In The News

Mob Rule

Christian Caryl July 26, 2013
Organized crime is linked to trade in illegal drugs, human trafficking, poaching, internet scams, tax evasion or counterfeit goods – and relies on greed to lure cooperation of some law-enforcement and political leaders. The World Economic Forum estimates illegal activities represent 8 percent of global trade. “Mobsters thrive on instability,” Christian Caryl writes for Foreign Policy, whether...

US Urged to Adopt Policy Justifying Intervention

Mark Landler July 25, 2013
The doctrine known as “responsibility to protect,” or R2P, compels nations to act when other nations commit atrocities against their own people. But decisions on intervention represent a struggle between conscience and pragmatism. The US applied R2P to justify support for Libyan rebels in 2011, but has hesitated to do the same for Syrian rebels, explains Mark Landler of the New York Times, adding...

Why Egypt Matters

Sallama Shaker July 25, 2013
Democracy does not stop with elections, argues Sallama Shaker, a former Egyptian ambassador and former assistant minister of foreign affairs, who is now a visiting professor at Yale University. Transition of power in Egypt, with the military ousting the democratically elected president and promising elections soon, followed massive protests. Egyptians of all ages, placing their trust in the...

Would-Be Canadian Citizens Set to Fight Oath to Queen

Jeff Gray July 21, 2013
A group of immigrants seeking Canadian citizenship have gone to court, claiming that the country’s oath for citizenship – requiring “true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors” – is unconstitutional. The oath also requires obeying Canada’s laws and fulfilling citizen duties. The court case undercuts recent Canadian leaders’ efforts to highlight...

Vietnam Between Rock and a Hard Place

David Brown July 18, 2013
Vietnam, intent on modernization for its 92 million people, vacillates between China and the United States for economic and military ties. Both great powers expect the small communist country to acquiesce to specific demands: The US wants improved human rights and democratic freedoms while China seeks capitulation on its claims of sovereignty over the South China Sea. Either stance fuels...

Man Without a Country

Alistair Burnett July 16, 2013
Edward Snowden, a former contract worker who exposed secret National Security Agency practices, has been trapped inside Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport for 23 days and counting. The United States, alternately pressuring and pleading with other countries not to offer Snowden asylum, has charged him with unauthorized release of classified intelligence and theft of government property. So far, most...

The Arab Spring: Has It Failed?

July 16, 2013
A quest for democracy has been underway in North Africa and the Middle East since 2010. Supporters of democracy for the region may assume that the Arab Spring movement is doomed, with a military coup that deposed Egypt’s elected president and civil war raging in Syria, suggests an essay in The Economist. Critics may blame Islam, the predominant religion, and suggest that modern authoritarianism...