In The News

Dr. Christian Koch September 28, 2005
The annual ministerial meetings of the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council have, in recent years, been mostly oriented towards addressing pressing security and trade concerns. Over recent years, the dialogue between the two regions has mostly dealt with Iran’s nuclear program, human rights issues in the Gulf, the training of Iraqi security officials and expanding economic ties. But, according to...
Fahad Nazer September 27, 2005
The ascent of King Abdullah to the Saudi throne represents a great opportunity for domestic political reform, writes Fahad Nazer. As an absolute monarchy with almost no accountability to its citizens, the Saudi government will prove increasingly vulnerable to the demands of internal reformers – as well as growing global criticism over the radical Islam preached by its Wahhabist clerics. Any...
Bill Powell September 27, 2005
Since 1990, the Muslim population in Europe has expanded from around 10 million to 14 million. This spike in numbers has been accompanied by a growing restless dissatisfaction in the quality of life available to Muslims, either European-born or immigrant. High unemployment and a low glass ceiling have increased the sense of marginalization felt among the younger generation of followers of Islam....
Matthew Hays September 27, 2005
The globalizing potential of India's massive Bollywood film industry has been long documented and celebrated. Millions around the world pack movie halls from West Africa to the West Indies to watch Indian actors dance atop the moors of Scotland or by the lakes of Tajikistan. National cinemas have in many instances given way to projects conceived, financed, and developed through multi-...
Paul Maidment September 26, 2005
While US brands like Marlboro and Disney remain popular all over the world, the popularity of America itself is diminishing, stoked by grievances that far surpass the war in Iraq. Echoing pop star Bono's impression of "a brick through the storefront of Brand America," reporter Paul Maidment argues that there is a new, more active tone of counter-Americanism, and that it is "...
John Tagliabue September 22, 2005
Its egalitarian principles do not allow France to officially acknowledge the existence of its minorities, but those minorities do indeed exist – and their story is not a happy one. No one knows exactly how many blacks live in France, but hardly any of them hold positions of economic or political power. Hemmed in by a "low glass ceiling," the lucky among them escape corporate...
Moisés Naím September 20, 2005
In this Foreign Policy article, Moisés Naím highlights the discrepancy between the expectations of "normalcy" held by a small number of privileged citizens and the realities of the rest of the world. Despite what many in Western nations may believe, their concept of "normal" is not, in fact, universal. In fact, gross income discrepancies, health care inadequacies, and...