In The News

Coalition in Turkey Could Alter the Country’s Foreign Policy Direction

Chris Miller June 18, 2015
Turkey’s governing Justice and Development Party, or AK, won the most votes in the June 7 election, but not enough to dodge the need for building a coalition in parliament. The coalition AK builds could swing right or left with implications for foreign policy, explains Chris Miller, a PhD student at Yale University and a research associate with the Hoover Institution. “A right-wing coalition...

Omar Al-Bashir Case Suggests South African Foreign Policy Is Going Rogue

Simon Tisdall June 17, 2015
South Africa’s government allowed the Sudanese president accused of genocide and other war crimes to leave the country – thus weakening the position of the International Criminal Court. “The act of defiance by the president, Jacob Zuma … places him at the head of a growing band of African leaders who argue that the ICC, which issued arrest warrants for Bashir in 2009, is biased against Africa and...

Modi’s Visit to China Marks New Tone, But No Concrete Progress

Neelam D Sabharwal June 16, 2015
Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have set a new tone for India's relations with China, yet personal rapport and economic interdependence offer little guarantee of settling longstanding strategic issues that divide the world’s two most populous nations, warns Neelam D Sabharwal, a former Indian ambassador to the Netherlands and UNESCO, now associate professor with the University of Maastricht...

Singapore's “Chinese Dilemma” as China Rises

Wang Gungwu June 12, 2015
Neighboring states assess the costs and benefits of a fast-rising China for their own economies and security relationships. “Singapore needs to have a realistic assessment of China's intentions, America's resolve, and the place of Asean and Singapore in the region, in order to chart its course in the geopolitical future world,” writes historian Wang Gungwu for Straits Times. China’s...

The Kurdish Rescue of Turkish Democracy

Kemal Kirişci and Melis Cengiz June 8, 2015
With more than 85 percent voters casting ballots, Turks defeated President Recep Erdogan's attempt to consolidate power. “Erdogan had one ambition for this election: for the AK Party to gain the minimum 330 parliamentary seats required to call a referendum on establishing a presidential regime,” writes Kemal Kirişci, director of the Center on the United States and Europe's Turkey...

Nepal Earthquake: Prelude to Bigger Disaster?

Alark Saxena June 2, 2015
A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal on April 25, killing 8,800, injuring thousands more and leaving many homeless. The quake and series of aftershocks also left property damage and devastated communities. International relief agencies rushed to the scene, but researchers warn that such disasters are inevitable for the entire Hindu Kush Himalayan region with the continuous sinking of the...

In Modi’s Mongolia Pivot, a Test of Indian Soft Power

P. Stobdan May 20, 2015
Mongolia is among Asia’s more vibrant democracies, long influenced by Indian culture. Such cultural ties are invaluable as countries compete for influence in Asia, suggests Phunchok Stobdan, a former Indian ambassador writing for the Wire. He details many reasons for forging strong ties with the landlocked country of 3 million including its central location in Asia, surrounded by Russia and China...