In The News

China’s Foreign-Policy Balancing Act – Part I

Jonathan Fenby April 13, 2011
Every move of fast-rising China in international affairs is closely studied for a shift from old patterns. Some analysts expect China to shoulder new global responsibility; others anticipate continuation of policies upholding national sovereignty. This two-part YaleGlobal series analyzes China’s approach in determining foreign-policy priorities. China’s evolving policy on Libya reveals its...

France and Britain Urge Stronger NATO Action in Libya

Alan Cowell, Kareem Fahim April 12, 2011
NATO is divided about how to achieve a quick resolution of conflict in Libya as rebels fail to gain ground against Muammar Gaddafi’s forces. Stalemate reduces the likelihood of a political solution, reports a New York Times team of reporters. Libyan rebels flatly rejected a ceasefire proposal from an African Union delegation because it included no mechanisms for removal of Gaddafi or family...

Declare Victory and Get on With Ousting Gaddafi

Mark Malloch-Brown April 7, 2011
As a conference in London revealed, the international community is divided over the next steps for Libya.. The task of saving Libyan civilians from massacre has been completed, argues Mark Malloch-Brown, former UN deputy secretary. Debate focuses what UN Resolution 1973 allows: Germany and Italy support a ceasefire, the US and UK suggest more military action is required, and Saudi Arabia and the...

Ex-Mujahedeen Help Lead Libyan Rebels

Charles Levinson April 5, 2011
Libya’s rebels receive assistance in the form of a no-fly zone from NATO and training from former Afghan Mujahedeen, reports Charles Levinson for the Wall Street Journal. One is a Libyan militant who was detained by Pakistani forces after the US invasion of Afghanistan and spent six years in the US Guantanamo military prison. Analysts question if such participants on the Libyan battlefronts...

Libya Exposes Fault Lines in the Mediterranean – Part IV

Harsh V. Pant April 1, 2011
Armed with UN Security Council Resolution 1973, authorizing a no-fly zone in Libya, international powers moved swiftly to protect Libyans from brutal retaliation threatened by their leader. But rising powers Brazil, Russia, India and China refrained from joining the rescue by western power, explains Harsh V. Pant of King's College in the fourth and final article of this series. “The debate...

Libya Exposes Fault Lines in the Mediterranean – Part II

Shashank Joshi March 28, 2011
At the behest of a divided Arab League, NATO forces began enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya. Such unified intervention is rare, not seen since the 1991 coalition that pushed Iraq back after its invasion of Kuwait, explains researcher Shashank Joshi, in the second article of a YaleGlobal series. Support for Libya’s desperate rebels could give the region’s other dictators pause before attacking...

Different Stories

Dina Ezzat March 22, 2011
The League of Arab States has broad goals – strengthening ties among member states, coordinating policies and promoting common interests. Rarely does the Arab League embrace military action to restrain a member state or intervene directly in uprisings, notes Dina Ezzat for Al-Ahram in an essay that reviews some league responses to historical conflicts or invasions in the region. Libya is an...