In The News

An Empire of Denial

George Monbiot June 1, 2004
The American 'empire' may be in denial, but it certainly doesn't need to become more assertive, says author George Monbiot. In this article in the UK's Guardian, Monbiot takes on historian Niall Ferguson to argue why American imperialism is not a good thing. When Ferguson praises the achievements of the British empire and urges the US to follow in its footsteps, Monbiot says...

Benefits and Pitfalls of Globalization

Park Myung-seok June 1, 2004
A growing concern about globalization’s negative effects on national economies worldwide has some governments re-thinking long-held economic ideologies. The difficulty in creating jobs within the context of an expanding global employee base has some longtime champions of free trade, including the United States, looking to legislate against outsourcing. Similar movements to protect local jobs are...

Back to the Soeharto Years?

May 31, 2004
The Indonesian government has recently taken a hard-line stance in dealing with foreign non-governmental organizations in the country, shutting down one and “closely monitoring” the actions of 19 others. The rationale for the shutdown is based on claims by Indonesia's National Intelligence Agency that the NGOs, through reports on political freedoms, human rights and other issues, aim to...

US Nation-Building Abroad – Part II

Fawaz A. Gerges May 28, 2004
The Abu Ghraib prison, once the stage for atrocities committed by Saddam Hussein, has been turned into a symbol of brutal occupation by a foreign force. The story of abuse by American soldiers broke at the worst possible time for the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, writes Middle East specialist Fawaz A. Gerges, in the second installment of a multi-authored, three-part series on US...

Dangers to the Constitution

Elise Kissling May 28, 2004
This week's agreement on an expanded immigration law in Germany allows wider and freer entry for foreign nationals, but the political debates leading up to it have raised questions and concerns on many levels. Elise Kissling, in Germany's F.A.Z. Weekly, writes that an earlier legal proposal, strongly backed by German Interior Minister Otto Schily in the name of security from terrorism,...

Kerry Vows to Rebuild Alliances, Confront Terrorism

Jim VandeHei May 28, 2004
The United States political climate is heating up as the November presidential election nears. Presumptive democratic candidate for president John F. Kerry viscerally attacked current president George W. Bush about matters of foreign policy yesterday, saying actions taken over the course of Bush's term had undermined a legacy of cooperative US leadership that had stood for decades. Kerry’s...

Looking After Number One

Abbas Ali May 28, 2004
The American occupation in Iraq has the Iranian government torn in two different directions: their obvious interest in guiding the shape of the neighboring government is at odds with not wanting to cooperate with the United States. Iran’s ties to Iraq are ancient and critical. Holy sites and burial grounds that are among the most sacred to Iranian Muslims are located in Iraq, and studies of the...