In The News

Russia Plays the Oil Card with a Divided Europe

Shada Islam May 24, 2007
Britain is smarting from Russian refusal to hand over its citizen sought for murder charges in London. Russia's President Vladimir Putin and European Union leaders recently clashed over democratic freedoms at an acrimonious summit overshadowed by Moscow’s decision to ban Garry Kasparov, chess legend turned opposition leader, from traveling to Samara, the venue of the meeting. The Russian...

Reality Overtakes the Illusion of Unity in Gaza

Steven Erlanger May 18, 2007
No two people could ever agree on every topic, yet government must organize many competing interests into a structure that can create policy for a common good. A Palestinian unity government has failed to find common ground between two parties, Hamas and Fatah, and Gaza has erupted into violence. "The fighting raises the possibility that the Palestinian Authority itself may collapse, leaving...

Feminist, Socialist, Muslim: Woman Puts Denmark Into Turmoil

Ian Traynor May 17, 2007
Asmaa Abdol-Hamid, 25, upends many people’s assumptions about a candidate for parliament – and not just because of her age. The young social worker is a devout Muslim who declines to shake hands with men and wears a traditional headscarf, but also supports progressive Danish policies including abortion and gay rights. Her positions – and particularly her insistence on wearing a headscarf, which...

Univision Gives Citizenship Drive an Unusual Lift

Miriam Jordan May 15, 2007
More than 8 million legal permanent residents are eligible for citizenship in the US. Univision Communications is working with activists to encourage such green-card holders to collect their citizenship papers and participate in the 2008 presidential election. Such a large voting bloc could help Latino candidates and also influence the ongoing debate on immigration reform. The largest Spanish-...

Wolfowitz Saga Exposes Structural Flaws of the World Bank

Devesh Kapur May 15, 2007
Reactions to the conflict-of-interest allegations against Paul Wolfowitz, president of the World Bank, have been muted: Europe won’t criticize Wolfowitz much for fear of losing its monopoly over the IMF; countries that depend on World Bank funding may regard the scandal as leverage against strict expectations about corruption within their borders; and up-and-comers such as India and China seek...

21 Solutions to Save the World: A Global Magna Carta

Garry Kasparov May 14, 2007
The world must develop a global treaty aimed at protecting political and civil rights, to which all nations should be held accountable, argues Garry Kasparov in “Foreign Policy.” Such a treaty would be similar to the Magna Carta, the foundation of constitutional freedom, signed by an abusive British king after his defeat in 1215. A global institution that harnesses the military and technical...

Save the WTO From the Doha Round

Ernesto Zedillo May 9, 2007
The World Trade Organization launched the Doha Round of negotiations to ease trade restrictions and reduce poverty. Attempts to revive the negotiations – stalled since summer of 2006 as the world’s wealthiest nations quarrel over how to end agricultural subsidies – continue to be stymied. The next development, predicts Ernesto Zedillo, director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization...