In The News

Confident Turkey Looks East, Not West

Simon Tisdall March 29, 2007
Tossing insults back and forth is not the typical protocol for future working partners. Officially, Turkey remains a candidate for EU membership. Yet analysts ponder the likelihood for accession, after the EU did not invite the potential partner to the 50th anniversary celebration of the signing of the Treaty of Rome and after a columnist summed up Turkish sentiment by writing that the EU has “...

When France Says No

Nöelle Lenoir March 27, 2007
Twice France initiated historic treaties with other nations in Europe and twice France backed away from its own proposals. Nöelle Lenoir, France’s former minister of European affairs, compares France’s 1954 rejection of the treaty to establish a European Defense Community with the 2005 referendum rejecting the EU constitutional treaty. “Those in France who opposed the EU constitution succeeded...

Can Europe Age Gracefully? – Part II

Jean-Pierre Lehmann March 23, 2007
Even as Europe celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, the upcoming French presidential election in April serves as Exhibit A of the continent’s discontent. Since the end of World War II, the nations of Europe have integrated for reasons of trade, law and policy. Countries once poor and under fascist regimes have prospered. In the second article of a two-part series on Europe’s...

Can Europe Age Gracefully? – Part I

Shada Islam March 21, 2007
Europeans celebrate the anniversary of the Treaty of Rome – along with 50 years of peace and prosperity on March 25. Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany formed what began as an economic alliance to promote trade with one another. That community has since expanded both in terms of membership and responsibilities, and this two-part YaleGlobal series explores Europe...

Caught in the Vise of Russia’s Illiberal “Liberal Empire”

Vladimer Papava March 20, 2007
After the disintegration of the USSR, Russia is bent on building an economic empire. By buying key economic entities across the territories of former Soviet republics, it wants to ensure their dependence on Moscow. So far, Russia has successfully controlled the actions of its neighbors by rewarding the obedient with lower gas prices and vice versa. Recently, Russia has banned exports from Georgia...

Spotlight: Selling Globalization to France

Katrin Bennhold March 9, 2007
The French trade minister has taken on two challenging tasks: convincing firms that France is a great place to do business and convincing citizens that globalization is good for them. Globalization for the French has become synonymous with outsourcing jobs, reports this article in “The International Herald Tribune.” France has a reputation for protectionism, admits trade minister Christine...

Dead Russian Newsman Was Probing Arms Sales to Syria and Iran

Vladimir Isachenkov March 8, 2007
Another Russian journalist has died under suspicious circumstances while investigating a story damaging to Russia’s ruling elites. Ivan Safronov, a former defense official working for the newspaper Kommersant, died in a fall before he could report on possible Russian arms deals with Syria and Iran. Such deals would be a significant boost to those two nations’ air-defense and precision-strike...