In The News

China Is the De Facto Leader of Globalization

Nathan Gardels January 13, 2017
China is preparing to take a leading role on the world stage as the US president-elect dismisses worries about climate change and the benefits of globalization. The rhetoric about an “America first” policy suggests that the United States could reverse US stances on global trade and climate change. Europe is in disarray, too. Some world leaders are avoiding the World Economic Forum in Davos this...

Historic Chance for Myanmar Peace Probably Scuttled

Michele Penna January 9, 2017
Hope is dwindling for an end to Myanmar’s ethnic conflict underway since 1947. An outbreak of violence in Rakhine State has been linked to Harakah al-Yaqin, reports Michele Penna, adding that the International Crisis Group has linked the trouble with hardships and discrimination suffered by the Rohingya. “Conflict is also dragging on in Kachin and Shan States, where the army is staging...

To Save Global Liberalism, Time to Look Beyond Government

Peter Westmacott January 3, 2017
Governments confront numerous challenges in 2017, ranging from a struggle to grow economies and create jobs to combatting terrorism, controlling refugees fleeing from terrorism and managing climate-related disasters. China, Russia and the United States jockey for power on the global stage. “But it’s precisely because governments are distracted or incapacitated that there is a role for non-state...

Crackdown in Turkey Threatens a Haven of Gender Equality Built by the Kurds

Rod Nordland December 26, 2016
Gender equality, an elusive goal for most nations, is commonly enjoyed in Kurdish towns in Turkey. Women serve alongside men in Kurdish guerrilla units, and governmental decisions concerning women are made by a panel composed solely of women. The gender equality espoused by the Kurds and the pro-Kurdish HDP party have had an impact across the country, even in religious Muslim areas of western...

Divisions Within Afghanistan’s Government Reach New Crisis Point

Pamela Constable December 1, 2016
Impeachment of seven Afghan cabinet ministers demonstrates the fragility of Afghanistan’s new democratic institutions. President Ashraf Ghani confronts public criticism, and lawmakers accuse each other of abusing power and accomplishing little. Afghanistan’s ethnic divisions complicate the debate over governance. This instability follows more than a decade of US involvement in the country, and 10...

Is A Trump Presidency Really a Big Win for Putin?

Reid Standish November 24, 2016
Among Donald Trump’s consistent positions during the US presidential campaign was a respect for Russian President Vladimir Putin and a desire to restore US ties with a Cold War adversary. Reid Standish writes in Foreign Policy that Putin celebrated Trump’s win because it represents a chance for him to “restore Russia’s global status and reopen ties with the West.” Trump has not laid out clear...

China and Russia Take the Helm of Interpol

Robbie Gramer November 21, 2016
The International Criminal Police Organization elected a Chinese official for its president and a Russian for vice president. Alexander Prokopchuk, one of four Interpol vice presidents, is the first Russian to hold the position. Meng Hongwei will lead the organization until 2020, and human rights watchers express concern that China could manipulate the office for its own interests. Beijing will...