In The News

Double Jeopardy: Russia Strives to Reintegrate With the West

Ashkhen Kazaryan November 24, 2015
Russians want to be responsible members of the global community and seek reintegration, yet they also fervently support their government's aggressive foreign policy. “As the leaders in the West contemplate joining Russia in a strategy to defeat the Islamic State, the world needs to understand the deeper reasons for Russian behavior as much as Russia needs to modify its strategies and...

Cybersecurity Treaties May Be Nice, But It’s Every Country for Itself

Robert Litwak and Meg King November 13, 2015
China and the United States are attempting to negotiate a cyber arms-control agreement. Robert Litwak and Meg King, writing for Reuters, detail the differences between nuclear and cyber arms control. Individuals and non-state actors, even insiders, can pose cybersecurity threats. Also, “authoritarian states, such as Russia and China, have an interest in preserving ‘patriotic hackers’ as a policy...

China Abandons One-Child Policy

October 29, 2015
Human rights advocates have long blasted China for its strict one-child policy. Confronting an aging population and slowing growth, China’s Communist Party is scrapping a policy crafted to ease poverty and allowing two children per family. “China is trying and complete its transition from a[n] investment-and-export-dependent developing nation to a ‘moderately prosperous society’ with an economy...

US Sail-By Rattles Beijing's Sovereignty Claims

Minnie Chan and Agencies October 28, 2015
The South China Sea includes some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, and areas of the sea are under dispute. China, one of several claimants, has built up reefs once submerged under high tide, adding airstrips, ports and other infrastructure. A US Navy warship challenged China’s claims by sailing within 12 nautical miles of the disputed Mischief and Subi reefs in the Spratly archipelago....

Islamic Group Blocked From Building “Britain's Biggest Mosque” in London

Andrew Gilligan October 28, 2015
An Islamic group is reported to have lost its appeal for building a mega-mosque in a London neighborhood. The court decision could end a 16-year battle that included protests in support and opposition to the plans. “Tablighi Jamaat is an ultra-conservative and separatist group which believes that Muslims should not integrate into non-Muslim society. Its current UK headquarters, in Dewsbury, West...

Narrow Court Ruling May Offer Room for Diplomacy on South China Sea Claims

Ashley Townshend October 13, 2015
The announcement is expected any day from the Arbitral Tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on whether it has jurisdiction to rule on the Philippines’ case against China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea. In the ensuing hearing, a narrow ruling against China’s “nine-dashed line” is the most likely outcome, suggests Ashley Townshend, a research fellow in the...

Thank You for Not Smoking

Heather Wipfli October 7, 2015
The passage of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, or FCTC, offers a critical case study of how international law can be harnessed to address public health issues. Heather Wipfli is author of “Global War on Tobacco: Mapping the World's First Public Health Treaty,” and an excerpt of her book was published in Foreign Affairs. With nearly 6 million tobacco-...