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China’s Factory Workers Are Becoming More Restive

May 21, 2015
Migrant workers in South China are increasingly more assertive. A once relatively compliant workforce is staging more and bigger strikes prompting authorities to escalate suppression. Anita Chan, author and research professor, analyzes the internal and external forces behind the unrest. Labor...

For Now, Putin Struts on the World Stage

September 19, 2013
The crisis over the use of chemical weapons in Syria has offered an opportunity for a diplomatic initiative that Russian President Vladimir Putin has grasped with both hands. The result, writes Thomas Graham, senior fellow with Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs and former...

SKBRI Not Required by Chinese: Megawati

April 15, 2004
Historically, Indonesian laws have reflected a pervasive worry about Chinese influence. It was not until 2000 that then-president Abdurrahman Wahid revoked laws prohibiting the display of Chinese culture and restricting the movement of Chinese-Indonesians. In spite of these changes, Indonesians of...

Xi Jinping’s High-Risk Policy Needs a National Security Commission

May 5, 2015
Governments tend to rely on national security apparatuses to protect those in power as much as the country at large. President Xi Jinping assumed leadership of the Chinese Communist Party in late 2012, and since then, indicated an expectation for increasing the nation’s global influence. Such...

Free-Wheeling Web Commentary Challenges Media's Traditional Power

March 31, 2015
The internet revolutionized politics, trade and social interactions. Blogs contribute so much to that revolution, and in 2007 author, philosopher, neuroscientist and geostrategist Nayef Al-Rodhan referred to them as the “fifth estate.” The designation of “estate” for media is often “contested...

Something Is Fishy

September 15, 2009
A recent proposed treaty on illegal fishing has the potential to aid the world’s poor nations and improve global governance. If enforced, the proposal, formulated in Rome and signed by 91 countries, would prevent fishing boats from landing in various ports if inspectors deem the catch to be...

Deported to Danger: Human Rights Watch

February 5, 2020
Many immigrants flee abuse, gang recruitment and crime in their homelands, yet no government, UN or nonprofit agency monitors what happens to El Salvadoran immigrants after deportation. Human Rights Watch researched court cases and press reports to document brutal deaths of 138 immigrants deported...

NK Defectors in China Remain Concern

July 30, 2004
Hundreds of thousands of North Koreans are seeking asylum in neighboring countries. Those that escape to the South are welcomed by the South Korean government, which has been embracing all escapees. Those that flee to China are not so lucky, however, and human rights activists are pressuring...
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