In The News

Washington and the Chavez Question

Patrick Esteruelas May 25, 2005
Many fear that Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez may successfully create a substantial leftist, anti-American political bloc in South America. But as the Financial Times notes, Chavez's strategies – combining populist rhetoric, left-leaning militarism, and natural resource manipulation – may not be quite so successful. Venezuela's oil has been a key tool in shaping regional politics:...

Reviving an Old Dream of Afro-Asian Cooperation

Thomas Abraham May 24, 2005
In 1955, the giants of the developing world gathered in Bandung, Indonesia, in an historic attempt to promote Asian-African solidarity. Despite their hopes, few of the participating countries were stable enough to ensure meaningful change. Fifty years later, developing country leaders gathered in the same city, with the same purpose: to promote cooperation between the two regions. Though the...

China Goes Undercover to Sway Opinion on the Internet

May 23, 2005
China's communist regime is strengthening its efforts to control public opinion. In addition to filtering political information that reaches the public, city governments in at least three provinces have recruited cyber-agents to promote the government's policies on online message boards or chatrooms when negative comments appear in those forums. While recruited commentators stress the...

A Dangerous Mix of Politics and Trade

Philip Bowring May 23, 2005
China's surging textile exports have recently been subject to international scrutiny, with the United States re-imposing quotas. On Friday, Beijing voluntarily raised its textile export tariffs, a largely symbolic gesture designed to calm nerves overseas while asserting its own sovereignty. These examples of world trade tit-for-tat are not only short-sighted, writes commentator Philip...

Exchange of Empires

Timothy Garton Ash May 20, 2005
Recognized internationally as a part of Moldova, the para-state of Transnistria highlights a unique dilemma for the European Union. A microcosm of the former Soviet Union at first glance, this narrow region on the east bank of the Dniestr River is a fusion of communist and Western cultures, a symbolic representation of the decline of the Russian empire. Since 1992, Transnistria has won de facto...

Can China Be Contained?

Jeffrey E. Garten May 19, 2005
In the last three days, the United States government has added new pressures to the Chinese government: The US Department of Treasury demanded a revaluation of the renminbi, and the Commerce Department moved to restrain textile imports from China. One of the defining features of globalization today is the complex way in which countries are economically intertwined, as well as the political...

A French Region Considers the Costs of a New Europe

Craig S. Smith May 18, 2005
A recent decision by a tiny transformer factory in the French city of Schirmeck to move its facilities to Romania has energized opponents of the EU constitution. As people become increasingly angered by the loss of jobs to countries new to the EU, the French government has stepped up its campaign to win support of the constitution. Arguing that France cannot match the cheaper production costs...