidates, too, must accept voters’ decisions. That didn’t happen in Côte d'Ivoire, where Alassane Ouattara was declared winner but President Laurent Gbagbo refused to...