In The News

Still No Votes in Leipzig

Jonathan Freedland September 22, 2004
When Bob Dole was running for US President, he once dismissed a Finnish reporter's questions of by saying, "No votes in Leipzig." Dole's sense of geography may have been lacking, but his sense of who was important to his campaign was, at the time, perfectly on target: Only American voters' opinions would count come Election Day 1996. Back then, only Americans bore the...

Beijing's Closed Politics Hinders "New Diplomacy"

Minxin Pei September 12, 2004
In the past year and a half, China has become a key player in several difficult international conflicts, including the North Korean missile threats, the Pakistan-India quarrels, and the war in Iraq. However, argues the author of this Financial Times piece, it should come as no surprise that the nation is quickly losing its newly gained respect in a series of foreign policy mistakes. Ever-present...

The Great Reverse – Part III

Anna Greenspan September 8, 2004
While headlines in the West bemoan job outsourcing to China and India, they ignore a far more profound economic shift: the growth of business partnerships between these two rising economies. In the final installment of our three-part series, "The Great Reverse," globalization scholar Anna Greenspan writes that leaders and entrepreneurs in both Asian countries are bridging political...

Polls a test for Iraq policy

Roger Maynard August 30, 2004
On October 9, Australians will hold their federal election. The outcome will be the first real test of public support for Canberra's decision to back the US over Iraq. It may also prove a harbinger for the outcome of upcoming elections in the US and Britain. Australian Prime Minister John Howard’s decision to join the Washington’s ‘coalition of the willing’ has been a divisive issue in...

Countdown in Khartoum

Gamal Nkrumah August 27, 2004
The ongoing humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan, has rendered 1.5 million people homeless and claimed 50,000 lives. Tensions between the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) threaten to destabilize the region, with costly consequences for Sudan’s neighbors, and the world at large. Efforts to secure peace have involved diplomats from neighboring Egypt and...

The Barrel of the Gun, How Not to Promote Democracy

Ronald Meinardus August 23, 2004
The spread of democracy and globalization – defining characteristics of the modern era – have resulted in the erosion of national sovereignty, according to this op-ed from the Jakarta Post. The author contends that information technology, failed authoritarian regimes, and pure human nature facilitated the worldwide proliferation of democracy. A byproduct of this spread is the seemingly...

Bitterness Felt as Chávez Recall Fails

Gail Epstein Nieves August 17, 2004
Venezuelans living in southern Florida voted an overwhelming 12,710 to 246 for the recall of Hugo Chávez. However, much to their frustration, the fiery leftwing politician won 58 percent of the vote domestically. Now analysts say that Chavez, who already controls the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government, may use his democratic mandate to deepen his so-called “Bolivarian...