In The News

Japan Heads to Iraq, Haunted by Taboo Bred in Another War

Norimitsu Onishi November 19, 2003
For the first time since the Second World War, Japan faces the possibility of entering a conflict where Japanese soldiers may kill or be killed. The nation has come a long way since World War II when kamikaze attacks were considered normal and honorable. As a result of Japan's Article 9 of its Constitution, which prohibits the use of force to solve disputes, the country is thought to abhor...

In Turkey, a History Lesson in Peace

Seyla Benhabib November 18, 2003
Escaping from the Spanish Inquisition in the 15th century, many Sephardic Jews sought refuge in Turkey, founding a community that has survived for 500 years. The relations between the Jewish people and their Muslim hosts – from the Ottoman Empire to the secularized state – have been traditionally cordial and friendly, argues author Seyla Benhabib. But the recent bombings of two synagogues in...

Species Red List Makes Bleak Reading

George Wright November 18, 2003
The World Conservation Union (IUCN) published its latest "red list" of endangered species, expanding the list by 15 percent from last year's. The list now includes 12,259 species classified as critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable. These species are distributed around the world, but Indonesia, India, Brazil, China and Peru are among the countries with the highest number...

US Can't Rely Solely on Might

Joseph S. Nye, Jr. November 17, 2003
The privatization of war by transnational terrorists is the gravest threat of the twenty-first century, argues Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Dean of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Nye believes that insofar as the source of threat is changing from large conventional states to rogue states and terrorist networks, the US should rely more on its soft power than its military might. "Soft...

Will Global Warming Trigger a New Ice Age?

Bill McGuire November 13, 2003
Scientists have long warned that temperatures will soar and people swelter as rising levels of greenhouse gases lead to global warming. However, new evidence suggests that these conclusions were somewhat off-base. Instead of sweating, people around the world may soon be shivering as high temperatures hasten the coming of the next ice age. Currently, huge volumes of fresh water are being poured...

Antiglobalism's Jewish Problem

Mark Strauss November 12, 2003
Anti-Semitism is again on the rise, says Mark Strauss, a senior editor for Foreign Policy. Globalization is being pinned on the Jews – the traditional 'villain' of capitalism – and thus the Jewish people are being blamed for all perceived negative effects of increased market integration, Strauss writes. In the Middle East especially, where economies are stagnant everywhere but Israel,...

The New Leviathans

Nayan Chanda November 12, 2003
One of the major agents of globalization - the multinational corporation - has been alternately portrayed as global villain and global economic booster. In "Global Inc.", a new "atlas of the multinational corporation" by Medard Gabel and Henry Bruner, companies with an extensive global reach are subjected to a more objective critical eye. In this review article, Nayan Chanda...