In The News

Putin’s Dangerous Game

Strobe Talbott March 11, 2014
Displeased by the removal of its ally in Ukraine, and contending a need to protect ethnic Russians wherever they live, Russia has dispatched troops to the neighboring state. The next step is redrawing Ukrainian borders by annexing Crimea under the guise of a hastily arranged election limited to the peninsula. The international community is unlikely to respond with military force, but could...

There’s No Such Thing as a Global Citizen

Jakub Grygiel December 17, 2013
Global problems like climate change require leaders with vision who move beyond narrow, short-term interests. YaleGlobal is among the many urging global solutions for such global problems. Jakub Grygiel, international relations professor, describes that goal as a “figment of the imagination of the few” to be avoided in practice. He expresses concern about schools of public policy “giving up on...

Cold War in the Pacific: China Escalates Tensions with Neighbors

Hans Hoyng, Wieland Wagner, Bernhard Zand December 6, 2013
The small Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea are closest to Taiwan, but, according Spiegel Online, such territorial claims are not about distance but rather “influence and natural resources, with hegemony and nationalism, and with bitter historical memories and fresh, global aspirations – in short, it's a toxic mixture of geopolitics.” Beijing announced an air defense...

Chinese Territorial Strife Hits Archaeology

Jeremy Page December 4, 2013
Shoals and reefs dotting the South China Sea, now subject to competing claims from several nations, once presented treacherous traps for passing ships over the centuries. International law on deep-sea shipwrecks is murky, and recovery rights clash with preservation and research efforts. Owners, funders, cargo and crews often hailed from multiple countries, reports Jeremy Page for the Wall Street...

US al-Liby Capture Violates Libyan Sovereignty

October 8, 2013
The capture in Libya of Abu Anas Al Liby, accused of engineering the 1998 bomb blasts that destroyed two US embassies in Africa and killed 220 people, represents a violation of Libyan sovereignty by the United States, suggests a Abu-Dhabi newspaper. The United States did not notify Libyan officials. The US should have followed procedures carried out for a raid in Somalia on the same day, where it...

Why US Is Being Humiliated by the Hunt for Snowden

Simon Tisdall July 9, 2013
US failure to nab a former National Security Agency contract employee who's spilling secrets has become a source of embarrassment for the government, Simon Tisdall writes for CNN. Stern demands from a range of US political leaders for immediate extradition of Snowden, along with attempts to extend US law across the world with vague warnings of consequences for Russia and China, seem...

China Agrees to South China Sea Talks Amid New Row With Manila

Stuart Grudgings, Manue Mogato July 2, 2013
China has agreed to hold talks with its ASEAN neighbors in a bid to cool tensions surrounding maritime claims in the South China Sea. The move came on the heels of Philippines Foreign Minister Albert del Rosario’s accusation that China has engaged in “increasing militarization,” a comment prompted by Chinese state media warning of a counterstrike. Analysts have expressed concern that the rhetoric...