In The News

Japan's History Problem

G. John Ikenberry August 28, 2006
By not admitting errors during World War II, Japan remains isolated, with closest neighbors – China and South Korea – suspicious of its goals. With annual visits to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, the prime minister defiantly resists any remorse about Japan’s aggression more than sixty years ago. Ironically, Japan has won respect throughout the world for its constitution that emphasizes peace and...

Muslim Myopia

Irshad Manji August 25, 2006
Islamic scholar Irshad Manji does not dispute the claims laid out by mainstream British Muslims last week that the blunders in Iraq and Lebanon provide fuel for extremism. However, she also calls upon Muslim representatives in the West to be accountable for any of their own contributions to violence. Muslim-on-Muslim violence is endemic throughout the world, with Muslims responsible for as many...

A Misreading in India

Amelia Gentleman August 24, 2006
Coca-Cola and PepsiCo executives were confident that they could handle allegations, made by the Center for Science and the Environment, that products sold in India contained pesticides. But executives did not anticipate how quickly the news would spread through India, how local politicians would seize the opportunity to denounce the multinational corporations, and how explosive the issue could...

At France Télécom, Battle to Cut Jobs Breeds Odd Tactics

Leila Abboud August 23, 2006
A winery and scuba-diving shop, a magician and an opera singer – such are the small businesses and careers subsidized by France Télécom, the national telecommunications company. While preparing to list the company on the Paris stock exchange in the mid-1990s, executives recognized that its workforce was bloated. After nearly a decade of attempting to induce early retirement by offering generous...

Somalia for the Somalis: An Idea in Peril

Harun Hassan August 22, 2006
The hope for stability that came with the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) defeat of warlord militias in the Somali capital of Mogadishu has since dissolved into a division between two centers of power, both claiming to speak for the Somali people. Both are backed by separate outside forces. The interim coalition government, largely confined to the town of Baidoa, has received pledges of support...

Drop the “War on Terrorism” Metaphor

Richard N. Haass August 17, 2006
Although terrorists have yet to launch another attack on the scale of the September 11th attacks, the arrests in London remind the world that extremists still plot. Globalization allows would-be terrorists to move around easily, and modern technology such as weapons of mass destruction increases the potential for destruction and loss of life. The Bush administration insists that promoting...

Japan-China: Nationalism on the Rise

Brahma Chellaney August 16, 2006
Political parties that pander to nationalism and spread xenophobia threaten Asia’s economic and social renaissance. For example, Japanese politicians insist on making pilgrimages to war shrines, refusing to admit any remorse for atrocities committed during World War II. Countries, including China and Japan, tend to overlook history or develop their own warped version to invade territory, seize...