In The News

China Backs Argentina's Position on Falkland Islands

Fiona Govan June 27, 2014
China has proposed a short-term solution of “dialogue” for the territorial fight between the United Kingdom and Argentina over the Falkland Islands, or the Malvinas as they are known in Spanish. Britain refuses to discuss the matter with Argentina. “In a referendum held in March 2012, 99.8 per cent of the islanders voted in favour of remaining a British Oversees territory,” reports the Telegraph...

Islam – Up for Grabs

Ooi Kee Beng June 26, 2014
The world is on the watch for Islamic extremism – recent examples include the execution of some 1,700 Shia solders in Iraq and the kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls in Nigeria. Two dynamics are underway that confound international relations, argues Ooi Kee Beng, deputy director of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies: First, a tendency among some Muslim nations to extend Islam rigidly...

The Legacy of Tiananmen Square

Johan Lagerkvist June 3, 2014
China’s communist leaders orchestrated a steady march towards great power status, accompanied by rewriting history and erasing tragic moments. Author Johan Lagerkvist reflects on the 25th anniversary of what has come to be known as Tiananmen Square massacre and points out how “the mindset behind the tragedy – unswerving support for China’s rise, with no toleration for criticism, questions or...

Renminbi Undervalued? Think Again

Farok J. Contractor May 8, 2014
The Chinese currency may be under-valued, but not by much. The renminbi has appreciated by 35 percent since 2005 amid persistent inflation in China’s manufacturing sector, and further appreciation is unlikely, reports Farok J. Contractor, management professor. The semi-annual US Treasury report describes the currency as “significantly undervalued,” but does not declare China a “currency...

In Global Health, Abortion Bears the Scarlet A

Jill Filipovic April 30, 2014
Abortion poses a moral dilemma – ending the life of a child, but sometimes saving lives of individual women. Illegal, unsafe abortions have been cited as a leading cause of maternal death globally and a driver of gender inequality. “U.S. foreign policy exacerbates this global public health crisis, perpetuating a culture of stigma, silence and inaction around a leading killer of women,” argues...

Jihad in Nigeria: Past Lives On

Lamin Sanneh April 29, 2014
Boko Haram, a Salafist extremist group continues to terrorize northern Nigeria in a quest for a strict Islamist state. A bomb killed 75 in Abuja, April 14, followed the next day by the kidnapping of more than 200 girls from a school in Chibok. The group’s Arabic name suggests intention to wage jihad. But violence and coercion belie the meaning of jihad – a struggle against unbelief, mainly within...

Global Food Security: Debunking the “China Threat” Narrative

Zhang Hongzhou April 24, 2014
In assessing food security, analysts point to two challenges – climate change along with rising demand in China. Zhang Hongzhou, associate research fellow with the China Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, argues that “playing up the China threat narrative is rather misguided and unhelpful to global food security.” Food self-sufficiency is not an option for growing...