In The News

Crouching Tiger, Swimming Dragon

Nayan Chanda April 11, 2005
Nearly six hundred years after Chinese ships visited the Persian Gulf, the ground is being laid again for a permanent Chinese presence in the area through which some 40 percent of the world's oil resources travel. As Nayan Chanda writes, Chinese diplomatic visit to Pakistan last week resulted in an agreement to expand a Chinese-built port there, leaving US, Japanese, and Indian governments...

Russia's Neighbors

Vladimir Radyuhin April 7, 2005
As optimists salute democracy's march in the Middle East, so too do they point towards the former republics of the Soviet Union, where a spate of "democratic" revolutions has toppled three Russian-backed governments. Georgia, Ukraine, and now Kyrgyzstan have all undergone sweeping regime changes. But Russian analysts, like Vladimir Radyuhin, are cautious in their appraisals of such...

The Spirit of Bandung

Josef Purnama Widyatmadja April 6, 2005
In 1955, epresentatives from nations across two continents convened at the first ever Asia-Africa conference, held in Bandung, Indonesia. That first summit was a statement of principle – world regions, under the constraints of imperialist or colonial powers, could indeed assert themselves on a global stage outside the sphere of Western influence. In the midst of a global ideological struggle,...

The First World Leader

Timothy Garten Ash April 4, 2005
The death Saturday of Pope John Paul II has released a global outpouring of grief and celebration of the life of one of the 20th century's most prominent figures. According to this Guardian commentary, the pope – born Karol Kojtyla – played the role of more than a religious figure, but an international political entity. His involvement with world leaders and his native Poland proved...

Internet Fans Flames of Chinese Nationalism

Paul Mooney April 4, 2005
An online petition protesting Japan's bid for a permanent UN Security Council seat has reportedly garnered over 22 million Chinese signatories. And as anti-Japanese discourse grows ever-more incendiary in cyberspace, the Chinese government may wonder how far "power to the people" should go. Journalist Paul Mooney writes that Beijing truly finds itself in a bind: While condoning...

US Yet to Accommodate China's Rise

Philip Stephens April 1, 2005
Compared to the war in Iraq, the hunt for bin-Laden, and the rift in the transatlantic alliance, writes columnist Philip Stephens, "the implications of China's rapid emergence as a global power have been neglected." Only recently have the full geopolitical implications of China's burgeoning economic power come to the forefront of US policy. And according to Stephens, the...

Web Petition Stokes Anti-Japan Passions

Hamish McDonald March 30, 2005
In the last week, over 19 million people, mainly Chinese, have signed an online petition against Japanese inclusion in the ranks of permanent members on the United Nations Security Council. Kofi Annan's recently announced plans for reform in the UN has led Japan, along with Germany, India, and Brazil, to step up efforts to gain permanent status alongside the five current seatholders, which...