AUTHOR'S BIO
Vishakha N. Desai
Vishakha N. Desai is President of the Asia Society.
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Asian Women on Top
Vishakha N. Desai Series: 2011 Year End Series 2011-12-19Asia still has women leaders who came to power at least partly because of their family ties. But 2011 witnessed a major change: these leaders now seem to use their positions with far more confidence putting women and their concerns squarely at the center of their agendas.... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 1373
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Educating Americans about Muslim Voices
Vishakha N. Desai, Karen Brooks Hopkins and Tlili Mustapha Series: Islam 2009-06-04
President Barack Obama’s speech in Cairo furthered his stated goal of extending a hand of friendship to the Muslim world, and engaging it with a commitment to mutual respect. But the sad fact that most Americans remain woefully ignorant about the basic facts of Islam, and about the broad geographic and cultural diversity of Muslim cultures. ... read Comments: 1 Recommended: 0 Read: 13742
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The Key to Stability in South Asia
Frank G Wisner, Charles R. Kaye, Vishakha N. Desai and Alyssa Ayres Series: The Asian Century 2009-02-17Few places in the world offer as daunting a set of challenges as South Asia: a narcotics-fueled insurgency in Afghanistan, a resurgent Taliban that has destabilized Pakistan, and chronic tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan. Addressing these challenges will require realizing the great promise implied by the emerging ties between India and the US.... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 11782
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Obama’s Asian Vision
Vishakha N. Desai Series: The Asian Century 2008-11-05The current financial crisis, which has made abundantly clear that the center of global economic power has shifted toward the East, has underlined the need for Barack Obama to address the Asia-PAcific region’s new realities early in his tenure. Indeed, the West’s future role will depend on how America manages this new distribution of power. ... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 11345
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A New Tang Dynasty?
Vishakha N. Desai Series: The World in Words 2008-08-15The Beijing Olympics recall another time when China dazzled the world at its doorstep: the Tang dynasty (618-907), often thought of as China’s golden age, when it was truly the “middle kingdom” at the center of the universe. In fact, Chinese officials have been eager to promote this image.... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 12981
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Asia’s Questions for America’s Next President
Vishakha N. Desai Series: The Asian Century 2008-03-17While the US economy is in the final stages of a seismic shift from manufacturing to service-oriented industries, China and India are ascendant, and Muslims throughout Asia are clamoring for a greater role in global affairs. And yet America's presidential candidates continue to tiptoe around such issues. ... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 14921
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Another Buddha Destroyed
Vishakha N. Desai Series: Human Rights 2007-11-02When Taliban forces destroyed the monumental Buddha statues in Bamiyan, Afghanistan in 2001, political and cultural leaders from around the world condemned the attacks, and offers of help poured in. Now it's happening again in Pakistan's Swat valley, and the world is turning the other way.... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 17214
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India’s Hillary Clinton?
Vishakha N. Desai Series: The Asian Century 2007-07-25As Americans debate their readiness to accept a woman such as Hillary Clinton as president, India has already done so, with the election of Pratibha Patil. Although India’s presidency is primarily a ceremonial post that carries less weight than that of prime minister (the position once held by Indira Gandhi), it is symbolically significant. Sonia Gandhi, the leader of the ruling Congress Party, who pushed hard to promote Patil’s candidacy primarily on gender grounds, calls this election “a special moment for women across the country.” ... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 14251
