In The News

The Price of Free Trade - Part I

Mustafizur Rahman September 29, 2004
Instituted some 30 years ago, the international Multi-Fiber Agreement (MFA) set export quotas on all textile manufacturing nations. Some poorer countries, like Bangladesh and Cambodia, received larger quotas, which enabled them to attract foreign investment and sharply boost their earnings. Artificially protected from competition, they built their developing economies around the textiles...

Tremors of Global Insecurity Reach Shangri-La

Kesang Sherpa September 27, 2004
As the South Asian nation of Nepal has seen, the forces of globalization may be both a blessing and a curse. While open borders helped to develop trade, manufacturing, and tourism as the country's economic pillars, a Maoist insurgency has devastated the country in recent years. Amidst this social and financial crisis, Nepali workers overseas now bear the onus of supporting Nepal's...

Al Azhar to Offer Courses in Thailand

Don Pathan September 23, 2004
In an effort to provide affordable education to Thai Muslims, the renowned Al Azhar Islamic Research Academy will begin to offer classes in Thailand. Instead of traveling overseas for Islamic education, aspiring students will have a viable domestic option and, it is hoped, will be less likely to join militant groups overseas. Though officials claim that the educational endeavor is not a direct...

Looms of Doom

Sutapa Mukerjee September 22, 2004
The collapse of the specialized silk industry in parts of India results from years of mismanaged industry policies and an influx of Chinese silk - a cheaper, more durable alternative. Five years ago, the Indian government allowed the free import of Chinese crepe silks, reversing a protectionist ban that had only served to produce a demand for smuggled Chinese goods. The new policy has seen a...

Of Do-Gooder Celebrities and Stereotyped Bleak Image

S. N. M. Abdi September 16, 2004
Many people would be thrilled by a visit from pop star Ricky Martin. This is not necessarily the case in Calcutta (Kolkata), India. Western superstars, such as Martin, periodically travel to the city for charity-related sojourns. Many Indians suggest that despite the stars' good intentions, the media hype surrounding their visits dramatizes the city's stereotypically bleak image....

The Day A Nuclear Conflict Was Averted

Strobe Talbott September 13, 2004
In a book to be published this week, former US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott tells the story of President Bill Clinton’s personal diplomacy in averting a possible nuclear war in South Asia. The conflict began in May 1999, when Pakistani commandos infiltrated the Indian part of Kashmir in the Kargil region. By the end of June, a furious Indian response with air and artillery assaults...

India’s Kinder and Gentler Globalization

Pratap Bhanu Mehta August 3, 2004
Upon assuming office in May, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s first official action was to visit drought-stricken farmers in an impoverished state of India. This visit was to signal the new administration’s desire to focus on farming and poverty alleviation – without detracting from efforts to attract foreign investment. As Pratap Bhanu Mehta, President designate of the Center for Policy...