In The News

Mugabe Sells Bankrupt Zimbabwe's Assets to China

Rochelle Mutton August 1, 2005
With a highly unsavory international reputation and one of the world's most sluggish economies, Zimbabwe and its leader, Robert Mugabe, have very few cards left to play. One of those cards is its natural resource wealth. As a result, China has been willing to trade with the otherwise isolated African country. Though details of Mugabe's recent talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao...

Searching For Justice

Khaled Fahmy July 29, 2005
The American-led war in Iraq has led to the trial of Saddam Hussein, currently under way. But many academics who see the war in Iraq as an egregious violation of international law have convened a tribunal of their own – the World Tribunal on Iraq (WTI) – which just held its final session in Istanbul. While critics believe that the WTI is merely an opportunity for anti-Americans to vent their...

How to Save Myanmar

July 21, 2005
For the past 17 years, the generals who massacred thousands of demonstrators in Myanmar have doggedly held onto power, and neither sanctions from the West nor incentives from the East have convinced them to make any concessions towards democratic reform. This year, Myanmar is again in the spotlight as it takes chairmanship of ASEAN. In this article, The Economist reminds readers of Myanmar’s...

Good Day for India, Bad for Nonproliferation

Strobe Talbott July 21, 2005
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Washington last week was hailed as a major step forward in US-India relations. India was finally "decoupled" from Pakistan in American foreign policy, and recognized as a nascent "superpower" in its own right. However, as Brookings Institution president and former US special envoy to South Asia Strobe Talbott cautions, the...

A Message to the South

Boutros Boutros-Ghali June 30, 2005
Is the UN in crisis? Former Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali thinks so. He claims that the liberalized theories of globalization have eroded the importance of the UN’s core powers and responsibilities, and that solutions to the crisis are long-term and intricate. The newest crop of post-Cold War conflicts, increasingly difficult to resolve, leave a larger peacekeeping role for the UN. But...

Whither Africa Avenue?

V. Sudarshan June 20, 2005
As a result of maneuvering by the so-called G4 (Japan, Germany, Brazil and India) to gain permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), a meeting of African Union members in early July will play a large role in determining which of the four will be successful. The meeting, which will take place in Sirte, Libya, will decide on two African countries which will put forward their own...

Fallout from the War on Terror – Part II

J Alexander Thier June 16, 2005
The complex effects of the US war on terror extend far beyond security – and the unintended results are not all positive. In this two-part series, YaleGlobal explores how US anti-terrorism policy is changing America's position in the world. In part two, J Alexander Thier , a former legal adviser in Afghanistan, considers the effects of human rights violations on the US standing in the Muslim...