1) The Congress Party’s hold on India, and its determination to protect (censor?) the legacies of its leaders, is examined here. 2) Some wealthy Germans want a bigger tax burden. 3) A horrific weapon is being used in the now fifteen year struggle in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. (I’ve never quite understood […]
The Chinese economy is roaring out of the Great Recession, and looks to reach eight percent growth this fiscal year. A massive, $586 stimulus package has propped up the recovery—as has the stimulus package passed in the United States (without which economic conditions would be much worse). But contrary to America’s stimulus package, the Chinese […]
In 2001, Argentina defaulted on billions of dollars of sovereign bond debt, closing itself off from access to the international capital markets. For years thumbing its nose at global capital, the Argentine government left the country’s borrowers severely underfunded, and infrastructure and other important investment spending suffered. Once thought of as a rich country and a middle […]
Barely a majority (56 percent) of Russians believe their country “needs democracy”, according to a new poll from the Levada Center. But that’s not the only grim statistic in the data. A full one-fourth said that democracy was not suitable for Russia, and virtually all respondents (95 percent!) agreed they “had little or no influence […]
“The multipolar world has become a global reality, recognized as a near certainty by no less an authority than the U.S. intelligence community,” writes Elizabeth Dickinson in the latest issue of Foreign Policy. While missing the complexities of the debate about the global balance of power, the article details some of the historical moments when […]
This is smart analysis. The obsession with the idea of an Afghan surge just doesn’t make sense to me. Why are we focusing on the major urban areas in Afghanistan, when 3/4 of the population lives in rural areas? Safe haven myths aside, wouldn’t an ‘urban’-centric COIN policy leave basically the vast majority of Aghanistan […]
As I hinted at in my last post, the spate of violence in Pakistan can actually be seen as a good thing (the wanton death and destruction aside). This piece in today’s New York Times demonstrates that Pakistan is facing the prospect that “the Taliban, Al Qaeda and militant groups once nurtured by the government […]
How will the world become more unified in the next ten years? The Stanley Foundation edited a book to investigate the “paths by which nine powerful nations, a regional union of 27 states, and a multinational corporation could all emerge as constructive stakeholders in a strengthened rules-based international order.” This Monday, the New America Foundation […]
Who do you call when you need to reach Europe? Merkel? Sarkozy? Brown? Barroso? There is no one leader of Europe. Instead of a single voice, it has 27 competing voices. It’s always been a question, and some argue that it limits Europe’s global reach. If the Lisbon treaty is ratified, there could soon be […]
The cover story of this week’s Economist argues that “it is time for the world’s biggest economy to rise from its slumber and play a global role.” Although the Lisbon treaty – and its likely ratification – does not signal an obvious emergence of a European superpower, it provokes the questions, “Will Europe wake up […]
For the last eight years, Pakistan has been playing a double-game. Despite considerable US pressure, Pakistan declined to totally give up Al-Qaeda and allied Taliban militants, who had been long supported and used by the Pakistani Army and intelligence services as regional proxies against India. As long as the militants stayed out of the business […]
An excellent Economist Special Report on the World Economy last week led with a quote from Pimco CEO, Mohamed El-Erian, that the economy has reached a “new normal,” or recovery on a reduced (less prosperous) path. The Special Report rightly focused on US imbalances with China, the fiscal mess we’re in worldwide (especially in the United […]
There’s been a lot of worry in recent years over Russia’s ‘resurgence’ onto the world scene. The thinking went that Russia was suddenly a major power again because they renewed some bomber flights and sold weapons to places like Venezuela and Iran. Of course, this was all very sensationalist and had very little bearing in […]
In a year, essential Rising Power Brazil goes to the polls. The election is currently heating up. On October 3, 2010 (and if need be, in a second round on October 24), Brazilians will vote for president, all 26 of their governors, all 513 members of the lower house of Congress, and two-thirds of their 81 senators. […]
Last week’s Economist had a couple of nice articles on China’s National Day on October 1st, when the Chinese showcased their military, including the DF-31 nuclear-tipped ICBM, which can hit any city in America. Most of these armaments have “Made in China” tags, not unlike all of our clothes and toys. The Economist leader on the subject […]