In The News

India’s Search for a Foreign Policy

Harsh V. Pant June 26, 2008
India remains deadlocked over a US-India civilian nuclear-energy pact. Delay dims prospects for final approval by either nation and reflects the Indian government’s general inability to establish a grand strategy for itself, with foreign-policy goals that set a direction for the country, argues Harsh V. Pant. In too many areas – Chinese border disputes, Maoists and other terrorists gaining...

Waiting For Obama: The First Global Election

Derek Shearer June 23, 2008
With the George W. Bush presidency coming to a close, global observers anticipate greater international engagement from the US. Students in countries like Syria, Peru and Bolivia are particularly amazed that the US voters might possibly select minority Barack Obama, whose father was an immigrant and whose name is not traditionally European, explains Derek Shearer, a former ambassador to Finland...

The EU in an Irish Bog

Roger Cohen June 19, 2008
Winston Churchill once observed that the problems with democracy could be understood after talking five minutes with the average voter. Expressing frustrations en masse, voters are impatient, often lashing out at politicians or policies that would serve the long-term interests of society. Such an example is Irish voters’ rejection of renegotiation of the Lisbon Treaty, which would smooth...

Time for a Global Town-Hall Meeting?

Jeffrey Garten June 19, 2008
People all over the world don’t have a right to vote in the US, but remain keenly interested in the country’s elections – because what the new president might do or not do often affects their countries and even their daily lives. While no one would suggest granting foreigners the right to influence the US election, that should not prevent Americans from hearing foreign views and concerns in a...

An Anger in Korea Over More Than Beef

Choe Sang-Hun June 13, 2008
Tens of thousands have turned out in South Korea, to protest US beef imports specifically, amid fears of mad-cow disease, and US manipulation of their government in general. “This is a small country in a strategic location with a deep sense of grievance about being manipulated by the great powers around it,” explains Choe Sang-Hun in news analysis for the New York Times. President Lee Myung-bak,...

US Election Grabs Intense Interest Overseas

June 12, 2008
A panel of foreign journalists, including YaleGlobal Editor Nayan Chanda, analyze for the News Hour and the Public Broadcasting Service why citizens around the world remain mesmerized by the US presidential election, with presumptive nominees John McCain and Barack Obama. In a transcript of the June 12, 2008, broadcast, Chanda explains that Obama draws tremendous interest, in part, because of the...

Rid of Violence, a Reforming Bosnia Emerges as a Model

Humphrey Hawksley June 12, 2008
The history and circumstances of conflict in Bosnia and Iraq vary in many ways. But the bottom line is that swift US intervention succeeded in ending civil strife and genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The political planning for Bosnia since the 1995 peace agreement, with the international community deeply engaged in shaping it as a modern European state, could serve as a model for Iraq and...