In The News

With Eye on China, Obama Strengthens Ties With Vietnam

Murray Hiebert May 24, 2016
The United States and Vietnam are rapidly building a partnership based on trade and security agreements. US President Obama visited Vietnam on his way to the G7 meeting in Japan. During the visit, Obama lifted a ban on the sale of weapons to the country of 90 million and Vietnam will welcome US Peace Corps volunteers who teach English. Vietnam values the relationship more for trade than security...

In Historic Move, US Lifts Embargo on Arms Sales to Vietnam

David Nakamura May 23, 2016
US President Barack Obama’s visit to Vietnam, and lifting an arms embargo, underscores growing cooperation between the two countries that were at war just over four decades ago. David Nakamura reports for the Washington Post: “Obama said the latest step ‘was not based on China or any other considerations. It was based on our desire to complete what has been a lengthy process of moving towards...

Bangladesh Accommodates Extremism, Spelling Danger for the Region

Sumit Ganguly May 17, 2016
The Islamic State extremists have claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in Bangladesh on journalists, educators, atheists and religious minorities. Unfortunately, “the present regime, in denial about religious extremism, finds this trend to be politically expedient,” writes Sumit Ganguly, a professor at Indiana University and also a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute...

US Officials Warn of Looming Crisis in Venezuela

Tim Johnson May 16, 2016
Venezuela should be prosperous in terms of its location and the largest reserves of crude oil in the world. But low oil prices caught such countries by surprise. Foreign oil companies are reducing activity due to low prices and payment struggles. “Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, already struggling to keep his country’s lights on and its stores stocked with basic food, faces a series of...

Of Two Minds on China

Terry Lautz May 12, 2016
A multitude of internal and external economic and social forces push and pull at China, and author Terry Lautz, a Moynihan Research Fellow at Syracuse University, compares China to a fictional animal with two heads and minds facing opposite ways. “One looks toward openness and reform – freedom of expression, unfettered access to the internet and an independent legal system,” Lautz explains. “The...

Philippines’ Next President: Implications for ASEAN

Mely Caballero-Anthony May 11, 2016
Voters in the Philippines fell in line with global trends of frustration over bureaucratic processes, by selecting a maverick leader who promises to shake up government, end corruption and bring rapid improvement. Rodrigo Duterte was elected president. “Standing on a platform of eradicating crime and corruption that have plagued the country, Duterte has shocked his countrymen’s sensibilities with...

"My Name Is Sadiq Khan and I'm the Mayor of London"

Nabanita Sircar May 10, 2016
Cities and nations inspire, not when their citizens fear and denigrate immigrants, but instead welcome the newcomers’ skills and ideas and celebrate their rising influence. “In a world where terrorism and Islamophobia is spreading rapidly, London showed its inherent multicultural, diverse character when it elected the first Muslim Mayor, Sadiq Khan,” explains Nabanita Sircar for Outlook magazine...