In The News

Pakistan’s Dangerous Double Game

Ron Moreau September 16, 2008
After the 9/11 attacks, planned by Al Qaeda in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, Pakistan and the US linked up as allies in the “war on terror” declared by George Bush. The Taliban have long since scattered, many to the rugged Pakistan-Afghanistan border area, and regrouped in camps. The US alludes to an agreement, possibly made with former President Pervez Musharraf, that allows its troops to cross the...

Russia and a New Democratic Realism

Francis Fukuyama September 12, 2008
The weakened Russia of the 1990s has bulked up into a formidable nation that makes the former satellites of the Soviet Union uneasy. In the meantime, the US allowed negotiation opportunities and moral credibility to slip away. The US invasion of Iraq and support of separation for Kosovo handed an excuse to others that might invade sovereign states for regime change or disgruntled provinces that...

America and the World Into a New Era – Part III

Klaus Naumann September 8, 2008
The 21st century poses new dangers on many fronts for democratic nations – terrorism, organized crime, cyber warfar, nuclear proliferation and failing states. Those dangers divide rather than unite the 26 member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which includes European democracies, Canada and the US. In the final article of this three-part series on US relations with the world,...

America and the World Into a New Era – Part II

Shada Islam September 4, 2008
One of the goals of the Treaty on European Union, signed in 1992, was for the continent “to assert its identity on the international scene, in particular through the implementation of a common foreign and security policy including the eventual framing of a common defence policy, which might in time lead to a common defence.” At the time, many anticipated Europe to continue a strong and enduring...

China Cannot Back Russia in Georgia Crisis: Analysts

September 3, 2008
For international and domestic affairs, China firmly holds to the principles of national sovereignty and territorial integrity. China’s insistence that Tibet and Taiwan are part of China parallels Georgian insistence that South Ossetia and Abkhazia belong to Georgia. But the Chinese government has not stepped forward to rally behind Georgia and the West in criticizing Russia, reports the news...

How the Georgia Conflict Impacts US-Russian Relations

Thomas R. Pickering September 2, 2008
Two provinces hoping to break away from Georgia and Russia’s subsequent attack and occupation has raised concerns in the US about Russian motivations for expansion. For US-Russian relations, the conflict will distract from all other issues, including joint efforts to stem nuclear proliferation, cooperation on Iran and trade. As with most other issues, the US is divided on how to best handle the...

The Hypocrisy Audit

Moisés Naím September 2, 2008
In a fast-changing and complicated world with countless connections, double standards are inevitable. But the countries on the losing side of such standards take quick note and protest loudly. The excuse that the world is messy and different situations call for different reactions is quickly adopted by other nations, while orderly international standards fall by the wayside. “Not all double...