In The News

Obama and the Illusion of Leadership

Jeremy Seabrook July 28, 2008
Europe is enthralled by Barack Obama, the Democratic presumptive nominee for US president. But columnist Jeremy Seabrook offers the reminder that real leadership requires more than charisma, humbleness or intelligence – and entails delivery of services and policy that improve communities and the world. A crowd of more than 200,000 turning out for Obama’s speech in Berlin demonstrates how global...

Beijing and Taiwan Try Their Hand at Détente

Sandra Schulz July 28, 2008
After the Communist Party took control of China in 1949, opponents fled to the island of Taiwan, dreamed of someday resuming control of China, set up a government that transformed from dictatorship to democracy, and established a solid and wealthy economy. Years of strict separation, suspicion and military tension followed, and the Communist government in China has since maintained that that...

Radicalization of a National Dialogue

Steven A. Cook July 25, 2008
The new millennium ushered in a period of stability for Turkey, and many observers expected the naton to join the European Union. But now the country is in political turmoil, as the Turkish Constitutional Court considers a ban of the ruling party, the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, to which the president and prime minister both belong. “The old establishment is seeking to regain its...

Angry Youth

Evan Osnos July 24, 2008
Chinese youth study global news reports about emerging problems in the US and Europe, along with growing concerns in the West about China’s growing clout. Demonstrating nationalism and extreme patriotism, the youth lash out at any who dare to criticize China or suggest that the country needs to be “contained, explains Evan Osnos for the New Yorker. Polls suggest that nine out of ten Chinese...

Time for a Global Town-Hall Meeting?

Jeffrey Garten June 19, 2008
People all over the world don’t have a right to vote in the US, but remain keenly interested in the country’s elections – because what the new president might do or not do often affects their countries and even their daily lives. While no one would suggest granting foreigners the right to influence the US election, that should not prevent Americans from hearing foreign views and concerns in a...

Rid of Violence, a Reforming Bosnia Emerges as a Model

Humphrey Hawksley June 12, 2008
The history and circumstances of conflict in Bosnia and Iraq vary in many ways. But the bottom line is that swift US intervention succeeded in ending civil strife and genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The political planning for Bosnia since the 1995 peace agreement, with the international community deeply engaged in shaping it as a modern European state, could serve as a model for Iraq and...

Europe’s Old Boys Need to Make Way for Women

Margot Wallström June 9, 2008
Europe has been a progressive leader on many political issues, but women are still underrepresented in continental politics, argues Margot Wallström, vice president of the European Commission in an essay for the Financial Times. In selecting candidates for ministerial positions, top leaders often strive for diversity but overlook glaring gender imbalances, she notes. People naturally tend to...