In The News

China’s Water Hegemony

Brahma Chellaney May 5, 2016
China released dammed water to ease drought conditions for countries in the lower Mekong River Basin: “for the downriver countries, the water release was a jarring reminder of not just China’s newfound power to control the flow of a life-sustaining resource, but also of their own reliance on Beijing’s goodwill and charity,” writes Brahma Chellaney for the Japan Times. Water that originates in...

The United States: Divided in More Ways Than One

Bruce Stokes May 5, 2016
The United States is polarized and so are members of its major political parties, especially on foreign policy. Results of a Pew Research Study released today suggest that isolationist tendencies are tempered by recognition for the practical need for international engagement. “Wariness of international engagement coexists with unilateralist assertiveness on some issues and a belief that the...

The Myth of the Islamic State: The History of a Political Idea

Mohammed Ayoob May 4, 2016
The goal of a worldwide modern caliphate may be impossible for diverse Muslim nations that lack consensus over universal standards on governance. Phrases like “golden age” are tossed about, yet ignore the challenges, explains Mohammed Ayoob for Foreign Affairs. The Prophet Mohammed died in the year 632, when the world’s population was about 200 million, and Ayoob details the history of the early...

India Is Suffering One of Its Worst Droughts in Decades

Archana Chaudhary May 4, 2016
Lingering drought in India is prompting a wave of migrations from rural areas to cities like Mumbai. “The upcoming monsoon is expected to bring some relief, but a longer term challenge looms from competition for scarce groundwater and surface supplies among farmers, industries and cities,” writes Archana Chaudhary for Bloomberg. She adds that major dams in India are near 80 percent empty. “...

Russia Needs Options to Deal with China

Thomas Graham May 3, 2016
Russia and China, fans of national sovereignty and obstacles for US influence, pivot to each other during times of troubles of their own making, whether the 2014 annexation of Crimea or the brutal crackdown of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. “Today, closer relations also help anchor Russia in the world’s most dynamic economic theater, East Asia,” explains Thomas Graham, a senior fellow at the...

Mourn the Death of the Great Barrier Reef

Irene Banos Ruiz May 3, 2016
With minimal enforcement for protecting the ocean commons, coral reef are being destroyed. Coral reefs survive within a narrow range of temperatures, and a report from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies points out that more than 90 percent of the Great Barrier Reef has endured a bleaching event due to warmer temperatures and acidification. “Reefs dampen...

Behind Global Crackdown on NGOs, Recognition of Their Power

Peter Ford May 2, 2016
Lawmakers in China, India, Malaysia, Russia and many other countries are cracking down on non-governmental organizations and activists that press for reforms. CIVICUS, a global alliance of civil society organizations, describes “serious threats to civic freedoms” in 96 countries, as reported by Peter Ford for the Christian Science Monitor. Methods used against NGOs that push for government...