In The News

Africa Beyond Aid and Bono

Ferial Haffajee July 15, 2006
Africa is vast and diverse, making it meaningless to talk about an “African dilemma” or an “African solution.” The continent has had both successes and failures of governance and reform during the past year, and Mail & Guardian Editor Ferial Haffajee notes that humanitarian aid will be necessary for the foreseeable future in areas of crisis. However, African countries cannot develop stable...

The Death of Doha Signals the Demise of Globalization

Martin Jacques July 13, 2006
The deadlock at the Doha round signals the end of an era. The past 25 years of globalization coincided with the promotion of multilateral trade, but now both the developing and developed nations turn their interests elsewhere. As the US and other developed countries slide toward protectionism, developing countries refuse to accept the type of unfavorable agreements that once characterized...

Communist Party at Crossroads

Chua Chin Hon July 11, 2006
The Chinese Communist Party has maintained its grip on power in China for 85 years, and by many estimates, is still going strong. Abroad, China’s influence continues to grow, while at home, membership in the party and its local organizations has also increased. Observers point out, however, a myriad of domestic problems facing the CCP that could erode its power: environmental problems, ongoing...

Rival US Labs in Arms Race to Build Safer Nuclear Bomb

Ralph Vartabedian July 7, 2006
US scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California gear up for a replay of the fierce competition that marked the development of nuclear weapons during the Cold War. Yet observers and policymakers continue to debate the expediency of restarting a new weapons program. Supporters claim that diminishing reliability of the US...

World Puts the Brakes on the Rush to Globalization

Steven Pearlstein July 7, 2006
A backlash against globalization flourishes in countries that have benefited from active trade, including the US and China. Author Steven Pearlstein cites the failure of Doha, the polarized Mexican electorate and the US debate on immigration as evidence of the continued potency of the nation-state and the national economy. Rather than preaching about the dangers of protectionism and...

Last Stop, Lhasa: Rail Link Ties Remote Tibet to China

Joseph Kahn July 6, 2006
In terms of engineering, there is no doubt that the completed railway connecting Beijing to Lhasa, the remote capital of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, is a great feat. It traverses a total of 710 miles, much of it over unstable permafrost at astonishing altitudes. Chinese officials hailed the $4.1 billion project, expecting it to increase the flow of tourism, information and development to the...

Controlling Carrots and Sticks

Michael M. Phillips July 5, 2006
By creating the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in 2002, the Bush administration attempted to reshape how the US distributes foreign aid. The MCC allocates aid based on more than a dozen criteria, such as control of corruption and civil liberties. Thus far, the MCC has not had any qualms about denying or suspending aid to countries that do not meet its guidelines. This strict adherence...