The NYTimes reported today that Russian subs were spotted nearly 200 miles off the East Coast of the United States, echoing the 1960s comedy, The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming, in which a Russian sub accidentally runs ashore off the coast of Massachusetts, causing an international incident and not a few laughs. By the mid-1960s, […]
An article on a corruption investigation in Namibia related to Chinese investment there appeared in the NYTimes on Friday. China is confronting the growing pains of being an “imperial” power, as this giant nation increases its FDI and access to raw materials and markets in Africa, Latin America and elsewhere. Just like imperialists that came before, since […]
Africa’s largest economy, with US$276 billion in GDP, is the continent’s rising power. With 48 million people, it is not the continent’s most populous, with a lower population than oil-rich Nigeria (155 million) and Egypt (80 million), the world’s most populous Arab nation. But South Africa is richer than these countries, in spite of its more skewed […]
In the first official meeting of the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue this week, which puts the Democratic stamp on the brainchild of Hank Paulson, Bush’s Treasury Secretary, Chinese Finance Minister Xie Xuren called on the U.S. to reduce its widening fiscal deficit. In response, U.S. Treasury Secretary Geithner assured the Chinese that, once growth resumed, the Obama administration would do just that. See […]
Great op-ed by Aluf Benn, diplomatic editor/correspondent for Haaretz, in today’s NYTimes. He asks, Where has Obama been on Israel? Why hasn’t he spoken to Israelis directly, the way he has addressed everyone else from Ghanaians to Egyptians, Europeans to Latin Americans? For sure, he is really busy, probably busier than any other president since […]
What should the United States do about Iran and its nuclear program? Is diplomacy still an option? Before she left on her trip to India and Thailand, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, “We remain ready to engage with Iran, but the time for action is now. The opportunity will not remain open indefinitely.” […]
If the positions of the sun and the moon influence the future global balance of power, the solar eclipse seen today in Asia could mark the dawn of a new Asian century. This was the longest eclipse since July 11, 1991 (only months before the official dissolution of the Soviet Union) and there won’t be […]
There has been much ink spilled lately over the fight between the Obama administration and the House and Senate over the fate of the F-22 Raptor. The administration was seeking to limit the number of planes to the 187 that had already been ordered, arguing that the advanced fighter, which has never seen combat, was […]
With a Friday prayer sermon by a former president and a call for a national referendum on the government’s legitimacy by another, the drama and crisis in Iran following the disputed elections are not over yet. When he spoke on Friday, former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said many Iranians have doubts about the election […]
Last week, the Chinese government said the country grew nearly eight percent in the year to the second quarter. Beijing’s economic stimulus and record bank lending have proven effective and China is in a good position to emerge comfortably from the Great Recession. Do the new figures signal China’s economic resilience? Or is it too […]
Two weeks after unrest erupted in Xinjiang, Beijing should reassess its policies towards and relations with ethnic minorities. Instead of a strong and uncompromising response, the Chinese government needs to protect rights and provide opportunities for real autonomy. Ethnic tensions must be reduced not used to justify harsher measures. Minxin Pei, a senior associate at […]
“After decades of frustration, miscalculation, unrealized potential, India is now emerging as a factor in the global balance of power,” writes Shakti Prasad Srichandan in a Foreign Policy Association Feature published yesterday. He is a scholar at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. “In the coming years, it will have an opportunity to shape outcomes […]
Are India’s foreign policy institutions undermining the country’s rise? Daniel Markey, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, writes in this month’s issue of Asia Policy that “India’s own foreign policy establishment hinders the country from achieving great-power status.” He argues that India needs to reform and expand the foreign service and develop […]
When traveling abroad, Americans are often reminded that many people don’t love the United States. In fact, some seem to dislike or even hate the world’s superpower. But shouldn’t a president who is popular around the world improve America’s image? Sure, but President Barack Obama hasn’t improved the global view of the US. At least […]
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke today at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, DC. She emphasized the centrality of the United States and the importance of cooperation. Even though no country can solve global challenges alone, “no challenge can be met without America.” Working with the world’s rising powers – including China, India, […]