In The News

Is a Nuclear Deal with North Korea Feasible?

Peter M. Beck February 27, 2009
North Korea is getting ready to launch a satellite again, using a long-range rocket that could reach Alaska. Analysts wonder if this is an attention getter for the new US administration or an attempt by a fading leader to prepare the population for succession while warning foreign enemies. The leader of the struggling nation, Kim Jong Il, could be testing out an old trick on a new administration...

End Game in Sri Lanka

Harsh V. Pant February 23, 2009
Civil war has divided Sri Lanka since 1983, as Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam fought for a separate state for Tamils, which comprise 18 percent of the country’s population. But global and regional events that conspired against the rebel cause can’t be counted on during the post-conflict phase, explains Harsh V. Pant, a lecturer in defense studies at King’s College in London. Several factors...

Obama and the World: Time to Deliver

Bruce Stokes January 28, 2009
President Barack Obama must act quickly on a range of foreign-policy issues to demonstrate that the United States is prepared for meaningful change in its approach to resolve problems that have defied solution. Bruce Stokes, international-affairs columnist, cautions that Obama has a small window of opportunity to sort through many contradictions, demonstrating fairness and leadership while the...

"No Country, No Matter How Powerful…Can Control the Forces of Globalization on Its Own"

Kofi A. Annan January 27, 2009
Economic crisis will leave no part of the globe untouched, yet it also offers widespread opportunity for citizens to assess priorities. Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urges nations to select priorities that reshape and improve the world for the common good: "For the roots of this crisis go beyond an abject failure of financial governance and neglect of warnings of the risks being run...

NATO’s Double Standards Make for a Hollow Alliance

Alexander Melikishvili January 26, 2009
NATO increasingly confronts an existential crisis, reflected by three mutually reinforcing trends – inconsistent and fast-paced enlargement policy, problematic internal cohesion and inadequate military spending. Researcher Alexander Melikishvili offers cases that point to the challenges NATO faces: The separate quests by Albania and Georgia for NATO admission reveal inconsistent admission...

As Obama Takes Office, Global Press Turns to Regional Concerns

Richard Wike January 23, 2009
No American presidential bid in history has been so closely monitored by the international community as Barack Obama’s. For the Pew Global Attitudes Project, Richard Wike and Michael Remez compare reactions from newspapers around the globe, many of which focus on specific regional concerns. From Kenya to Kerala, Bolivia to Baghdad, media and citizens followed the campaign, rooting for the young...

China Censors Part of Obama Speech

Edward Wong January 22, 2009
Barack Obama’s inaugural address had an international audience, hanging on every word to detect a new direction in American foreign policy. Some Chinese censors took offense at a comment on communism and in translations deleted the phrase, ”Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions.” But...