In The News

US Is Its Own Worst Enemy

Kevin Rafferty April 12, 2006
Opposition to the US creates both real and imagined threats to national security, yet the biggest threat for the US and the world comes from US policy and its formulators, both Congress and President Bush. After 9/11, the world displayed sympathy for the US, exemplified by the “Le Monde” headline – “We are all Americans.” Yet President Bush squandered cooperation with unilateral actions that...

A Nation of Immigrants Clashes Over the Future

Georg Mascolo April 12, 2006
In 2005, the US arrested 1.2 million people attempting to cross the US-Mexico border in Arizona’s Arivaca Valley. About half that number were successful journeying through the treacherous desert, encouraged by words on the Statue of Liberty that welcome immigrants from the world over – “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free.” The US estimates that 11 million...

In Khartoum, the Refrain of Arab Failure

Rami G. Khouri March 31, 2006
The Arab League summit in Khartoum, poorly attended by Arab leaders, coincided with the revolt of several hundred workers in Dubai – and the two events expose problems in the Arab world. The workers, primarily from South Asia for construction projects, protested poor working and living conditions, low and delayed pay, as well as a general lack of basic rights. The leaders in Khartoum and...

A New Challenge for Bangladesh

Sumit Ganguly March 30, 2006
Preserving democracy in an impoverished Muslim nation is no easy task. After separating from Pakistan in 1971, Bangladesh created a constitution embracing secularism and democracy. A 1982 military coup suspended the constitution, and Islam was eventually named the state religion. Extremists instigate violence against politicians with a secular platform, thus contributing to the government’s...

We Need Alexander Hamilton

Ernest C. Hollings March 30, 2006
Ernest Hollings, former senator of South Carolina, relies on early American history to compare the government and corporate approaches to trade. The second bill to pass through US Congress, in 1789, was a 50 percent tariff on all trade, which according to Hollings, allowed the US to develop its manufacturing and reduce dependence on Europe. Other presidents managed trade to nurture specific...

Democracy Isn’t “Western”

Amartya Sen March 28, 2006
Since the 1993 publication of Samuel Huntington’s “The Clash of Civilizations,” culture has made deep inroads into the vocabulary of the political scientist. Huntington argues that the post-Cold War world would be shaped by conflicts between “civilizations,” And US foreign policy would be tied inextricably to the preservation of Western civilization. Huntington’s supporters claim the ongoing war...

Shifting Toward the Center

Oscar Arias March 28, 2006
After Bolivia elected Evo Morales as president in December 2005, analysts suggested that Latin America had “tilted left.” But Oscar Arias, former president of Costa Rica and Nobel Peace laureate, describes Latin American countries as “strikingly moderate,” a distinct change from the 1980s. He notes that Costa Rica, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and even Venezuela are embracing free-trade agreements that...