There are two types of power evident in the study of international relations: hard power and soft power. The former is coercive, and is associated with a state’s use of military force or economic pressure in order to maximize its interests. Hard power is advocated by those who believe that relative gains are the most […]
As I’ve written on the subject before, Uzbekistan is one of the worst human rights offenders out there. Recent news of child labor during this fall’s cotton harvesting season once again put the country into the international spotlight drawing sharp criticism by human rights activists. Meanwhile, in the same vein, Bell Pottinger Group’s dealings with […]
Women and children are hit the hardest by hunger worldwide. Why? In developing countries women face unique barriers to critical resources like income, land, education and the ability to borrow money. The global population has now hit a astonishing 7 billion-plus mouths to feed, and women and children account for more than 60% of those […]
Republican candidate for President, Mitt Romney, said this week that if he becomes President, he will visit Israel during his first foreign trip. So he is only two elections away from those famous Israeli breakfasts and some photo ops at the Kotel with those awkward cardboard kippahs. So he has obviously earned the votes of […]
The Congressional Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, part of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, held a hearing on Thursday, December 1 on U.S. Coast Guard operations in the Arctic. The chief topic of concern was icebreakers. As I reported back in February, the U.S. will be without heavy icebreakers for at least two […]
It is still too early to determine which Arab Spring countries will eventually become successes in their government reforms and transitions and which stagnate or descend into chaos. Tunisia. With a homogeneous and well-educated citizenry, distaste for Islamist extremism, and recent free and fair elections, Tunisia stands the most to gain from the “Arab Spring.” […]
“The Venezuelan cooperation is now number one,” said President Michel Martelly shortly before boarding his plane to Caracas, land of Hugo Chavez. “It gives most grants and aids to Haiti,” added the president at Toussaint Louverture airport’s diplomatic room ahead of his first official trip to Venezuela as a member of the Community of Latin […]
1. Summary of the Past Year This year was a wildly eventful one, headlined by the Arab Spring and the debt crises in both the US and Europe. Other major events included the nuclear accident and natural disasters in Japan, the Occupy Wall Street movement, the independence of South Sudan, the increase in drug-related killings […]
A recent reading of E. M. Forster’s novel, A Passage to India, prompted me to reflect on the West’s drawn out engagement in Afghanistan. The centerpiece of this prescient narrative is an incident in an ancient cave in Northwestern India between an Indian doctor and an English woman during the heyday of the British Raj. […]
Here are a few stories that I’ve been thinking about in recent days: A new report from the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS), Africa and the Arab Spring: A New Era of Democratic Expectations, the first volume of the Africa Center’s new Special Report series, uses the Arab Spring as a lens through which […]
It’s not surprising that Putin lost his 2/3 majority in parliament today. Many people have turned against him and his party for many reasons: his inability to improve living standards, deal with corruption and reform the military, police, health and education systems. But perhaps most damning: his inability to get more than 50% of the […]
Georgia 2011 was the year when former Parliament Speaker Nino Burjanadze put the finishing touches on her long campaign to discredit former Parliament Speaker Nino Burjanadze. Ms. Burjanadze began her re-branding effort from responsible, clear-headed opposition leader to uncompromising radical after forming her own political party in 2008. The disastrous Russo-Georgian War in the same […]
On World AIDS Day, UN officials say end to epidemic is within reach In his annual World AIDS day message, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, “Momentum is on our side. Let us use it to end AIDS — once and for all.” U.S. President Barack Obama announced plans to redirect $50 million in already […]
Thursday, December 1, was World AIDS Day. Each year, people gather worldwide to remember those lost to or affected by HIV/AIDS and to raise awareness. It’s also a time to reflect on what’s been accomplished and what remains to be done, and the day serves as a time for politicians, celebrities, implementers, and activists to […]
Did you know that there is an estimated 14,500 to 17,500 foreign nationals trafficked into the United States each year? Shockingly, the number of U.S. citizens trafficked within the country is even higher! “Is it really that bad?” is the question usually asked- the answer is undeniably, “Yes!” According to the 2009 Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking […]