In The News

Paving the Way for a Sustainable Taiwan

Chen Shui-Bian May 20, 2004
Newly-reelected Taiwanese President Chen Shui-Bian delivered an inaugural address this week titled, "Paving the Way for a Sustainable Taiwan." In the speech, Chen assessed the progress of Taiwan's democratization. He said, "Democratic advancement occurs only through constant and gradual endeavor, one step at a time." Chen described Taiwan's new electoral processes,...

Burma: Feel-Good US Sanctions Wrongheaded

David I. Steinberg May 19, 2004
President Bush's recent decision to extend sanctions against Burma for another year is emotionally satisfying but ineffective as a means of promoting democracy in the military-ruled state, argues David I. Steinberg, Director of Asian Studies at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. Although US allies like India or Southeast Asian nations share its concern about the junta...

State Department Rights Report Released After Delay

Salamander Davoudi May 18, 2004
The US State Department's annual report on human rights and democracy comes in the wake of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. The controversial episode, in which Iraqi prisoners were abused by U.S. soldiers, has sparked a worldwide debate about the U.S.'s own human rights record. In fact, says Lorne Craner, assistant secretary for democracy, human rights and labor, the Abu Ghraib prison...

Indian Election: Of Computer Mice and Men

S. Nihal Singh May 17, 2004
India's surprise election results from last week have left everyone struggling to understand how the powerful BJP could lose so decisively in a time of economic prosperity. The answer, suggests S. Nihal Singh, a former editor of the Statesman of Calcutta and the Indian Express, lies in the unequal distribution of India's growth. Though the globalization of India's technological...

Across Spectrum, Politicians Condemn U.S.

William Pratt May 14, 2004
As the sixtieth anniversary of D-Day approaches, German foreign minister Joschka Fischer arrived in Washington with glowing praise for US conduct during World War II. But his account of recent American military actions was strongly critical. As more details of the Iraqi prison abuse scandal emerge, Fischer said the Bush administration must “restore U.S. moral leadership in the world.” Fischer’s...

Indian Voters Turn a Cold Shoulder to High Technology

Saritha Rai May 12, 2004
In the last few years, there has been a lot of hullabaloo over the wide-spread benefits of technology growth in India. The recent outcry in the US over the outsourcing of jobs to India only furthered the impression that Indians as a whole were winners in this phase of globalization. However, as this article in the New York times reports, the benefits of economic liberalization and globalization...

Putin: Talk Like a Democrat, Walk Like an Autocrat

Strobe Talbott May 12, 2004
Peace and stability in an expanded Europe cannot be separated from the fortunes of its giant neighbor to the east, Russia. President Vladimir Putin, who was recently won a second term in office, talks of being the president of a free people in a free country, but his actions so far have been marked by a strong autocratic streak. A leading Russia specialist and former Deputy Secretary of State,...