In The News

Curry in Hot Garlic Sauce

Simon Long March 31, 2005
China, the world's most populous country, looks set to become one of the 21st century's main movers and shakers. Analysts speak in less glowing terms about China's neighbor and budding rival, India. The subcontinental giant has years of catch-up to play to match China's startlingly rapid rise. Yet Simon Long argues that despite its delayed entrance into the free-market game,...

India's Knowledge Economy

Guy de Jonquières March 29, 2005
A visit to the gleaming corporate campuses of Bangalore shatters most myths about India's outsourcing industry. Some people still believe that Indian outsourcing companies pay a bunch of PhDs pitifully low wages to do menial drudgework while working in sweatshops. "If these are sweatshops, the Ritz hotel is a doss-house," writes FT columnist Guy de Jonquières. And the research and...

Kofi Annan Presents Comprehensive Agenda for Reforming the UN

Kofi Annan March 21, 2005
Following the huge row over the Iraq war and the embarrassing oil-for-food scandal, critics and supporters of the United Nations agree that the body is in dire need of reform. Without reform, both sides fear, the UN risks sliding into irrelevance. UN secretary-general Kofi Annan addressed those concerns today, introducing plans for the most sweeping reforms of the UN since its founding in 1945....

Al Qaeda and its Affiliates

David Ronfeldt March 21, 2005
Al Qaeda and its affiliates are operating much like a global tribe waging segmental warfare, writes David F. Ronfeldt, a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation, in this independently published paper. Ronfeldt describes the dynamics of classic tribes – what drives them, how they organize, how they fight – and argues that Al Qaeda fits this tribal paradigm. The war they are waging...

The Global Footprint of an Indian Outsourcing Giant

Joe Bolger March 21, 2005
Bombay businessman Subramaniam Ramadorai and his company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), are looking for farther shores and a broader base to operate their ever-growing partnerships with western businesses. TCS, a multibillion dollar group based in India, has been among the strongest actors in the movement to outsource work from the West. The firm has many prominent big-business clients in...

Bloodsport: A Sequel

Boria Majumdar March 3, 2005
For some, sport is simply viewed as another forum for entertainment – but it may serve other functions, as well. Sometimes, it is promoted as a way to bridge cultural gaps and facilitate peace, as seen most prominently with the Olympics. But as this Outlook India opinion suggests, an undercurrent of nationalism is ever-present in international sporting events. For India and Pakistan, the...

US-Russia Relations Saved for Now

Dmitry V. Suslov February 28, 2005
Though the recent meeting between US President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin ended predictably with handshakes and smiles, all is not well with bilateral relations. As Dmitry V. Suslov reports, the superficial glazing-over of fundamental disagreements, though a short-term diplomatic "band-aid," may do substantial harm to regional and international politics. Of...