In The News

The Bloc That Dare Not Speak Its Name

Graham Usher November 24, 2011
The Arab Spring has brought to the forefront a dominant dichotomy in the UN Security Council between human rights and sovereignty: The US and EU tend to support the former, while Russia and China tend to advocate the latter. Global observers had hoped that the emerging powers known as IBSA – India, Brazil and South Africa – might break the deadlock. Indeed, they had promised a voice from the...

Foreign Workers Welcome, But No Permanent Residents, Please

Philip Bowring November 11, 2011
With rapid economic growth comes the need for new sources of labor, particularly for jobs that citizens no longer care to do. So, wealthy places like Hong Kong or Singapore turn to Bangladesh, the Philippines and other neighboring states for temporary migrant help, unskilled or low-skilled, in households, restaurants or construction sites. In particular, temporary immigration is on the rise, and...

The 19th-Century World-System

Immanuel Wallerstein October 31, 2011
Sociologist Immanuel Wallerstein, the originator of the modern world-system theory, published volume four of his opus, which examines the development of centrist liberalism during the 19th century and its inevitable imbalances. Centrist liberalism, encompassing enlightened conservatives and pragmatic radicals, supported the expansion of state powers. The powerful feared the exercise of popular...

Coptic Christians Rage Against Egypt’s Army

October 12, 2011
Egypt’s revolution demanding human rights and just representation could be high-jacked by special interests. Tensions between Muslims and Coptic Christians, the latter making up about 10 percent of Egypt’s population of 80 million, are on the rise. The military took brutal measures on Coptic Christians protesting the burning of a church by Muslim extremists, and at least 25 people died. The...

Emerging Democracies Coy on Denouncing Syrian Repression

Christophe Jaffrelot October 10, 2011
The Arab Spring protests have put emerging powers on the spot. French scholar Christophe Jaffrelot explores whether fledgling democracies have an obligation to aid the citizens of repressive states in securing democratic freedoms – why India, Brazil and South Africa resisted a UN Security Council resolution to intervene in Libya and declined to seek resolution against Sryia’s al-Bassad regime for...

Asia’s Lack of Babies

Philip Bowring September 20, 2011
Declining birth rates in East Asia could dent economic growth, notes an Asian Development Bank study. Increasing wealth correlates with low fertility rates. Bearing and raising children entails sacrifices that last at least two decades, and women easily ignore government calls for a hike in reproduction rates. Asia could follow the lead of Scandinavia, France or the US, suggests Philip Bowring...

Torture in Bahrain Aided by Nokia Siemens

Vernon Silver, Ben Elgin August 31, 2011
Torture victims in Bahrain report that interrogators confronted them with detailed transcripts of mobile phone conversations. Surveillance equipment in Bahrain was sold by Siemens AG and maintained by Nokia Siemens Networks and Trovicor, according to company employees who requested anonymity. “The use of the system for interrogation in Bahrain illustrates how Western-produced surveillance...