In The News

China Seeks Solutions to Darfur Crisis

Howard W. French January 30, 2007
President Hu Jintao’s visit to Sudan in early February is viewed by many analysts as the latest effort by the Chinese government to expand its diplomatic influence. Eager to sustain economic growth and play a leading role in international affairs, China presses for a peaceful solution to the Darfur crisis while protecting its oil interests in Sudan. Some welcome the decision as a turning point...

Asian Games: New Gold Standard in Measuring National Will

Sadanand Dhume January 25, 2007
Sport is an age-old metaphor for politics – and Asian affairs analyst Sadanand Dhume looks at the Asian Games in the light of the region's traditional rivalries. China captured more medals than any other nation, almost three times as many gold medals as runner-up South Korea. China’s geopolitical rival India was ranked eighth, with most of its medals won in more intricate, intellectual games...

The Not So United Nations

Richard N. Haass January 25, 2007
The UN has not accomplished much in recent years, but only because the major powers cannot agree, refusing to act on pressing global problems. Instead, powerful nations balk at coordinating action on genocide in Darfur, global warming or violence in the Middle East. “The UN reflects the ability of the major powers to agree – and to back up their agreements with resources,” writes Richard Haass,...

Ahmadinejad's Flare Amps Up Tensions

William Pfaff January 24, 2007
In devising foreign policy, governments must strive to understand differences and similarities in the structures of other governments. For example, the US and Israel err in assuming that Iran’s president has as much power as the US president, cautions author William Pfaff. Another err would be using Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s defiance as an excuse for invading Iran. Such an attack is anticipated as...

Indian Americans Come Out

Manjeet Kripalani January 24, 2007
Indian Americans, armed with advanced degrees and above-average incomes, are a formidable force in US politics, as evidenced by swift approval of the US-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act. Even longstanding supporters of nuclear nonproliferation supported the act that permits the sale of nuclear technology to India for civilian purposes and allows for more inspections of nuclear sites...

Diplomacy as Afterthought Wins US Few Mideast Converts

Fawaz A. Gerges January 23, 2007
One can sympathize with the Bush administration’s desire to shift gears in the Middle East, from merely reacting to Iraq’s instability to actively pushing for peace in the region. Author and Mideast scholar Fawaz Gerges sees Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s diplomatic mission, however, as a case of too little, too late. Moderate Arab governments offer hollow words of support for the US in...

What $1.2 Trillion Can Buy

David Leonhardt January 19, 2007
Before making an expenditure or investment, economists often analyze what the money could have bought instead, and in a “New York Times article,” journalist David Leonhardt explores the opportunity costs of the $1.2 trillion spent by the US on the Iraq war. Leonhardt relies on a conservative estimate of the direct and indirect costs of a war originally estimated to cost $50 billion by the...