In The News

Xi-Obama Summit: Bridging the Trust Deficit in US-China Ties?

Robert A. Manning September 29, 2015
China and the United States disagree on many issues – including claims for the South China Sea, intellectual property protections, open access to the internet and free speech. Leaders of the world’s two largest economies also have reason to cooperate on global initiatives. Xi Jinping, China’s president and general secretary of the Communist Party, visited the United States, meeting US President...

The Insecurity Underpinning Xi Jinping’s Repression

Jerome A. Cohen September 28, 2015
China is the world’s second largest economy and poised to surpass the United States as the largest. Economic progress brings change, and in an opinion essay for the Washington Post, law professor Jerome Cohen describes Xi Jinping as a leader who is insecure about domestic unrest whether over a financial downturn, corruption, the lack of good jobs and opportunity, or pollution and environmental...

Is ASEAN Losing Its Way?

Amitav Acharya September 24, 2015
The charter for the Association of Southeast Asia Nations emphasizes economic growth and principles that support cooperation, renunciation of the use of force, mutual respect for members, and rejection of external interference or coercion. ASEAN’s track record for peaceful resolution of disputes through consensus may be at risk as unity erodes, warns author and researcher Amitav Acharya. Members...

North Korea: Nuclear Bomb Fuel Plants Restarted

September 22, 2015
North Korea threatened to launch rockets in mid-September and also announced that fuel production plants for an atomic bomb have been restarted. It’s an old pattern, the country acting up to receive aid and attention. The international community has repeatedly and soundly condemned the isolated nation for breaking UN resolutions related to production of weapons of mass destruction. “North Korea...

Border Chaos: Europe Reacts to Syrian Refugee Crisis

Chris Miller September 15, 2015
Thousands of families flee Syria, a nation devastated since 2011 civil war, a dictator’s crackdown with chemical weapons and infiltration by brutal extremists. Millions more people wait in barren refugee camps, lacking work and schools, near Syria’s borders. In just a week, more than 100,000 people fled to Europe, resisted by poor, conservative nations like Hungary and welcomed by others like...

What Will Jeremy Corbyn's Impact Be on Key Issues the UK Faces?

September 14, 2015
Jeremy Corbyn will lead the United Kingdom’s Labour Party with near 60 percent on the first vote. Conservatives remain in power and anticipate confronting a divided opposition. Corbyn is on the record for opposing inequality, austerity programs and war in the Middle East – and described as “passionate about foreign affairs.” Writers for the Guardian assess the Labour leader’s position on issues,...

China Aims to Keep Some Ghosts of History Alive

Börje Ljunggren September 8, 2015
Asia’s two great power marked the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. In a speech, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe surprised by offering words of atonement for his country’s role while China celebrated with a grand military parade emphasizing victory against Japan. China has ample reasons to be proud of its role during World War II, resisting Japanese occupiers and expansionism even as...