In The News

China Aims to Keep Some Ghosts of History Alive

Börje Ljunggren September 8, 2015
Asia’s two great power marked the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. In a speech, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe surprised by offering words of atonement for his country’s role while China celebrated with a grand military parade emphasizing victory against Japan. China has ample reasons to be proud of its role during World War II, resisting Japanese occupiers and expansionism even as...

Struggling Germany Urges Neighbors to Do More to Ease Refugee Crisis

Paul Carrel and Georgina Prodhan September 8, 2015
Tens of thousands of refugees flee conflict and head to Europe. Millions are displaced from fighting in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan and northern Africa and seek secure places to settle. Refugees crossing Europe’s borders encounter varying welcomes – ranging from volunteers opening homes and distributing free meals to beatings and tear gas. The issue triggers sharp political divides for...

IMF Changing Tack on Greece

Astrid Prange September 4, 2015
The International Monetary Fund may have devoted too much money into efforts to rescue Greece from its debt crisis. Many of the IMF’s 188 members question the sum of loans for Greece - $25 billion from the IMF. “It seems paradoxical: The term debt relief is a taboo in Latin America, Asia and Africa, but that is exactly what Greece asked the IMF for,” writes Astrid Prange for Deutsche Welle. The...

IMF to the Aid of Ukraine: Well-Intended, But Misguided

David R. Cameron September 3, 2015
Ukraine, battling separatists and demands for autonomy in its eastern regions, confronts a debt crisis. The International Monetary Fund approved $17.5 billion over four years and also called for another debt operation. After five months of negotiations, Ukraine received another $15.3 billion, including a 20 percent “haircut” in the $18 billion of bonds held by the private creditors. More than...

Raja-Mandala: Faith and Diplomacy

C. Raja Mohan September 2, 2015
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks common ground with his foreign counterparts and one of those includes religion, specifically Buddhism. That religion began in 624 BC in a stretch of northern India that is now Nepal – and spread throughout Asia. “Modi went beyond the notion of promoting India’s soft power to highlight the importance of Buddhism in dealing with the contemporary political...

Why Russia Is So Afraid of French Cheese

Brian Whitmore September 1, 2015
Russia is becoming a case study in pitting people who enjoy being told what to do, in the name of nationalism, against those who pursue their own preferences. The government, in what some call an attempt to back away from modern globalization, suggests that foreign foods pose a strategic danger. Neighbors report on neighbors for enjoying imported cheeses, fruits and meats. “The food snitches and...

Diplomacy at the Top of the World

James F. Collins, Ross A. Virginia and Kenneth S. Yalowitz August 31, 2015
Foreign ministers will convene to discuss the Arctic region August 31. James Collins, Ross A. Virginia and Kenneth S. Yalowitz, writing for Project Syndicate, point out the common interests for Russia and the United States. While at odds over the former’s interventions in Ukraine, the two cooperated on negotiating a deal on Iran’s nuclear program. Russia, the United States along with Canada,...