In The News

Is Partition a Solution for Syria?

Dilip Hiro July 31, 2012
The roots of Syria’s intractable civil war rest in sectarian differences and a legacy of colonialism that divided a region’s people, favoring a few elites and suppressing dissenters. Today, the violence continues unabated. The bitter feud that divides Syria’s minority Alawites and Christians and the majority Sunni has similarities to the Hindu-Muslim division in British India. Author and South...

Reform Sprouts in North Korea?

John Delury July 26, 2012
North Korea, among the world’s most secretive, isolated and impoverished countries, is led by the world’s youngest head of state. Analysts are uncertain about many details of Kim Jong Un’s life, including his age or the extent of his education with a stint in Switzerland. Since taking power in April, the young leader has taken steps to transform his nation: dismissing the country’s top military...

Syria: No End in Sight

Fawaz A. Gerges July 17, 2012
With Damascus in flames and massacres in the countryside, a diplomatic solution to the Syrian crisis seems impossible. International and regional powers are fiercely divided: The US and other Western powers won’t try a military intervention without approval from the UN Security Council. Russia and China, permanent members of the UN Security Council, threaten to veto military intervention, and US...

Eurozone Heaves Sigh of Relief – For How Long?

Jean-Pierre Lehmann July 3, 2012
The European Union’s heads of state avoided disaster for the time being, preventing impending collapse of Spanish banks and offering assistance to Italy, too. Europe has decided to move toward a more complete integration. The steps are cautious, but “the USE – United States of Europe – would seem to be the ultimate destination, in fact if not in name,” explains Jean-Pierre Lehmann. Yet nobody...

The Court Rules in Pakistan

Paula Newberg June 21, 2012
Pakistan has a history of its civilian government being removed from power by the military, and last week the country’s Supreme Court mounted what could be the first judicial coup. As Pakistan faces terrorist challenges, political turmoil and economic crises, the activist Supreme Court has compounded the challenges – ruling that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani’s contempt-of-court conviction...

Time to End Fuel Subsidies?

Will Hickey June 7, 2012
Subsidies distort markets and discourage development of substitutes. Subsidies for fuel are especially problematic, because energy is a backbone of any economy. In terms of energy production and consumption, the world is an uneven playing field in terms of reserves, taxes, regulations, public versus private ownership and income availability. An abrupt end to fuel subsidies would crush the poorest...

Designing Fair Shares Prosperity in Asia

Chandran Nair May 31, 2012
Societies aiming for social progress have a few mechanisms: Governments can tax wealth and fund programs or NGOs; mandate a level of investment in beneficial programs, while giving companies and investors the benefit of choice; or impose few restrictions, hoping that companies and investors choose to strengthen communities on their own. Social investments can be piecemeal or far-reaching. With...