In The News

Trans-Afghan Pipeline Initiative: No Pipe Dream

Marc Grossman August 28, 2014
Despite a stream of bad news, development plans are underway even among nations with adversarial relations. Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan and India signed an agreement in early July to move forward with a 1,700-kilometer natural gas pipeline. “This $7.5 billion project known as TAPI, or the Trans-Afghan Pipeline Initiative, has the potential to catalyze investment and trading opportunities...

Pointless Punishment

Ely Ratner and Elizabeth Rosenberg August 23, 2014
The United States and the European Union have stepped up sanctions on Russia for its intervention in Ukraine – and have urged Asian nations like China and Japan to do likewise. Yet the conflict continues. Asia and Europe have more to lose from sanctioning Russia than does the United States. “The majority of the Asia-Pacific governments – including U.S. allies Australia and South Korea – have...

UN: Surging Environmental Crime Funds Conflicts, Hurts Growth

June 27, 2014
Rising wealth for middle classes around the world drives demand for status symbols, in turn spurring environmental crime. Illegal logging, elephant and rhino hunting for ivory and horns, among other practices have created instability in many countries. According to the United Nations and Interpol, illegal practices help fund armed conflicts, militias and insurgents and curtail international aid...

China Says It Will Help Iraq

Rita Brown June 18, 2014
Iraq is OPEC’s second largest producer, and political ineptitude, sectarian violence and impending civil war threaten future oil production and global oil prices. Disruptions in Libyan production have already added to supply problems, and many had hoped Iraqi producers to step up pace. The United States led a coalition to invade Iraq in 2003 and depose dictator Saddam Hussein, and withdrew by the...

Tiananmen: Vietnam's Newspapers Criticize Crackdown

Nga Pham June 13, 2014
Vietnam news media shocked readers by covering the anniversary of China’s 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre and deploring the harsh crackdown on protesters. In the past, Vietnamese news media avoided such topics. Like China, Vietnam is a communist government. This year’s coverage reflected recent tense relations between China and Vietnam. The two nations are engaged in bitter quarrel over islands...

When Flimsy States Don't Fail

Lawrence P. Markowitz April 30, 2014
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan rank among the most corrupt nations in the world with imminent collapse long anticipated. But regimes hang on: “the state’s ability to manage and manipulate competition over local resources to the benefit of the government and its security apparatus has been key,” writes Lawrence P. Markowitz for Foreign Affairs. Markowitz compares how the leaders of the two Central...

Taliban Victory in Afghanistan Would Pose Problem for Pakistan

Riaz Hassan April 15, 2014
Perhaps no country depends more on stability in Afghanistan – as determined by fair elections, smooth withdrawal of foreign forces, long-term military agreement with the United States, and ongoing foreign aid – than Pakistan. Because of demographics and a history of conflict, Pakistan may well be relieved by Taliban political failure in Afghanistan, suggests sociology professor Riaz Hassan....