In The News

Kofi Annan Presents Comprehensive Agenda for Reforming the UN

Kofi Annan March 21, 2005
Following the huge row over the Iraq war and the embarrassing oil-for-food scandal, critics and supporters of the United Nations agree that the body is in dire need of reform. Without reform, both sides fear, the UN risks sliding into irrelevance. UN secretary-general Kofi Annan addressed those concerns today, introducing plans for the most sweeping reforms of the UN since its founding in 1945....

Indian Diplomacy Energized by Search for Oil

Pramit Mitra March 14, 2005
China and India have faced parallel challenges attendant to their booming economies; the most recent is energy security. As Pramit Mitra writes, India will emerge as the fourth-largest energy consumer by 2010. And like China, in its quest to secure adequate resources, India has forged strategic alliances, several of which may render the United States none-too-pleased. On the plus side, India...

Oil Fuels Beijing's New Power Game

Ziad Haider March 11, 2005
As China's industry continues to grow apace, so does its energy needs. In the next quarter-century, China is expected to account for more than one-fifth of growth in world energy demand. As Ziad Haider writes, Beijing's pursuit of fuel resources and safe supply routes may have implications for regional and global geopolitics. Considering competing Western energy demand – and, crucially...

Central Asia Is Corrupted by Cotton

Quentin Peel March 10, 2005
Though many developing countries are cheering a recent WTO ruling declaring US agricultural subsidies illegal, indigent farmers in Central Asia will never know the difference. Since the dismantling of the Soviet regime, the cotton industries in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan have been hijacked by wealthy insiders. Working with international traders, middlemen sell expensive inputs to...

The Year of Africa's Economic Turnaround?

Amarnath Singh March 8, 2005
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the economies of 30 African countries, as well as the continent as a whole, are projected to grow at a relatively high rate this year. However, Africa's nations still face many obstacles to becoming market miracles. Many remain paralyzed by poverty, AIDS, bad governance, high development and infrastructure costs, and social instability....

A Drug-Free Afghanistan Not So Easy

Paula R. Newberg March 7, 2005
The recent announcement of surging Afghan poppy production, while no surprise, is indicative of a dangerous trend – one that may ultimately undo the recovery of the fragile Asian state: Illegal poppy production now, more than ever, forms the basis of Afghanistan's economy. The fledgling state's existence as a cornerstone of both the war on terror and international anti-narcotics...

Leveraging the Dragon: Toward "An Africa That Can Say No"

Chris Alden March 1, 2005
China is extending its economic influence to every corner of the world, and natural-resource-rich Africa is no exception. Between 2000 and 2003, China-Africa trade volume increased from US$10 billion to US$18 billion. However, some fear that this bilateral relationship is not built on equitable terms. According to economist Chris Alden, Africa's trade deficit with China has increased...