In The News

Nationalism in Sports

Cho Se-Hyon April 6, 2004
In the US, spectators applaud excellent athletes regardless of national origin or race, according to the author. However, he says, this is not the case in South Korea, where national pride compels spectators to call foreign players "mercenaries" and domestic athletes to hinder their foreign teammates from excelling on the playing field. Not only are such reactions unsportsmanlike, they...

An Explosive Relationship

April 5, 2004
The devastating bombings of March 11th left Spain – and Europe as a whole – feeling newly vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Now, in an effort to crack down on what is seen as a widespread threat, governments across the continent are seeking increased police power to stop another attack. The suicides of suspected organizers of the Madrid bombings on April 3rd were the dramatic consequences of...

China's Net watchdogs: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Liyuan Lu April 3, 2004
Political dissidence in China has long searched for an appropriate outlet. With the advent of the internet, anger at politicians, foreigners, upper classes, and others has moved online. Sometimes, internet news forums have served as forces for progressive change – political prisoners have been released after online petitions and editorials became widespread. But at other times, the internet has...

A Normal Country

Andrei Shleifer March 30, 2004
In this Foreign Affairs’ essay, Andrei Shleifer and Daniel Treisman argue that the popular image in the west of Russia as a “disastrous failure” needs to be rethought. General belief holds that Russia has failed to leave its communist past behind, and as a result, has transformed itself into “a collapsed state inhabited by criminals threatening other countries with multiple contagions.” Contrary...

Terror Fight to Intensify

William Pratt March 26, 2004
Official anti-terror plans emerge in Germany following a report that three Moroccans suspected of planning the Madrid bombings had lived in Germany. The three men had previously been identified by German officials as “potentially violent Islamists”. With the fear that Germany could be used as a potential base and/or target for future terrorist attacks, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has begun...

A Million Yassins?

Amira Howeidy March 26, 2004
Egypt was the first Arab country to make peace with Israel, but the future of diplomatic relations between the two countries now looks shaky. Israel’s assassination last Monday of Hamas founder and prominent Palestinian, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, has set off zealous anti-Israel reactions among Egyptians. An estimated 50,000 university students protested at major Egyptian cities, and even those who...

Political Shades of Green Clash

Miguel Bustillo March 24, 2004
Immigration has once again spurred a divisive debate among environmental conservationists in the USA. Even the 112-year-old Sierra Club is facing an 'insurgent' campaign aimed at getting the group to come down hard for immigration restrictions. For decades, population control has featured prominently in the agenda of most environmental groups. Some environmentalists argue that the...