In The News

Prisoner's Release Does Not Herald a Xinjiang Spring

Dru C. Gladney March 30, 2005
The recent release of a Uyghur businesswoman from a Chinese prison may have appeased the visiting US Secretary of State, but the gesture also underscored the continual frictions between China and its Uyghur ethnic minority. Beijing's official stance is that Muslim Uyghurs separatists pose a terrorist threat, but as Dru C. Gladney suggests, this may actually be a case of so-called "...

Web Petition Stokes Anti-Japan Passions

Hamish McDonald March 30, 2005
In the last week, over 19 million people, mainly Chinese, have signed an online petition against Japanese inclusion in the ranks of permanent members on the United Nations Security Council. Kofi Annan's recently announced plans for reform in the UN has led Japan, along with Germany, India, and Brazil, to step up efforts to gain permanent status alongside the five current seatholders, which...

Where Faith Is a Healer

Madeleine Bunting March 28, 2005
While secularism has taken hold in Europe, the story in the rest of the world has been quite different. Seemingly different regions, such as the Americas and the Middle East, have experienced substantial increases in religiosity. Africa is no exception: Christianity and Islam are expanding dramatically, and traditional African religions are experiencing a renaissance. A forthcoming BBC report...

Fraying of a Latin Textile Industry

Ginger Thompson March 28, 2005
The garment and textile industry has, for decades, been a source of employment and economic vitality for many South and Latin American nations. In El Salvador, the industry has been crucial to improving the standard of living for its people. But across the region, garment workers are being blindsided by changes in global trade. January 2005 saw an end to textile quotas worldwide, and companies...

Le Maître du Kirghizistan est renversé, mais la politique du juste milieu pourra-t-elle tenir ?

Paula R. Newberg March 28, 2005

Kyrgyz Ruler Is Toppled, but Can the Center Hold?

Paula R. Newberg March 28, 2005
The flight of the president of Kyrgyzstan, facing angry demonstrators, has suddenly thrust the small Central Asian republic into the international limelight. But as regional expert Paula R. Newberg notes, the overthrow of President Askar Akaev was a long time coming, and may have serious repercussions in the neighborhood. As Newberg warns, Kyrgyzstan's more conservative authoritarian...

Europe's Second Thoughts on China Embargo

François Godement March 25, 2005
In a bold statement of its foreign policy independence, the European Union recently announced plans to lift the arms embargo on China. Now, leaks from Britain suggest the EU is having second thoughts. Although the European backtracking is seen as the result of US pressure, writes policy analyst François Godement, Europeans have their own reasons to reassess their decision. Any EU decision must...