In The News

Taiwan Squeezed as US and China Negotiate

Simon Tisdall November 20, 2007
The issue of Taiwan has been a thorny one since the Kuomintang’s relocation from mainland China in 1949. A sense of irredentism has been present on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, though now it persists predominantly on the mainland. The surge in China-US relations in recent years has complicated the Taiwan question even more. Though Taiwan has depended on deals with the US military in the past...

Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss

Paula Newberg November 6, 2007
Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's president and army commander, declared martial law on November 3, 2007, anticipating the country's highest court ruling that he may not hold those two posts simultaneously. Some analysts call this his second coup. By shutting down media, lining streets with soldiers, arresting opposition politicians, suspending rights, firing the chief justice of the...

Kosovo’s Independence Could Mean a New Conflict

Humphrey Hawksley November 5, 2007
After World War II, Kosovo became a province of Serbia in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Kosovo, with its majority of ethnic Albanians, enjoyed near-autonomy until 1989 and the oppressive rule of Slobodan Milosevic. The Albanians resisted throughout the 1990s, atrocities ensued, leading finally to intervention by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1999. Yugoslavia splintered...

Beware, Constitutions Can Change Your Life

Philip Johnston October 23, 2007
Constitutions are not boring documents. Instead, they outline rights for citizens, directing leaders and giving continuity to problem solving. A constitution "defines our liberties and the relationship between people and the state, the governed and the government," writes Philip Johnston for the Telegraph, in an essay that addresses concerns about such a document for the EU. Membership...

As Mideast Realigns, US Leans Sunni

Howard LaFranchi October 10, 2007
US President George Bush began his second term with a sweeping determination to spread democracy and freedom around the world. In the face of continued struggles in Iraq and a rising threat from Shiite Iran, that idealism has faded into "realpolitik." The main criterion for White House support today is opposition to Tehran rather than liberalization, which means that the Bush...

Sovereign Wealth to the Rescue

Michael Pettis August 20, 2007
A US consumption spree has spawned a global savings glut, and nations such as China and Japan with large reserves of cash still hope for sizable returns. “Every period of globalization in the past has had its origins in one or more events that gave a big boost to global liquidity,” writes finance professor Michael Pettis for the Wall Street Journal. “As liquidity expanded and risk appetite rose,...

All at Sea Over Resources in East Asia

Barry Wain August 14, 2007
As Asia celebrates ongoing economic growth, the nations that ring the South China Sea cannot resolve their dispute over geographic features that dot the sea. The waters could cover rich reserves of oil and gas, and more than half the world’s merchant fleet sails across every year. Nations that prove claims to islands and rocks hope to collect those resources. Six countries claim the Spratly...