In The News

Post-election America Is a Deeply Divided Nation

January 24, 2005
President George Bush’s inauguration last week ushered in a second term that seems poised for deep divisions in both the domestic and foreign arena. The Pew Research Center has released the results of polling about US public opinion in the wake of 9/11 and a highly contentious election. The survey showed a remarkably partisan voting population. Despite the tight race, the report concludes that...

Poverty Breeds Insecurity

January 19, 2005
At the United Nations Millennium Summit in September 2000, world leaders placed development at the heart of the global agenda by adopting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which set clear targets for reducing poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation, and discrimination against women by 2015. To devise a plan for implementation and recommend strategies for developing...

Russia Faces Foreign Policy Debate for 2005

Igor Torbakov January 18, 2005
The Ukraine elections debacle was the most recent Russian foreign policy misstep. And according to this EurasiaNet commentary, the Kremlin now faces some important policy decisions. As its influence throughout the Caucasus and Central Asia wanes, the Putin administration may be losing the battle for regional influence – and its primary competitor is the West. Experts, however, disagree as to...

When Tragedy Trumps Borders

Ramesh Thakur January 10, 2005
The United Nations, throughout its 60 years, has never seen a tragedy on par with the South Asian tsunami. This astonishing display of nature's furor rendered political borders insignificant, and the overwhelmingly sympathetic international response has revealed the strength of global interconnectedness. At the January 6 Jakarta summit, the UN officially assumed the helm of relief effort...

An Imperial Denial

Deepak Lal January 6, 2005
Despite prevalent public discourse, "empire" is not a four-letter word - and it is time for the United States to begin to walk the imperial walk, writes Deepak Lal. In fact, suggests Lal, throughout history, the world has been most stable under the control of empires. The United States, like empires of yore, demonstrates its dominance through unparalleled military and economic...

Putin's Tragic Gaffes of 2004

Constatine Pleshakov January 4, 2005
In an environment rife with political suspicions, with European and Central Asian nations eying Russia's every move, Russian President Vladimir Putin made several fundamental mistakes, according to this Japan Times commentary. The first fundamental error was the mishandling of the Beslan school hostage tragedy, which resulted in a large number of unnecessary casualties. Putin's...

Why the UN Needs International Rescue

David Aaronovitch January 4, 2005
The magnitude and scope of the recent Indian Ocean catastrophe - and likewise, the subsequent relief efforts - are unmatched in world history. And according to The Guardian's David Aaronovitch, the coordination of international aid efforts will be a true test for the United Nations. In the past year, the organization has suffered accusations of irrelevance and corruption, but the aftermath...