The Wall Street Journal last week highlighted the growing role that water shortages are playing in the decision about building power plants. A lack of water in 2001 reduced energy in Brazil, which relies on hyrdopower, questioning its reliance on water for such a high proportion of its energy needs. But its not just dams. […]
Some commentators are encouraging the Obama administration to nurture a strong relationship with India. With attention turned towards China, Russia, the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan and even Mexico, is the United States ignoring a rising power in a geopolitically significant region? India is too big and important to ignore. James Steinberg, deputy secretary of state, […]
As G-20 Summit nears in London next week, anger and resentment aimed at Western, or ‘Laisse-Faire’ capitalism, rises among public in member nations.
For the first time, an American official attended a meeting organized by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The SCO met in Moscow on Friday to discuss Afghanistan. Patrick Moon, the United States deputy assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, was present and commented that the US views “this as a positive forum for […]
I don’t know much about President Obama’s game, but I’m guessing, based on his aggressive moves on climate change and energy since just about the moment he took office, that he’s not shy about driving hard to the inside to make points. I’ve been writing here since November about his appointments and initiatives and I’ve […]
Yes, we have caved in and joined the latest social-networking fad. You can now follow Women and Foreign Policy on Twitter. Barack Obama does…or so Twitter says.
Turkish municipal elections just finished today. The vote is seen by many as a confidence vote for the ruling AK Party (Justice and Development Party) of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Most electoral analysts expect the AK, an Islamist Party which is highly criticized by secularists and military leaders, to retain its majority leadership over […]
I’m sorry that (for my part at least) posting has been sparse lately; I took a much-needed vacation and have been buried in work since I got back. Here are Stewart Patrick and Kaysie Brown arguing that it is in the Obama administration’s interest to take concrete action against al-Bashir. Money quote: First, he should […]
This week, two experts debated whether China is the new America or the United States is the new China in Foreign Policy. While the authors compare the two powers in different ways, both believe China is rising and the US is falling. Harold James, a professor at Princeton University, says leadership in the international order […]
The State Department has released the blacklist of religious freedom violators established by the Bush administration. It is the same list as in 2006, and it’s questionable whether the new department really analyzed the current situation before releasing the names of eight countries. Burma, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Uzbekistan are […]
This may turn out to be a footnote in the annals of public diplomacy, but it is an instructive one nonetheless. The Amerika Haus in Berlin, a symbol of U.S.-government public diplomacy throughout the Cold War, has been quietly resurrected by a German-American not-for-profit to serve as a venue for America-related events in the German […]
You can’t see her whole face but she is visibly upset as she breaks down. For the past eight months she has fled to five different cities in Turkey*. Both her father and her brother want her dead for not marrying a man much older than herself. At only 18, she now fears the very […]
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s arrival to Mexico this week came amidst a war of accusations between Mexican and U.S. government officials regarding drug trafficking violence at the border. Most contentious was the report by the U.S. Joint Forces Command which recommended the monitoring of Mexico as a “failing” state, one that could ultimately prove […]
The cherry blossoms are in bloom in Washington, D.C., and I am especially cheery because the March/April issue of Moment Magazine is out on newsstands. There is a lot of good stuff in this one, and I hope that you will check it out. First, we tackle the whole Bernand Madoff mess. The former NASDAQ […]
President Obama announced his war strategy today, and the White House website has a nice recap as well as a direct link to a PDF file on the new policy. As expected, his strategy calls for more troops in Afghanistan and a coordinated attack on al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan. I was most interested […]