In The News

New Delhi's Delicate Balancing Act

Stanley A. Weiss May 3, 2007
As a thriving democracy, India has hundreds of political parties and is led by coalition governments. As a result, the party in power must please many special interests, not the least impoverished farmers who represent a majority, reports Stanley A. Weiss, founder of Business Executives for National Security. The government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is trying to defeat multiple problems...

Unions for a Global Economy

Harold Meyerson May 3, 2007
Workers are following the footsteps of business executives, expanding and gaining global influence by merging with counterparts in other sectors and around the world. “As unions begin their inevitable transformation into global entities, globalization's cheerleaders must define themselves more clearly, urges “Washington Post” columnist Harold Meyerson. “In other words, are they really for...

The Strange Death of Multiculturalism

Ian Buruma May 1, 2007
European society once was organized according to religion. People headed to neighborhoods, schools, hospitals and even jobs based on religious affiliation and word of mouth from fellow congregants. Muslims began immigrating into European communities after secularization took hold, and secular society became alarmed about a religious pillar rising alone in integrated communities. “In the end, the...

Against the Wall: The US Faces a United Iraq

Humphrey Hawksley May 1, 2007
The US still has a chance to deliver stability in Iraq, as hinted by widespread Iraqi rejection of a wall dividing Sunni and Shia neighborhoods in Baghdad, argues BBC correspondent Humphrey Hawksley. First and foremost, the US must focus on its fight with Al Qaeda. Also, the US must overcome any distaste for Islamist rule and embrace the Shias as the only viable, cohesive body with state-like...

Regime Change in the Arab World

Shlomo Ben-Ami April 30, 2007
The American-led invasion of Iraq was motivated, at least in part, by the desire to create a model state that would influence its Middle Eastern neighbors towards democracy. This did not happen, largely because the US policy of favoring pro-Western dictatorial regimes over hostile democracies did not end with the Cold War; therefore, the US has resisted the election of popular, yet threatening...

EU-US Summit: Hands Across the Ocean

José Manuel Barroso April 27, 2007
Despite persistent fears in the West about emerging competition from developing economies, a more immediate concern for Americans and Europeans is their own trade relationship. While the people of the European Union and the US together make up barely 10 percent of the world's population, bilateral business between the two accounts for fully 40 percent of all international trade. That is why...

China-Japan: Cautious Steps Across the Divide

Wenran Jiang April 26, 2007
While the Japanese invasion of China more than 60 years ago continues to cloud relations between the two Asian powers, recent diplomatic interactions also signal a beginning of reconciliation. With the rise of a new prime minister in Japan, Shinzo Abe, the two sides saw an opportunity to reverse the animosity that his predecessor had engendered with annual visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, where...