In The News

Islam and West: Time for Enlightened Moderation

Pervez Musharraf June 2, 2004
The events of the recent past have brought the Muslim world to a state of emergency, writes Pervez Musharraf, president of Pakistan. The world perception of Muslims as violent extremists has placed the moderate and peaceful faithful – the “innocent multitudes” – at odds with the world. The proliferation of suicide bombers and the events of 9/11 have bred a deep fear in the West of Islam and its...

Benefits and Pitfalls of Globalization

Park Myung-seok June 1, 2004
A growing concern about globalization’s negative effects on national economies worldwide has some governments re-thinking long-held economic ideologies. The difficulty in creating jobs within the context of an expanding global employee base has some longtime champions of free trade, including the United States, looking to legislate against outsourcing. Similar movements to protect local jobs are...

Doubts Remain Over Iraq’s Path to Sovereignty

Roula Khalaf May 25, 2004
13 months after the fall of Baghdad, the city’s residents are frustrated about the direction their nation has taken. Doubts about the competence of both occupying forces and Iraqi leadership have surfaced as the June 30 deadline for transfer of power approaches. Reporters from the Financial Times spoke to young Iraqis, for whom “the joy of freedom… has been overshadowed by anxieties over Iraq...

Burma: Feel-Good US Sanctions Wrongheaded

David I. Steinberg May 19, 2004
President Bush's recent decision to extend sanctions against Burma for another year is emotionally satisfying but ineffective as a means of promoting democracy in the military-ruled state, argues David I. Steinberg, Director of Asian Studies at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. Although US allies like India or Southeast Asian nations share its concern about the junta...

Liverpool Bid

May 19, 2004
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has recently expressed interest in purchasing a 30 percent stake in England’s Liverpool football club, a move which has raised eyebrows in Thailand. Thai regulatory measures might make such an investment problematic, as there is uncertainty about whether foreign investments undertaken by the government must be approved by the central bank. The proposed bid...

Immigrants' Cash Floods Homelands

Mary Beth Sheridan May 17, 2004
Remittances that migrants send back home to help their families, have long formed a crucial component of developing countries' income. In El Salvador, for example, remittances total 14% of the country's gross domestic product. Money-transferring technologies have only made this process easier and kept the payments regular. Now a study of Latin American immigrants to the US – legal...

The Indians Are Comin’

Sanjeev Srivastava May 10, 2004
Global interest in Indian economic and cultural practices is swelling rapidly, from the labor outsourcing debate to Bollywood film exports. In the United States, India is a topic for newspaper front pages, Indian corporations are traded on the New York Stock Exchange and audiences gather for the country’s art. Delhi is creating regional alliances with China and Pakistan, and all systems are go...