In The News

Indian Americans Come Out

Manjeet Kripalani January 24, 2007
Indian Americans, armed with advanced degrees and above-average incomes, are a formidable force in US politics, as evidenced by swift approval of the US-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act. Even longstanding supporters of nuclear nonproliferation supported the act that permits the sale of nuclear technology to India for civilian purposes and allows for more inspections of nuclear sites...

Ahmadinejad's Flare Amps Up Tensions

William Pfaff January 24, 2007
In devising foreign policy, governments must strive to understand differences and similarities in the structures of other governments. For example, the US and Israel err in assuming that Iran’s president has as much power as the US president, cautions author William Pfaff. Another err would be using Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s defiance as an excuse for invading Iran. Such an attack is anticipated as...

Who Screwed Up Globalization?

Steven Weber January 23, 2007
Activists who attend the World Social Forum in Africa look for ways to slow or even reverse some parts of globalization. The activists worry about common global problems that go unsolved – pollution, global warming, health risks, overpopulation – because no profits stem from tackling such issues. Favorite targets for activists’ wrath, since the first World Social Forum gathering in Porto Alegre...

Diplomacy as Afterthought Wins US Few Mideast Converts

Fawaz A. Gerges January 23, 2007
One can sympathize with the Bush administration’s desire to shift gears in the Middle East, from merely reacting to Iraq’s instability to actively pushing for peace in the region. Author and Mideast scholar Fawaz Gerges sees Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s diplomatic mission, however, as a case of too little, too late. Moderate Arab governments offer hollow words of support for the US in...

Flexing Muscle, China Destroys Satellite in Test

William J. Broad January 22, 2007
Without warning, China destroyed one of its own aging weather satellites in space – thus achieving a technological milestone and demonstrating that it can destroy other satellites in space. The US and Russia conducted similar tests during the 1980s, and the US has since worked on anti-missile defense systems for space. Analysts suggest that the Chinese test could be a way to encourage the US to...

What $1.2 Trillion Can Buy

David Leonhardt January 19, 2007
Before making an expenditure or investment, economists often analyze what the money could have bought instead, and in a “New York Times article,” journalist David Leonhardt explores the opportunity costs of the $1.2 trillion spent by the US on the Iraq war. Leonhardt relies on a conservative estimate of the direct and indirect costs of a war originally estimated to cost $50 billion by the...

The Other Malaysia: ASEAN and Globalization

Farish A Noor January 18, 2007
An integrated world economy is seen by many as beneficial for the developing world, but recent events in Southeast Asia cause some to question this optimism. After an announcement to impose controls on foreign capital in Thailand led to a 14 percent drop in Bangkok’s stock market, the newly-installed government was forced to retract its statement in a desperate effort to avoid a repeat of the...