In The News

Crisis Without End: The Disintegration of the European Project

Brendan Simms and Timothy Less November 14, 2015
Europeans and their leaders increasingly struggle over integration. Writing for New Statesman, Brendan Simms and Timothy Less remind that such struggles have historical precedents, including the breakups of Austria-Hungary, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. Those examples are used to analyze a scenario for possible collapse of the European Union. EU integration has grown at a fast pace. “This was...

Hollande Blames ISIS for Attacks in Paris as Death Toll Rises

Adam Nossiter, Aurelien Breeden and Nicola Clark November 14, 2015
Terrorist attacks on a stadium, restaurants and concert hall in the heart of Paris, killing at least 127 and wounding more than 300, will test European unity. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility. France is under a state of emergency with borders closed. “The attacks, and the possibility that the Islamic State was to blame, promised to further traumatize France and other European...

Cybersecurity Treaties May Be Nice, But It’s Every Country for Itself

Robert Litwak and Meg King November 13, 2015
China and the United States are attempting to negotiate a cyber arms-control agreement. Robert Litwak and Meg King, writing for Reuters, detail the differences between nuclear and cyber arms control. Individuals and non-state actors, even insiders, can pose cybersecurity threats. Also, “authoritarian states, such as Russia and China, have an interest in preserving ‘patriotic hackers’ as a policy...

Surge in Protectionist Measures Blamed for Sapping Trade

William Mauldin November 13, 2015
Global trade is in decline in terms of value and volume. “On average G20 exports have fallen 4.5% since world trade peaked in value in October 2014,” notes a report from Global Trade Alert. Countries resort to protectionist measures to preserve growth and jobs. William Mauldin writes about the report for the Wall Street Journal: “India, Russia and the U.S. have imposed the most ‘trade-distorting...

Opposition Wins in Myanmar, But Military Still Holds the Reins

Bertil Lintner November 12, 2015
The National League for Democracy, an opposition party in Myanmar led by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has won a landslide victory. The military has pledged to work with Suu Kyi, but has a lock on 25 percent of seats in parliament, enough to prevent changes to the nation’s constitution if none of its representatives go astray, explains journalist and author Bertil Lintner. Suu Kyi’...

With Aung San Suu Kyi’s Rise, China and Myanmar Face New Relationship

Jane Perlez November 12, 2015
China anticipated an election win in Myanmar by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar and invited her for a meeting with President Xi Jinping. “Among ordinary people in Myanmar, China is seen as a heavy-handed northern neighbor largely interested in extracting valuable natural resources like timber and jade – and prone to plundering the land to build pipelines and a vast hydroelectric dam...

For Gulf States, Forging National Identity Trumps Regional Integration

Ellen Laipson November 11, 2015
For the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman – national identity may matter more than collection action as region. The countries resist power for Iran and extremism, but differ on Islam as a political force, dependence on and rights for foreign workers, and regional security priorities. “It’s on the security...