In The News

Arab Pride, US Prejudice

Abel-Moneim Said May 30, 2003
The Arabs have started a round of heated discussion on the post-war reforms. Divided as they are, says Arab scholar Abel-Moneim Said, they appear to agree on the idea that the U.S. should not be the one to set up reform standards in the region. The Arab world has long been in need of reform, he says, but because of the war and the America's push for "regime change," many Arabs now...

Nuclear Confrontations with North Korea

William Perry May 28, 2003
Speaking in a panel discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, William Perry, the former Secretary of Defense of the Clinton administration, said that the Korean Crisis of June 1994 was the only period during the Clinton presidency when the US came close to a major war. That was also the time the US took a diplomatic initiative to peacefully resolve the...

Malay-Muslims Have a Role in Remaking Singapore

Lee Hsien Loong May 27, 2003
In the contemporary moment, no country is immune from the possibility of religious and sectarian violence, and the threat of global terrorism. In this speech to a Malay-Muslim youth organization, Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, emphasizes the importance of cultural and religious pluralism, and the critical role of Malay-Muslims in Singapore's continued growth and...

The War on Terror Requires Subtler Weapons

Daniel Byman May 26, 2003
As the "war on terrorism" continues, the U.S. and its allies find it increasingly difficult to eradicate terrorist groups. With much of al-Qaeda's senior leadership still alive, and with new sites emerging as potential "training grounds" for terrorists in various corners of the world – Chechnya, Kashmir, the Chinese province of Xinjiang, Indonesia, etc. – it has become...

Blame It on Globalization

David Pozen May 21, 2003
For all the apocalyptic talk of globalization's corrosive effects on social provision, Western European welfare regimes have survived to date and will continue to survive in the future. Welfare regimes, generally operating within a national framework, involve states' actions for the funding, provision, distribution, and coordination of a wide range of benefits and services....

NGOs Must Fight Against Govt Attack

May 15, 2003
The Thai Government has come under criticism from local media for attempting to prevent collaboration between local non-government organizations (NGOs) and their international counter-parts. A series of exchanges between the central government and Thai bureaucrats indicate the government has made repeated attempts to undermine local NGOs, which it criticizes as being motivated by self-interest...

Under Global Spotlight, China's New Leaders Have to Reform

Susan L. Shirk May 12, 2003
China's integration into the global capitalist economy has been predicted by successive US presidents and others to be a necessary pre-cursor to expanded freedoms and democracy. Ironically, it may turn out to be a domestic Chinese issue – the fast-spreading Sars epidemic – that generates real openness and government accountability. China-scholar Susan L. Shirk explains that Sars has given...