In The News

Chinese Tourists Touch Down in Germany

Hugh Williamson April 6, 2003
Until recently, the Chinese middle class was able to visit only a few countries due to strict travel regulations by the Chinese State. A recent bilateral agreement between China and Germany that gave Germany the "approved destination status" has implications for tourism industries in both countries. This is the first such agreement between China and a European Union State. The...

And Now, the Battle for the Mother of all Contracts

James Buchan April 6, 2003
The US has already offered contracts to American companies to rebuild Iraq even before the war has been won. And despite calls for more international involvement, it seems that the US ultimately intends to employ only American companies – the House of Representatives has already voted not to let any money for reconstruction go to companies from the countries that opposed the war. Yet, Iraq...

Yale Discusses the Implications of the Iraq War

April 4, 2003
Whether one is for or against the war in Iraq, one cannot underestimate the immense significance of the event to world affairs.. Hosted by the interdisciplinary program in Ethics, Politics and Economics at Yale University, six professors reflected on the war in Iraq, its buildup, and its aftermath. All felt that this would be a watershed event in world order and in the ways in which war is...

Street Gaps

Amira Howeidy April 4, 2003
As the war in Iraq proceeds, demonstrators, political dissenters, and even frozen political parties wage their own war of dissidence within Egypt. Among their grievances are the US invasion of Iraq, Israeli aggression towards the Palestinians, and, according to some analysts, government corruption. Yet also within this battle both sides struggle over the right to demonstrate. The Egyptian...

The Cost of an Empire

Jeffrey E. Garten April 2, 2003
In this article, Jeffrey Garten, Dean of the Yale School of Management, warns of the mismatch between America's economic policies and its “mushrooming overseas commitments.” In order to finance the global fight against terrorism and the arduous process of nation-building in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, Washington will have to drastically alter its current economic policies, says Garten...

Doha Round in Deadlock

April 1, 2003
The latest failure of the WTO's Doha round centered on a predictable culprit – agricultural subsidies. This editorial in the Financial Times argues that the failure of discussions on agricultural protection could not only be the death knell of the Doha round, but, worse still, could provoke member countries to actually increase protectionist barriers. "By removing pressure on WTO...

U.S. Risks a Wave of Extremism

Husain Haqqani April 1, 2003
Most Arabs are skeptical of U.S. President Bush’s cry to bring democracy to Iraq. Arabs still remember France and Britain’s failed promises of liberation at the fall of the Ottoman Empire. They also fear that Bush is a fundamentalist Christian who will oppress Arab and Islamic identity as the US rebuilds Iraq. If, in the ensuing months, evidence confirms such fears, Islamic fundamentalism will...