In The News

Reform Begins At Home

Rasha Saad February 11, 2003
In the past few weeks, Saudi Arabia’s leaders have allowed officials from Human Rights Watch to visit their country, encouraged popular participation and tolerance, and signaled a willingness to pursue a more moderate state. But, as this article explains, both domestically and internationally Saudi Arabia is attempting a delicate balancing act and faces an uncertain political future. – YaleGlobal

Mixing Free Market, Minority Domination and Democracy Results in World On Fire

Pat Sewell February 10, 2003
In her recent book, World on Fire, Yale University professor Amy Chua argues that it is the resentment of long-standing minority domination that has so much of the world’s citizens ready to take up arms. Pat Sewell examines the author’s contentions and assesses her sweeping proposals for solving the most challenging problem facing global society since the Second World War. – YaleGlobal

Anti-Terror Fight Has to Be a Marathon Run on Wilsonian Principle, Not Cheap Oil

Thomas L. Friedman February 8, 2003
Who were the September 11 hijackers? What impelled them to bring about "such a bursting of the frontiers of civilization"? Thomas L. Friedman, the foreign affairs columnist at The New York Times and author of "The Lexus and the Olive Tree," spent the last fourteen months traveling to find answers to these questions. In an address at Yale University, he offered his personal...

Schröder's back is against the wall

Elise Kissling February 7, 2003
Behind-the-scenes maneuvering by Great Britain, Spain, and several eastern European states has left France and Germany the only major EU opponents of war in Iraq. If France abandons German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder during the next UN war resolution vote, Schroder will be on his own in Europe. Schroder must maintain the support of antiwar Germans while earning the backing of his own Christian...

A Scary Thought: Loose Nukes in North Korea

Ashton B. Carter February 6, 2003
Until recently, North Korea’s plutonium, used to make nuclear weapons, was contained at one site. Now the material is being moved, possible to the couintry’s many caves, where it will be hard to find and destroy. This is only the beginning of the imminent threat posed by the country’s nuclear program. North Korea could sell some of its weapons material, or the material could fall into the wrong...

Preemptive Strikes

February 6, 2003
The rhetoric of the Bush administration about American might and rights may have greatly changed the balance of the international system. In an interview with the BBC, North Korea's Foreign Ministry deputy director, Ri Pyong-gap, says that if more US troops move into Northeast Asia, Pyongyang could make a preemptive strike. "A preemptive attack is not something only the United States...

Lessons from History: Globalization Then and Now

Harold James February 5, 2003
The debate about globalization has changed since September 11th. Princeton University history professor Harold James points out that the terrorist attacks have led to calls for more controls on the free flow of capital, goods, and people, while the Enron scandal has sparked debates about regulation of business practices. Citing numerous historical parallels, James shows how such responses to the...