WEEKLY SERIES
The World in Words
Although terms like “globalization” are invoked regularly by political leaders, public discussion about their meaning and the values they imply is mostly unsystematic and uncoordinated. Countries with common interests and concerns too often talk past each other.
That need not be so. Project Syndicate’s weekly The World in Words commentaries inform general audiences around the world of the best and most influential ideas in politics, economics, and society. They establish a vehicle for broadening debate and exchanging ideas between East and West, North and South. They offer a unique framework within which newspapers can provide their readers with a deeper understanding of current developments in their own as well as distant societies.
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Obama’s Middle East Malady
Zaki Laidi Series: The World in Words 2012-02-08No sooner did Barack Obama welcome home US troops from Iraq and laud that country’s stability and democracy than an unprecedented wave of violence revealed the severity of Iraq’s political crisis. Is that crisis an unfortunate exception, or, rather, a symptom of the failure of Obama’s Middle East diplomacy, from Egypt to Afghanistan?... read Comments: 3 Recommended: 0 Read: 3848 -
A Strategy for Russia’s Snow Revolution
Mischa Gabowitsch Series: The World in Words 2012-02-05
So far, Russia's protesters have gotten much right: they have focused on a single demand – fair elections – and have united liberals, communists, nationalists, and otherwise apolitical citizens in a broad coalition. If their movement is to succeed, however, maintaining a commitment to non-violence is likely to be the key.... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 4895 -
What do Egypt’s Generals Want?
Omar Ashour Series: The World in Words 2012-01-30One year after Egypt's revolution began, the country's Praetorian rulers are eager for a system in which they maintain their vast economic holdings, legal immunity, and a final say over high politics. But the generals must contend with Islamists in Parliament and pressure from the street, suggesting that a more democratic system is possible.... read Comments: 1 Recommended: 0 Read: 6239 -
Demilitarizing Muslim Politics
Shahid Javed Burki Series: The World in Words 2012-01-25
The paramount question in countries as disparate as Egypt, Pakistan, and Turkey is whether Muslim governments can free themselves from their powerful militaries. To do so, they will have to overcome a tradition of governance dating from Islam’s founding in the seventh century.... read Comments: 1 Recommended: 2 Read: 7761 -
The Arab Spring’s Balance Sheet
Wadah Khanfar Series: The World in Words 2012-01-18As the Arab world's old regimes vanish, the region’s entire value system, forged by autocracy, is also being transformed. But, if the Arab Spring fails from lack of external support, the result will not be dictatorships that are loyal to the West, but rather a tsunami of rage that will spare no one.... read Comments: 2 Recommended: 0 Read: 15027 -
Turkey’s Balancing Act
Mohammed Ayoob Series: The World in Words 2012-01-09
A few months ago, many Americans were livid at what they perceived as Turkey’s betrayal, reflected in the country’s deteriorating relations with Israel and improving ties with Iran. But America’s anxiety wrongly assumes that it is a contradiction for Turkey to seek good relations with both the West and the Muslim Middle East.... read Comments: 4 Recommended: 0 Read: 10543 -
Egypt’s Salafi Challenge
Omar Ashour Series: The World in Words 2012-01-03The unexpected rise of the Salafis in the first round of Egypt’s parliamentary election has fueled concern that the most populous Sunni Arab country could be on its way to becoming a fundamentalist theocracy akin to Shia Iran. That leaves liberals little alternative but to cooperate with the Muslim Brotherhood.... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 13504 -
Peril or Promise in North Korea?
Javier Solana Series: The World in Words 2012-01-03
The ongoing opening in Myanmar (Burma) shows that potentially significant political change need not be accompanied by regional instability. In the case of North Korea, where nuclear arms are in play, it cannot afford to be.... read Comments: 1 Recommended: 0 Read: 11224 -
Pakistan on the Precipice
Shahid Javed Burki Series: The World in Words 2011-12-26Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari abruptly returned to Karachi on the morning of December 19, following a 13-day absence for medical treatment in Dubai. Zardari faces unprecedented challenges to his hold on power – and has committed unprecedented mistakes that have weakened it.... read Comments: 2 Recommended: 1 Read: 11856
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