In The News

How the Georgia Conflict Impacts US-Russian Relations

Thomas R. Pickering September 2, 2008
Two provinces hoping to break away from Georgia and Russia’s subsequent attack and occupation has raised concerns in the US about Russian motivations for expansion. For US-Russian relations, the conflict will distract from all other issues, including joint efforts to stem nuclear proliferation, cooperation on Iran and trade. As with most other issues, the US is divided on how to best handle the...

The Hypocrisy Audit

Moisés Naím September 2, 2008
In a fast-changing and complicated world with countless connections, double standards are inevitable. But the countries on the losing side of such standards take quick note and protest loudly. The excuse that the world is messy and different situations call for different reactions is quickly adopted by other nations, while orderly international standards fall by the wayside. “Not all double...

Ending Lapse into Lawlessness

Kenneth Roth August 29, 2008
The US president has denied that the country relies on torture, but human-rights advocates do not agree with the country’s definitions of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or a process that limits harsh treatment to those who are not US citizens. Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, urges candidates for US president to close detention facilities at Guantánamo Bay and end...

A Door Opens for Reform in Pakistan – Part II

Ziad Haider August 25, 2008
Pakistan has long failed to meet the needs of its own citizens, and this two-part YaleGlobal series explores how weak governance and over-reliance on military solutions have contributed to political turmoil and a build-up of extremism. In the rugged federally administered tribal areas, the 1901 Frontier Crimes Regulations, an outmoded legal system inherited from British colonial administration,...

What Bush Got Right

Fareed Zakaria August 18, 2008
The organization of the US governing system, with its checks and balances, encourages moderation. Policies from US President George Bush that raised international ire largely emerged during the first presidential term, including a war on terror with invasion of Iraq as its centerpiece, refusal to negotiate with Iran or North Korea, neglect of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. “His decision...

US and Poland Set Missile Deal

Thom Shanker August 15, 2008
After months of delays, the US and Poland quickly reached agreement on a US missile defense base in Poland: 10 interceptors against ballistic missiles will be based in Poland, relying on a tracking system based in the Czech Republic. Russia’s military support of separatists in Georgia gave speed to the agreement. “The deal reflected growing alarm in countries like Poland, once a conquered Soviet...

A Question for the Global Community

Rachel Clogg August 14, 2008
As regions gain new freedoms, minority groups with longstanding differences and gripes try to break away from central governments, too often stirring international conflict in the process. Attempting to separate from Georgia, provinces South Ossetia and Abkhazia have fueled tensions between the West and Russia. “For years the Georgian government has failed to engage seriously with the needs and...