In The News

Friendship Across Continents

Ibrahim Nafie April 1, 2005
The term "transatlantic relations" usually refers to Europe and the United States. But if current Latin American initiatives succeed, "transatlantic relations" may soon describe the growing ties between Latin America and the Middle East. Brazil will host the first ever summit of South American and Arab countries this May. Not only will the conference highlight the two regions...

US Yet to Accommodate China's Rise

Philip Stephens April 1, 2005
Compared to the war in Iraq, the hunt for bin-Laden, and the rift in the transatlantic alliance, writes columnist Philip Stephens, "the implications of China's rapid emergence as a global power have been neglected." Only recently have the full geopolitical implications of China's burgeoning economic power come to the forefront of US policy. And according to Stephens, the...

La liberation d’un prisonnier ne prefigure pas un repit au Xinjiang

Dru C. Gladney March 30, 2005

Prisoner's Release Does Not Herald a Xinjiang Spring

Dru C. Gladney March 30, 2005
The recent release of a Uyghur businesswoman from a Chinese prison may have appeased the visiting US Secretary of State, but the gesture also underscored the continual frictions between China and its Uyghur ethnic minority. Beijing's official stance is that Muslim Uyghurs separatists pose a terrorist threat, but as Dru C. Gladney suggests, this may actually be a case of so-called "...

Is the Turmoil Good or Bad for Israel?

March 23, 2005
Israel's relations with its Middle-Eastern neighbors are constantly shifting and heavily determined by the Palestinian situation. The recent ceasefire and planned Israeli withdrawal from Gaza have led to a similar thaw with other countries in the region. Egypt has seized the chance to assist Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and intends to strengthen economic ties with Israel. And while...

Old Threats, New Opportunities in Tsunami's Wake

Christopher Jasparro March 23, 2005
The Aceh region of Indonesia, among the hardest hit in last year's tsunami disaster, could be a strategic center in Indonesia's battle with terror – and in the larger struggle for security in Southeast Asia, writes Christopher Jasparro. Several groups with differing political aims – Islamic militants, Acehnese separatists, the Indonesian army, and international relief groups – find...

Al Qaeda and its Affiliates

David Ronfeldt March 21, 2005
Al Qaeda and its affiliates are operating much like a global tribe waging segmental warfare, writes David F. Ronfeldt, a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation, in this independently published paper. Ronfeldt describes the dynamics of classic tribes – what drives them, how they organize, how they fight – and argues that Al Qaeda fits this tribal paradigm. The war they are waging...