China’s Xinhua news service reported today that on Monday China Radio International announced that a group of dolphins prevented pirates from attacking a group of Chinese merchant ships passing the Gulf of Aden. This bizarre event was minor compared to the major story coming out of Beijing today: that China’s GDP dropped significantly in the […]
Most communist regimes (most dictatorships for that matter) have been swept away by history, usually when they failed to deliver the goods on economic growth and social welfare. Democracies contain elaborate rules by which the people can “throw the rascals out” when their leaders fail to deliver. True, when enough people blame the democratic […]
According to a recent study published in the British Medical Journal, there are 32 million more boys than girls under the age of 20 in China. A preference for male offspring meant that there were 120 boys born for every 100 girls in 2005. In China, the restrictive (and at times draconian) family planning policies […]
One of the untold stories in the headlines during the past few months is that the price of oil has climbed. Recent reports have shown oil at $61 a barrel in the 4th quarter, definitely higher than the $30 reached in 2008. Many financial analysts contribute the rise in price mainly to OPEC cuts. Bloomberg […]
The Open Society Institute hosted a forum in March on the rise of the Sino-Russian strategic partnership. Thomas Kellogg, Bobo Lo, Gilbert Rozman and Elizabeth Wishnick analyzed the relationship. Panelists discussed whether the ties between Beijing and Moscow will evolve into an “authoritarian alliance” and counter the West, or if the partnership is limited given […]
This past weekend brought news of a mega business deal in India. Tech Mahindra was the highest bidder (at $1.2 billion) for Satyam Computer Services, a large and fraud-ridden information technology/outsourcing company that had been taken over by the Indian government after a series of scandals. Tech Mahindra is set now to become India’s 4th […]
President Obama said back at the end of February that all U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of 2011, with most out by August 2010. His policy is to pull out of Iraq and take American power instead to Afghanistan and Pakistan in order to root out Al Qaeda and […]
Travis Sharp, an expert on United States defense policy, says that China’s economic growth and military modernization are “tipping the East Asian balance of power more in Beijing’s favor.” To gain insight into the relative hard power of states, I interviewed Mr. Sharp about US military strategies. Mr. Sharp is a military policy analyst for […]
The Economist has jumped on the debate train: This past week they looked at the resolution on religious defamation, adopted by the UN Human Rights Council. Actually, they asked the question (which shows perfectly the confusion in this debate), “What exactly is it the drafters of the council resolution are trying to outlaw?” The answer […]
During his recent tour of Europe, United States President Obama displayed a humbled diplomacy. Is this the end of American exceptionalism? Is this a sign of America’s decline and indication of its weakness? Not necessarily. Some view Obama’s conciliatory tone as a symbol of an overextended superpower without adequate influence to dictate events. In reality, […]
The discussions were imperfect and the actions were inadequate, but it was better that they met than not. Last week, leaders representing nearly 90 percent of the global economy convened to solve the world’s economic ills. There were no absolute remedies offered, but did the Group of 20 summit address the hopes of rising powers? […]
Show throwing is quickly becoming a popular form of protest. Both former United States President George W. Bush and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao previously fell victim. This week, Indian Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram became the latest world leader to enjoy the dubious distinction of having a shoe thrown at him. If it’s a sign […]
0. United States President Barack Obama called for a “world without nuclear weapons” in a speech last weekend in Prague. A peacenik ideal or calculated political move? Both. Hours after North Korea fired a rocket over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean, President Obama outlined his vision for a nuclear-free world. Getting to zero may […]
Nicholas Kristof, Moises Naim, Martin Wolf and Fareed Zakaria recently discussed the global economic crisis and American foreign policy on CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS. Mr. Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International, commented that we are “seeing a power shift and an emergence” of others, but Mr. Wolf, a columnist for the Financial Times, emphasized that the […]
United States President Barack Obama enjoys the number one ranking in both popularity and influence of the world’s leaders, according to a recent poll conducted by Harris Interactive for France 24 and the International Herald Tribune. The survey measured the views of adults in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United States. Leaders of […]