Chris Patten
Chris Patten, the last British Governor of Hong Kong and a former EU Commissioner for External Affairs, was Chancellor of the University of Oxford.
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2011-03-31
| As an EU member, Turkey would add a new dimension of massive historic importance. And Europeans would show that we could embrace an Islamic democracy and build a strong bridge between Europe and Western Asia.... read |
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2011-02-18
| For years, the West talked up democracy around the world, but, despite the occasional gentle slap on the wrist, we accepted that there was an Arab exception to the desire for freedom and accountability. The West now has to accept that if there is no “Arab exception,” there is no “China exception,” either.... read |
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2011-01-11
| US/China relations have taken a turn for the worst over the past year. Will Hu Jintao’s visit to Washington starting January 19 narrow or widen that gap?... read |
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2010-12-23
| After withering literary assaults on the Almighty from Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and others, believers have hit back. For a happier New Year, we should listen to the core messages of all the great religions, not the anti-modern fear and resentment propagated by their fundamentalist adherents.... read |
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2010-11-29
| We are told that we live in anxious times, with lots to worry about and no more comforting certainty. But just how comfortable were all those past certainties, anyway?... read |
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2010-10-29
| The rescue of the 33 Chilean miners, from what was feared would be their tomb, gave the world something to cheer about. But, looking around us today, there do not seem to be many reasons for optimism elsewhere.... read |
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2010-09-30
| To the surprise of many in the media – at home and abroad – Pope Benedict XVI’s just completed visit to Britain was an outstanding success. The message conveyed by the pope and the religious leaders whom he met defied the widespread assumption that the public cannot understand anything longer or more complicated than a sound bite. ... read |
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2010-08-24
| Europe’s holiday month of August is no time for serious politics – the world and its worries are meant to close down while Europeans repose. But, even on vacation, one cannot escape the effects of the massive transformations wrought by globalization.... read |
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2010-07-30
| It is easier to enter a maximum-security prison than it is to enter the strip of land – 45 kilometers long and maybe eight wide – that is home to Gaza’s 1.5 million Palestinians. And conditions inside reveal the self-defeating nature of Israel's continued blockade.... read |
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America’s Oil-Spill Nationalism
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Chris Patten 
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The oil company BP is discovering that American exceptionalism, when it runs rampant, is a tsunami to be avoided. But, while many Americans wrongly equate BP with Europe, and Europe with failure, it is nonetheless true that Europeans suffer the consequences of their own exceptionalist fantasy.... read
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2008-04-25
| The motto of Bill Clinton's presidential campaign in 1992 was, "It's the economy, stupid." But if all we really want is economic prosperity, we'd better get used to a world that doesn't mind Leninism with its shopping malls.... read |
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2008-07-23
| Nicolas Sarkozy deserves credit for trying to revitalize European cooperation with the mostly Arab states to the south. But if the Mediterranean Union is to achieve more than was managed in the Barcelona Process of the 1990's, Europe must get serious about several key issues, from free trade to human rights.... read |
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2008-09-25
| John McCain picked the singularly unqualified Sarah Palin as his running mate to energize the hard-line right-wingers who form the base of the Republican Party, and to appeal to white working-class voters and women. But his strategy won't work if Barack Obama keeps his campaign focused on McCain, the economy, and the meaning of genuine change.... read |
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2008-06-25
| Will anyone notice or care when Bush returns for good to Crawford, Texas? One reason we should is not what his departure will make possible, but what will remain absolutely the same.... read |
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2008-03-28
| Tony Blair is now backing proposals to jump straight to a final deal that would establish a Palestinian state immediately. But, while there is much to recommend that idea, it cannot be realized without an agreement on borders, inclusion of Hamas, and the creation of fundamental institutions of statehood.... read |
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2008-08-21
| There are several lessons of the “Olympics War,” otherwise known as Russia’s invasion of Georgia. One is that Vladimir Putin remains very much in charge in Moscow, and another is that the West - Europe and America - are unprepared to do anything to stop him.... read |
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2008-11-27
| Most countries fabricate at least some of their history; or they simply whitewash the bits that do not match their heroic idea of themselves. But getting the past wrong can skew a country's strategic choices and, worse, it can distort the development of its society.... read |
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2008-10-28
| Much as some may hate to admit it, anti-Americanism has been fed and nurtured during the Bush years. But the United States remains the world’s only superpower, the only nation that matters in every part of the globe, and the only country capable of mobilizing international action to tackle global problems.... read |
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2008-05-27
| Whatever his many other failings, President Bush has a pretty good record on aid to poor countries, and he recently announced a big increase in US food assistance. This was a faster response - and more rational - than some other countries have made to the global food crisis.... read |
2011-02-18
