In The News

China Ascendant – Part I

Bertil Lintner April 25, 2008
Athletes and Chinese guards bearing the Olympic torch cut a swath through those supporting and protesting a rising China. In this series, YaleGlobal examines the impact of China’s ascendancy. China’s economic growth has given it new resources which, when doled out internationally, have the power to shift diplomatic allegiances. In Southeast Asia, China relies on a strategy of giving below-market...

The Need for Unanimity in China Exacts a Hidden Price

Howard W. French April 24, 2008
By scheduling the Olympics in Beijing, China and the rest of the world anticipated cooperation and new understanding of the other’s ways. Instead, disagreements over human rights in Tibet and subsequent media coverage have unleashed bitter criticism all around. Perhaps most alarming for the West: the intense anger displayed by Chinese citizens on the internet, defending China’s crackdown on...

China May Give Up Attempt to Send Arms to Zimbabwe

Celia W. Dugger April 23, 2008
Trade may seem like a neutral affair, but certain products – like arms – can raise alarms. A South African high court has barred the shipment of arms to Zimbabwe, with the latter divided over recent election results. South African leaders expressed concern that the arms could be used against the opposition party that, by some reports, won the election, write Celia Dugger and David Barboza for the...

The Age of Nonpolarity

Richard N. Haass April 18, 2008
US dominance of international affairs is becoming increasingly archaic, asserts Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations. Rather than a multipolar model of states balancing power, Haass sees the 21st century segueing into a nonpolar international system, where the United States is joined by increasingly powerful states as well as centers of power “from above, by regional and...

New Freedom, and Peril, in Online Criticism of China

Ariana Eunjung Cha April 17, 2008
China has more internet users than any other country – and the government has no problem with an angry, rapid-response approach to any Chinese citizen who shows the slightest opposition to government policies. What the Washington Post calls an “internet mob” attacked a 20-year-old student attending Duke University in the US, after she attempted to mediate between campus protesters who pressed...

China’s Crackdown on Tibet Divides Europe

Shada Islam April 14, 2008
Restricting trade is often a tool for governments that want to show their commitment to human rights. But Europe is divided over the relative importance of human rights versus economic growth or the value of trade in promoting those rights. On one hand, trade with China helps to lift millions out of poverty and benefits European consumers. However, China’s suppression of human rights, as...

How to Win in Iraq Without Losing to Iran

Dilip Hiro April 11, 2008
The US approach on stabilizing Iraq has often been criticized as being too cavalier for failing to take into consideration the region’s history or political and religious make-up. US foreign policy contributed to the current catch-22, contends author Dilip Hiro. As a result, the US confronts two basic choices: ongoing costly intervention, which could trigger increasing discontent among US voters...