In The News

Thinking the Unthinkable: A World Without Nuclear Weapons

Carla Anne Robbins July 1, 2008
Arms control has not been a priority for major global powers. Almost two decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the US and Russia alone have more than 20,000 weapons, and small countries like Iraq and North Korea have presented nuclear threats. A group of policy experts, including George Schultz and Henry Kissinger, have called for a shift in US policy, arguing that the US lead the charge to...

Election Season Wild Card: Covert Operations Against Iran, Al-Qaeda

Kevin Whitelaw July 1, 2008
Nearly three decades after the Iran hostage crisis, confrontation with Iran may again make November’s presidential election susceptible to an “October surprise.” Amid reports that US Special Forces are already operating in Iran, the specter of an escalating conflict with Tehran looms over the presidential campaign. Meanwhile, reports that the US military may begin covert operations in Pakistan...

India’s Search for a Foreign Policy

Harsh V. Pant June 26, 2008
India remains deadlocked over a US-India civilian nuclear-energy pact. Delay dims prospects for final approval by either nation and reflects the Indian government’s general inability to establish a grand strategy for itself, with foreign-policy goals that set a direction for the country, argues Harsh V. Pant. In too many areas – Chinese border disputes, Maoists and other terrorists gaining...

Waiting For Obama: The First Global Election

Derek Shearer June 23, 2008
With the George W. Bush presidency coming to a close, global observers anticipate greater international engagement from the US. Students in countries like Syria, Peru and Bolivia are particularly amazed that the US voters might possibly select minority Barack Obama, whose father was an immigrant and whose name is not traditionally European, explains Derek Shearer, a former ambassador to Finland...

Time for a Global Town-Hall Meeting?

Jeffrey Garten June 19, 2008
People all over the world don’t have a right to vote in the US, but remain keenly interested in the country’s elections – because what the new president might do or not do often affects their countries and even their daily lives. While no one would suggest granting foreigners the right to influence the US election, that should not prevent Americans from hearing foreign views and concerns in a...

Iraq Deal With US to End Immunity for Foreign Contractors

Patrick Cockburn June 18, 2008
With a new security agreement being negotiated between the US and Iraq, the two countries tussle over control. Some Iraqi analysts criticize the overall agreement as a signal that the US plans long-term occupation of the country. But others note that a new policy, no longer extending immunity to foreign contract workers who break Iraqi law, signals that the Iraqi government could be taking more...

US Election Grabs Intense Interest Overseas

June 12, 2008
A panel of foreign journalists, including YaleGlobal Editor Nayan Chanda, analyze for the News Hour and the Public Broadcasting Service why citizens around the world remain mesmerized by the US presidential election, with presumptive nominees John McCain and Barack Obama. In a transcript of the June 12, 2008, broadcast, Chanda explains that Obama draws tremendous interest, in part, because of the...