In The News

Why Pope Francis’s Peace Plan Won't Pay Off

Benny Avni May 29, 2014
President Shimon Peres and Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization Mahmoud Abbas accepted an invitation from the leader of the world’s Catholics to participate in peace talks at the Vatican. Many remain skeptical that a “prayer for peace” will have significant impact on a long and bitter conflict. As Benny Avni of Newsweek details, one obstacle is the power differential between the two...

A Calibrated Takeover of the South China Sea

Nayan Chanda May 22, 2014
China may have taken advantage of fragmentation among its neighbors and a preoccupied international community to set up a big exploration drilling rig in disputed waters. Vietnam “may join the Philippines in challenging China in international court as well as strengthening security cooperation with the U.S.,” writes Nayan Chanda, editor of YaleGlobal in his column for the WorldPost. “The rise of...

US, India’s Goals Diverge in New Delhi’s Near Abroad

Nilanthi Samaranayake May 20, 2014
The United States and India do not always agree on strategic policies. “While there is certainly much convergence between U.S. and Indian aspirations for stability in Afghanistan and East Asia, structural cleavages characterize both nations’ political and strategic approaches to the smaller countries in India’s backyard,” explains Nilanthi Samaranayake for World Politics Review. “The pervasive...

Russian President Putin Builds Ties in Moldova, Kazakhstan and Baltics

Michael Birnbaum May 19, 2014
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has vowed to defend ethnic Russians wherever they live – in a sense threatening governments of former Soviet republics and exerting Russian control. “Putin has spent recent weeks focused on neighboring countries, many of which have substantial ethnic Russian minorities,” writes Michael Birnbaum for the Washington Post. “The strategy puts Russia on a collision...

China’s Push in the South China Sea Divides the Region

Murray Hiebert May 15, 2014
China has moved a huge oil exploration rig in disputed waters claimed by Vietnam. The 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations is divided over how to react, writes Murray Hiebert of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Nations quarrel over small groups of islands to control fishing and potential energy deposits. Despite pleas from members like Vietnam to recognize the...

Restrained by Economic Mesh

Nayan Chanda May 12, 2014
Many international observers had hoped that an era of territorial annexation ended in 1991 when the Gulf War forced Iraq to backtrack on Kuwait. But a decade later, Russia quickly disrupted and invaded Crimea and China installed an oil drilling rig in disputed waters close to Vietnam. “The muted response to Russia and China's aggressive actions seem to underscore that in an increasingly...

Obama Travels to Asia, But Future of Trade Pact Is Uncertain

David Dapice April 21, 2014
President Barack Obama begins travels this week to Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines as the United States strives to convince Asian allies that a pivot to Asia is real. An indicator of US policy success is the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade pact being negotiated by 12 Pacific Rim nations, explains economist David Dapice. Such regional trade agreements are emerging beyond the...