Globalization has been heralded both as the savior and the damnation of the world. Especially the attitude of Islamic countries towards all that globalization brings has been a matter of intense debate. In the first of two-part series, Middle East scholar Barry Rubin argues that unlike regions like...
McDonald's outlet in Kuwait
Probably no area in the world resists--at least explicitly--globalization to an extent equaling that of the Islamic Middle East. The majority of regimes, opposition movements, and intellectuals in the region are...
Analysts are less certain that nations bound by trade might find it impossible to head to war. The US-China trade war and Britain’s embrace of Brexit signaled that decoupling was already underway. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic applied sudden brakes and exposed weaknesses. “Britain will be exiting...
The world is curious about Chinese culture, and so China's film industry and the government hope to produce blockbuster movies that can be exported around the world. Low-budget Chinese films have long attracted praise from critics, but only small audiences. Instead, foreign films from...
BEIJING: Homegrown blockbusters were supposed to be China's answer to Hollywood. And, to some extent, the extravagant budgets and eye-popping special effects of "Curse of the Golden Flower," "The Promise" and "The Banquet" did their job. For...
No longer simply transit areas for drugs from Afghanistan, Central Asian countries are now seeing increasing rates of drug use and addiction. In a radical move to deal with the problem, the president of Kazakhstan is considering whether the Dutch experience of legalizing 'soft' drugs...
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev has asked for a study on the effects of decriminalizing or even legalizing so-called soft drugs like hashish and cannabis.
Kazakh Justice Minister Georgi Kim says the...
Escaping from the Spanish Inquisition in the 15th century, many Sephardic Jews sought refuge in Turkey, founding a community that has survived for 500 years. The relations between the Jewish people and their Muslim hosts – from the Ottoman Empire to the secularized state – have been traditionally...
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In foreign policy initiatives, China’s leaders promote an idyllic version of the Silk Road network of land and maritime routes stretching from Europe to Asia’s eastern coast, linking diverse cultures in trade. The goal is to link China’s historic and modern roles in promoting peace and prosperity...
NEW YORK: The romantic concept of a historic Silk Road by which camel caravans wend among the mountains and deserts of Central Asia is back in the news. So is talk on reestablishing the maritime networks by which the Chinese Admiral Zheng He...
North Korea launched a satellite into orbit around the earth. The UN Security Council convened an emergency meeting and condemned the launch. “U.S. officials have said the same type of rocket used to launch today's satellite could deliver a nuclear warhead,” reports CNN. “China, the Soviet...
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