In The News

Where Faith Is a Healer

Madeleine Bunting March 28, 2005
While secularism has taken hold in Europe, the story in the rest of the world has been quite different. Seemingly different regions, such as the Americas and the Middle East, have experienced substantial increases in religiosity. Africa is no exception: Christianity and Islam are expanding dramatically, and traditional African religions are experiencing a renaissance. A forthcoming BBC report...

Fraying of a Latin Textile Industry

Ginger Thompson March 28, 2005
The garment and textile industry has, for decades, been a source of employment and economic vitality for many South and Latin American nations. In El Salvador, the industry has been crucial to improving the standard of living for its people. But across the region, garment workers are being blindsided by changes in global trade. January 2005 saw an end to textile quotas worldwide, and companies...

Kyrgyz Ruler Is Toppled, but Can the Center Hold?

Paula R. Newberg March 28, 2005
The flight of the president of Kyrgyzstan, facing angry demonstrators, has suddenly thrust the small Central Asian republic into the international limelight. But as regional expert Paula R. Newberg notes, the overthrow of President Askar Akaev was a long time coming, and may have serious repercussions in the neighborhood. As Newberg warns, Kyrgyzstan's more conservative authoritarian...

Le Maître du Kirghizistan est renversé, mais la politique du juste milieu pourra-t-elle tenir ?

Paula R. Newberg March 28, 2005

Social Change in Qatar, One Degree at a Time

Otto Pohl March 24, 2005
Qatar is not known for being a liberal democratic country – indeed, there is little room for political dissent. Surprisingly though, this small Middle East country is pushing through one of the world's most revolutionary experiments in higher education. With increasing security restrictions limiting access for foreign students to attend top US universities, Qatar has decided to import...

Poverty – Not Ideology – Must be World Bank's Focus

David Dickson March 24, 2005
When Bush administration-favorite Paul Wolfowitz was nominated last week to head the World Bank, much of the international community recoiled in shock. Many critics fear Wolfowitz's lack of economics credentials and his ideologically charged reputation make the neo-conservative unfit to head the World Bank. Yet David Dickson argues that Wolfowitz can prove the world wrong for crying, "...

Old Threats, New Opportunities in Tsunami's Wake

Christopher Jasparro March 23, 2005
The Aceh region of Indonesia, among the hardest hit in last year's tsunami disaster, could be a strategic center in Indonesia's battle with terror – and in the larger struggle for security in Southeast Asia, writes Christopher Jasparro. Several groups with differing political aims – Islamic militants, Acehnese separatists, the Indonesian army, and international relief groups – find...