In The News

Bush's UN Agenda Is Well Under Way

Steven R. Weisman August 2, 2005
President Bush's decision to appoint John Bolton to the post of UN Ambassador during the US Senate's recess sparked ire among those who see the appointment as a sign of the administration's disdain for the UN. But these objections may be moot: Bush's plan for UN reform was in the works prior to yesterday's appointment, and is already close to fruition. Highlights of the...

Tech That, And That

S. Enders Wimbush July 29, 2005
Throughout history, democracies have allied with one another. The emerging ties between the US and India, however, are not due to a shared democratic ideology, but can be attributed to a recent convergence of interests. In this Outlook India article, S. Enders Wimbush argues that the recent agreement between President Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was motivated less by a desire to ‘...

Un nouveau grand jeu en marche

Ahmed Rashid July 26, 2005

The Cracks in Europe’s Expanding Empire

Mikhail Gorbachev July 26, 2005
The referendums on the EU constitution in France and the Netherlands shocked the European elites, reflecting a deep chasm dividing the ideologues and the public. The rapid expansion of the EU has caused widespread anger among citizens of the “Old World,” whose are afraid of losing their jobs to the influx of cheap labor from eastern Europe. Speculating that two separate systems in eastern and...

Great Game Reloaded

Ahmed Rashid July 26, 2005
Central Asia has historically been a stage for strategic power games involving Russia and Europe. Russia and China, who have inherited the mantle of earlier imperial powers, conceded the US a foothold in the wake of the September 11 attacks when the US needed Central Asian bases for its operation in Afghanistan. But nearly four years later, with the Afghan government still in turmoil and no end...

Good Day for India, Bad for Nonproliferation

Strobe Talbott July 21, 2005
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Washington last week was hailed as a major step forward in US-India relations. India was finally "decoupled" from Pakistan in American foreign policy, and recognized as a nascent "superpower" in its own right. However, as Brookings Institution president and former US special envoy to South Asia Strobe Talbott cautions, the...

How to Save Myanmar

July 21, 2005
For the past 17 years, the generals who massacred thousands of demonstrators in Myanmar have doggedly held onto power, and neither sanctions from the West nor incentives from the East have convinced them to make any concessions towards democratic reform. This year, Myanmar is again in the spotlight as it takes chairmanship of ASEAN. In this article, The Economist reminds readers of Myanmar’s...