The once-in-a-decade leadership transition in China that starts November 8 will see a new slate of top leaders installed by next spring, all eager to influence a new vision of a changing China. But the most prominent leaders to be replaced, President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, are no lame ducks. Both are still […]
I don’t like saying that the majority of Americans are ignorant when it comes to foreign policy, but when you read some of the statistics that were listed in a recent article in the magazine named after this very subject, it’s disconsolately hard to deny. Take my mother for example. She is the type of […]
Chinese construction companies are behind many of the new buildings going up in Yangon While in Yangon, Myanmar last month, I had a chance to talk with several Myanmarese who naturally asked me where I lived. When I told them I lived in China, what struck me most with their response was their anxiety over […]
The Foreign Policy Association has just released preliminarily results of its 2012 National Opinion Survey and there are some interesting tidbits in there regarding the Asia-Pacific. However, for all the dynamics that are unfolding in the region there is not a lot of debate in this survey on the importance of Asia to U.S. interests, […]
Monday’s debate on foreign policy marked the end of the presidential debate season for 2012. Much has been said about past gaffes — both in foreign policy debates and in general — but we’re going to take some time now anyway to reflect on what could have, and what did, go horribly wrong in this […]
In the spring of 1966, a small group of students attending the Tsinghua University Middle School named themselves “Chairman Mao’s Red Guards” after signing two big-character posters criticizing the controversial play Hai Rui Dismissed from Office. The students interpreted the play as an allegory for Peng Dehuai’s criticism of Mao’s Great Leap Forward during the […]
In advance of tonight’s presidential foreign policy debate, U.S. policy towards Africa should be an important question the candidates are considering. It’s an issue the candidates and their teams have undoubtedly thought about and already answered for themselves. But I’ll be (pleasantly) surprised if either of the candidates gives U.S. engagement in Africa much attention. […]
Gone are the days when avoidance of religious and political discussions was essential to retaining friendships. Today discussing these two topics in the public and private squares is essential to peace, coexistence, development and progress! At hand is the most misunderstood and indeed most abused moral concept of the 21st century: the doctrine of […]
During Monday night’s town hall style debate between President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney, the domestic issues once again seem poised to take the spotlight until one Mr. Kerry Ladka took to the microphone. Asking President Obama about the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Ladka said: This question actually comes from a […]
The Islamic Republic of Iran has been invited to participate in the trial but has to date refused to engage with the Tribunal process The second phase of the People’s Court process by the Iran Tribunal will be held at the Peace Palace in The Hague between 25-27 October 2012. The Iran Tribunal seeks to investigate […]
Thanks to the hard work of several of our bloggers, Foreign Policy Association’s election guide and candidate selector is up! Focusing on the foreign policy views of incumbent President Barack Obama and the opposition challenger, Mitt Romney, the Foreign Policy Association’s bloggers provide readers with background and analysis on the five most-debated topics facing American […]
Which group of countries can be set as an example in the security and defense field for the Central European states? It is my contention that the Nordic collaboration, based on the 2009 “Stoltenberg report,” should be and could be repeated on a V4 level. How V4 cooperation might become as effective and attractive to the U.S. as the one between the Nordic states? One should offer a set of four rules which will be called V4 four commandments: visibility, flexible leadership, active engagement and daring thinking.
27 Leading Experts Say That Current US Policy Does Not Serve Long-Term American Security Interests WASHINGTON — Twenty-seven leading foreign policy experts have sent a letter to President Obama, calling for a broader approach on US policy towards Yemen that “expands beyond the narrow lens of counterterrorism.” As US intelligence agencies point to the rise […]
Very early tomorrow morning I head to South Africa for my first trip there in nearly a year. I’ll be there for three weeks and will be upping my frequency and volume of posting. But in the meantime, here is a deluge of stories that have been piling up in my tabs: At The Atlantic […]
2012 has been the year of elections and ideological divisions. France is no exception to the rule. On May 15th, 2012, François Hollande officially became the President of France. His first action was to fly to Berlin, despite the weather, in order to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. This strategic move is important for […]