In The News

Thai Democracy Enters Dangerous New Crossroads

Todd Pitman December 10, 2013
Bitter division in Thailand is a crisis for democracy, a divide that goes hand in hand with complicated relations with the nation’s monarchy. Protest leaders have suggested a preference for a government of elite experts and, according to Todd Pitman of the Associated Press, seek to establish “what amounts to a parallel government – complete with ‘volunteer peacekeepers’ to replace the police, a ‘...

The Philippines’ Tough Rebuilding Task

Pacific Strategies and Assessments December 9, 2013
Disaster relief and reconstruction offers especially tough challenges for developing nations like the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan. Displacement adds to immediate shelter, health, sanitation and economic problems, and that is a first priority. “The reconstruction and rehabilitation process, however, will also include rebuilding damaged infrastructures, restoring power and water supply, and...

NSA Spying: A Threat to US Interests?

Bruce Stokes December 5, 2013
Reports that the US National Security Agency has collected internet and telephone data in Europe could influence negotiations for a proposed Transatlantic Trade and Partnership and require new understanding on rules for the digital economy. Bruce Stokes, director of global economic attitudes at the Pew Research Center, reports on recent surveys: A majority of Americans suggest that it’s...

Putin's Russia: Too Weak to Stop Ukraine Joining Europe, But Will Try

Charles Crawford December 2, 2013
Ukraine finds itself in the middle of an old cultural battleground between Russia and Europe, explains Charles Crawford for the Telegraph. “Ukraine had no independent existence as a state until the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991,” he explains. “In 2004 the ‘Orange Revolution’ saw the first big Ukrainian convulsion over this question after huge popular protests against clumsily rigged...

A Dangerous Interregnum

Roger Cohen November 29, 2013
The 9/11 attacks, followed by long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, have left the United States exhausted, which has transformed its approach to the globe. New York Times columnist Roger Cohen cites political theorist Antonio Gramsci who suggested that transitions, during which old ways resist new approaches, can magnify crisis. The United States, and other nations, too, have taken an “inward turn...

How Globalization Has Left the 1 Percent Further Ahead

Tavia Grant, Janet McFarland November 28, 2013
Canada is not alone with a widening income divide – a few making great gains while the vast majority struggles with stagnant wages. Analysis from the Globe and Mail points to globalization as the reason. US competition may pressure wages, and the skilled with global appeal are paid more than those with local appeal. “The top 1 per cent of earners [has] seen growing demand for their specialized...

Will a Rising China Be a Responsible China?

Frank Ching November 28, 2013
The Chinese Communist Party’s Third Plenum released its plan for reforms, including moving toward the free market in allocating resources, abolishing prison reeducation, easing the one-child restriction for some families and eliminating local control over the judiciary. Despite such guidance on reforms, though, the plan is also designed to strengthen the party’s control, writes journalist Frank...