In The News

Asia as Global Leader – Not So Fast

Ho Kwon Ping May 14, 2012
Some Asians boast that their continent has found the formula for success and will inevitably provide leadership to the world. But a Singapore business leader and thinker cautions about the hubris. A study of the history of Western civilization offers insights on a formula for such global dominance. The rise of Europe and the United States as influential cultures was not simply due to economic...

Internet Stirs Activism in Vietnam

Huong Nguyen May 11, 2012
The quick connections and passion forged over the internet challenge authoritarian governments worldwide. Vietnam is no exception. Social media and blogs connect social activists as well as the diaspora, reports Huong Nguyen, research fellow at the Center for Constitutional Democracy at the Indiana University in Bloomington. Notably, many activists take recourse to igniting nationalistic feelings...

India’s Broken Schools, Cloudy Future

Julissa Milligan, Sadanand Dhume May 9, 2012
India’s preponderance of youth has long been considered a “demographic dividend.” But a broken education system fails to equip graduates for jobs in a fast growing economy. Thanks to lopsided emphasis on elite schools and neglect of early education, India has fallen behind in competency in basic skills, along with flexibility, creativity and passion for lifelong learning. The country prepares...

The US Confronts Pakistan’s Street Power

Dilip Hiro April 27, 2012
Lahore-based Hafiz Muhammad Saeed is founder of Laskar-e-Taiba, LeT, and alleged to be the mastermind behind the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. Yet he’s also come to epitomize Pakistani street power, taking advantage of widespread seething discontent. Author Dilip Hiro details the history of Pakistan that encourages instability. Large numbers of Pakistanis are alert for any hint of disrespect...

Ending Isolation – Part I

Philip Bowring April 23, 2012
The West uses sanctions to encourage authoritarian governments to meet global norms. In this two-part YaleGlobal series on the efficacy of sanctions, authors examine the experiences of two countries. In the first of the series, Hong Kong-based journalist Philip Bowring argues that sanctions can have diminishing impacts, if not lifted once reform has begun. Since a 1988 coup by army generals in...

India Urged Again to Pursue Non-Alignment

Sumit Ganguly March 26, 2012
“NonAlignment 2.0: A Foreign and Strategic Policy for India in the Twenty-First Century” may not have been the most suitable title for a document that strives to offer guiding principles in line with India’s goal of becoming a global power, argues Sumit Ganguly, professor and foreign policy analyst. The document – published in January by the Centre for Policy Research, a nonpartisan, independent...

India and the US Pivot to Asia

Robert M. Hathaway February 24, 2012
The US strategic plan is to continue providing global security with emphasis on “rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific region.” Such a pivot is not new, but has been in play since the end of the Cold War, argues Robert M. Hathaway, director of the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The strategy requires a long-term partnership with India, as an economic and security...