http://www.project-syndicate.org/about_us/rss The highest quality commentaries and analysis from distinguished voices across the world en Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:01:20 GMT webmaster@project-syndicate.org http://www.interglacial.com/rss/about.html http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/wilczek1/English The Large Hadron Collider's ability to re-create the conditions of the early universe opens up an exciting possibility. We may finally be able to observe the so-called "dark matter," which contributes five times as much to the total mass of the universe as normal matter. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/stiglitz123/English Even with large deficits, economic growth in the US and Europe is anemic, and forecasts of private-sector growth suggest that in the absence of continued government support, there is risk of continued stagnation – of growth too weak to return unemployment to normal levels. if these forecasts are right, a premature “exit” from deficit spending is not worth the risk. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/kalin1/English The exposure of senior military officials’ plan – called “Operation Sledgehammer” – to destabilize Turkey’s government, and the subsequent arrest of high-ranking officers, demonstrates the growing strength of Turkey’s democracy. Yet some observers still insist on reducing the latest coup plot to the simplistic formula of "secularists" versus "Islamists." http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/korski3/English The Pakistan-EU summit will take place on April 10, a follow up to the first meeting last autumn, but you would be hard-pressed to know anything about the event, since nobody is taking ownership of it. The reason is simple: the EU has nothing new to say or offer. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/james38/English It is too simplistic to explain the current wave of concern about the euro in terms of Greece’s problems. The euro’s current problems are, instead, a reflection of Europe-wide and global problems that have remained unresolved for the past 30 years. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/rossi2/English The attempt by Brazil’s government to participate in the international negotiations over Iran's nuclear program should be viewed in light of the country's overriding ambition to gain permanent membership of the UN Security Council. That goal explains Brazilian officials' recent shift from insisting on dialogue with Iran to mild criticism of its regime. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/istrabadi3/English Iraqis go to the polls on March 7 to elect a new Parliament for the second time under the country’s permanent constitution of 2006. If, as many scholars believe, it is the second general election, not the first, which is the most important test of a new democracy, these elections appear to foreshadow ominous times ahead. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/jsingh1/English There is cruel irony in the observation that in Pakistan, founded in the name of Islam by Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Islam itself should now constitute the principal challenge to the state. It is no less ironic that Pakistan, once seen as the protector of Western interests in South Asia, has become the central challenge to those interests. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/benami39/English Across the Middle East region, a fatalistic conventional wisdom is taking hold: war is unavoidable. With the days of Pax Americana in the region over, avoiding a regional explosion will require mobilizing the major international actors that favor diplomatic solutions for the Arab-Israeli conflict and for Iran’s quest to become a legitimate partner in a new regional system. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/rogoff66/English Investors who have bet against Japan in the past have been badly burned, grossly underestimating the Japanese people’s remarkable flexibility and resilience. But, while Japan’s ability to trudge on in the face of huge adversity is admirable, the risks of crisis ahead are surely greater than bond markets seem to recognize. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/mahbubani8/English In the past, Asians put a premium on protecting their sovereignty and were wary of any multilateral approaches that could dilute it. Now, in response to global challenges – for example, pandemics, financial crises, and climate change – the vast majority of Asian countries understand that collective action does not erode but instead protects sovereignty. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/tmirow3/English Many countries in Central and Eastern Europe were hit hard by the global financial crisis, owing to a massive build-up of debt - much of it in foreign currencies - during the boom years that preceded it. Sustainable recovery will require the development of strong local capital markets, as well as stronger institutional and regulatory frameworks – and not just at the national level. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/delong99/English The Harvard economist Robert Barro, writing in The Wall Street Journal, recently made an intelligent argument against America’s fiscal stimulus. But Barro misreads how his own evidence applies to the current situation in the US, and he wrongly dismisses the importance of the timing of government borrowing. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/wolf21/English Ever since the first Tea Party convention was held last month in Nashville, Tennessee, with Sarah Palin as one of the keynote speakers, the political and media establishments have reacted with a combination of apprehension and disdain. But those who deride and dismiss this movement do so at their own peril. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/mibrahim1/English The usual image of Africa as a continent mired in conflict and squalor is unfair and misleading – like claiming that all Europeans are guilty of “ethnic cleansing” because of what happened in the former Yugoslavia. Yes, African has some failed states, but most of its 53 countries are mostly peaceful, agreeable places.