In The News

Preventing a War over Taiwan

Kenneth Lieberthal February 24, 2005
An escalation of the ongoing standoff between Taiwan and China could draw the already over-committed United States military into an unpleasant – and unnecessary – armed conflict. As political scientist Kenneth Lieberthal writes, political missteps on both sides have inflamed already heated cross-Strait tensions. China's warnings of military action have been seen as empty threats....

The Kyoto No-Show Can Still Go Green

James Gustave Speth February 16, 2005
The Kyoto Protocol to combat global climate change goes into effect today, February 16. This treaty, signed on December 11, 1997, is an international effort to protect the earth's climate and slow down global warming. Today, 141 countries have ratified the agreement, and 34 economically advanced countries have accepted the Protocol's targets on reduction of greenhouse gas emissions....

"What Aspect of Islam is Supposedly Under Threat?"

Yoginder Sikand February 10, 2005
In the wake of communal violence in Holland, multiculturalists in Europe are under increasing pressure for preaching acceptance of Islam. Some detractors insist that Muslim minorities stubbornly resist integration into European culture. Another mounting strain of critique attacks multiculturalism from an entirely different angle. These critics argue that in privileging the conservative religious...

Out of the Shadows

Malcolm Maiden February 7, 2005
The rise of China and India – one, the world's most populous country and the other, the world's biggest democracy – seems to only be a question of time. With both countries on Australia's front doorstep, one would think that the Commonwealth would do everything possible to capitalize on this potential growth. But while relations with China have bloomed, the same cannot be said...

Letting Sudan Get Away with Murder

Ben Kiernan February 4, 2005
Over 200,000 people have died in the violence in Sudan's Darfur provinces. And as the bloodshed continues, genocide scholar Ben Kiernan writes, members of the international community – who may actually have the influence to halt the killings and prosecute the perpetrators – have been preoccupied with semantic and jurisdictional wrangling. Kiernan provides an historical background to the...

Fakes!

Frederik Balfour February 2, 2005
Counterfeiting is a criminal activity that costs the global economy billions every year. The manufacturers of fake goods have become increasingly professional, their wares often indistinguishable from the real things. And by slipping counterfeit products – or parts of products – into the supply chain at different stages, they have slipped seamlessly into the world market. China is central to...

Germany's "Project Cleanup" Could Deport Hundreds of Radical Muslims

Markus Deggerich February 1, 2005
With the passage of a tougher immigration law, Germany is waging its own kind of pre-emptive strike in the war against terror: It will now have the ability to deport people suspected of possibly committing a terrorist act in the future. The burden of proof for deportation will employ a lower standard than the current one. As one government official said, "The fact that someone spent time...