In The News

Iran the Great Unifier? The Arab World Is Wary

Michael Slackman February 7, 2006
With a confrontational foreign policy, the world’s only Shiite Islamic government is striving to fill a power void in the Middle East resulting from the fall of Arab nationalism and the absence of any dominant nation. Yet other leaders in the region are wary. Drawing popular support for its hardline stance towards the US and Israel, Iran maintains connections to militant groups such as Hezbollah...

In Kuwait, Succession and a Parliamentary Revolution

Mai Yamani February 3, 2006
The victory of Hamas in Palestine showed the world how the democratic process can produce unexpected results. Less publicized, however, is the recent assertion of democratic power in Kuwait. The nation, which has 10 percent of the world’s oil reserves, has been ruled by two rival branches of the Sabah family for the past two centuries. Traditionally the family resolves issues of succession...

Poor Nations Complain Not All Charity Reaches Victims

Stephanie Strom February 1, 2006
Aby Ibrahim Niger’s health minister late last year voiced dissatisfaction with international aid groups. Now other poor nations and those affected by disaster are also expressing mistrust about NGO reliability - how money is raised versus how it is spent. Leaders, including those from Indonesia and Sri Lanka, charge that NGOs rely on specific crises to collect funds and then spend the money...

Stopping the Iranian Bomb – Part II

George Perkovich January 26, 2006
Iran’s revived uranium enrichment program is a cause for general concern and not only because it could lead to the nuclear arming of Iran. Attempts to halt the Iranian program by imposing sanctions could also send oil prices skyrocketing. In the final part of this series on what to do with the Iranian challenge, non-proliferation specialist George Perkovich contends that sanctions and military...

Stopping the Iranian Bomb – Part I

Gary Samore January 24, 2006
In early January, Iran resumed its uranium enrichment program, claiming civilian purposes. Iran’s long record of clandestine activity in this regard, however, leaves only one conclusion – it is the first step toward weapons capability. The challenge that the world now faces is how to stop an oil-rich Iran from exploiting the current nervousness about oil price rise from going ahead. In a series...

They’re Rounding the First Turn! And the Favorite Is…

Nicholas D. Kristof January 19, 2006
Anticipating President Bush’s February trip to India, Nicholas D. Kristof evaluates the other Asian giant ready to seize the 21st century as the great world power. While autocratic China boomed over the past decade, democratic India has lumbered under the weight of its overly bureaucratic civil society and socialist economic policies, producing fewer jobs than its potential. But with flourishing...

Peru May Join Latin America’s Populist Tilt to Left

David Luhnow January 18, 2006
A populist movement is gathering momentum in Latin America. Moderate socialist candidate Michelle Bachelet has just been elected as the first female president of Chile. More radical Peruvian presidential candidate Ollanta Humala’s support has also been rising rapidly in recent polls. Humala is a left-wing politician who, if elected in early April, would likely wrestle with free trade and free-...