In The News

Why Did We Say Nay?

Prem Shankar Jha October 4, 2005
India, once the champion of the Cold War Non-Aligned Movement, has long valued its diplomatic independence and domestic self-sufficiency. Unsurprisingly, then, the world's largest democracy's recent vote – alongside the United States – to censure Iran under the edicts of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty triggered a public uproar. From across the Indian political spectrum, critics...

The World Loves America But Resists Its Power

Rami G. Khouri September 29, 2005
On Saturday, protesters snaked through the streets of Washington in opposition to American actions in the Middle East. These demonstrations paled in comparison to those three years ago, but what anti-war demonstrators have lost in numbers, they may have gained in unlikely allies in the establishment. Mainstream foreign policy strategists are now seriously questioning American "liberal...

Generation Jihad

Bill Powell September 27, 2005
Since 1990, the Muslim population in Europe has expanded from around 10 million to 14 million. This spike in numbers has been accompanied by a growing restless dissatisfaction in the quality of life available to Muslims, either European-born or immigrant. High unemployment and a low glass ceiling have increased the sense of marginalization felt among the younger generation of followers of Islam....

Dangerously Unique

Moisés Naím September 20, 2005
In this Foreign Policy article, Moisés Naím highlights the discrepancy between the expectations of "normalcy" held by a small number of privileged citizens and the realities of the rest of the world. Despite what many in Western nations may believe, their concept of "normal" is not, in fact, universal. In fact, gross income discrepancies, health care inadequacies, and...

China's Rise Need Not Bring Conflict

Martin Wolf September 19, 2005
China's global influence is not yet equal to that of the United States, but it has the potential to far surpass America in this century. And, as Martin Wolf writes, it does not have to do so violently. While the cultural differences between these two great 21st century powers and the examples of their 20th century counterparts provide ample cause for pessimism, according to Wolf, three...

Koizumi Landslide: The China Factor

Yoichi Funabashi September 15, 2005
Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi won a huge mandate in last Sunday's elections, but for reasons that differ from many commentators' suggestions. By calling the elections following the rejection of his post-office privatization bill, Koizumi artfully framed the debate as between the pro-reform Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and his anti-reform opponents. But while domestic...

"The UK failed the globalization challenge"

Liam Halligan September 12, 2005
Heeding the private sector's enthusiasm for India and China, Western leaders are now recognizing the growing commercial importance of the Asian giants. Yet political interests do not always align conveniently with economic ones. Earlier this year, the EU, under the leadership of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, placed limits on Chinese textile imports, blocking 80 million euros worth of...