World Views

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Augustin P. Mahiga

The UN's Special Representative for Somalia is back on the ground in Mogadishu for the first time since 1995, and he reports that the prospects for peace are now stronger than at any time in two decades. But capitalizing on the opportunity requires the global community’s engagement and political will to see the transition process through to completion.

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South Asia’s False Spring

Brahma Chellaney Series: The Asian Century

2012-02-20

Recent events in South Asia – from the ousting of the Maldives' president to the abortive coup in Bangladesh – indicate that the region's democratic advances are now being reversed. As a result, India is now the sole country in the region with a deeply-rooted pluralistic democracy, with all of the strategic disadvantages that follow from that.... read

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Self and the City

Daniel A. Bell and Avner de-Shalit Series: The Worldly Philosophers

2012-02-17

Today, when more than half of the world's population lives in urban areas, many critics worry that people are losing their sense of self and community. In fact, cities may be the key to empowering identity in the twenty-first century.... read

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The Maghreb’s Modern Islamists

Moha Ennaji Series: Islam

2012-02-16

The Arab Spring has led not to Western-style liberal democracy, but to the rise of Islamist parties. The new Islamist governments in Tunisia and Morocco won elections after running on a moderate platform, but they will have to resist pressure from their most conservative supporters, and marginalize extremists in order to succeed in power.... read

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Venezuela’s Republic of Crime

Kevin Casas-Zamora Series: Latin America

2012-02-15

Venezuela’s crime rates have increased more than any other Latin American country’s in the past few years, with Caracas vying for the title of the world's most dangerous city. But the usual explanations – income inequality and poor human development – don't tell the full story.... read

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Africa’s Imperiled Democracy

Alfred Stepan and Etienne Smith Series: Into Africa

2012-02-14

The future of one of Africa’s oldest democracies is at stake in Senegal’s presidential election on February 26. The incumbent, Abdoulaye Wade, formerly a leading advocate for democracy, has, at almost 90 years old, become its gravedigger.... read

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Nixon Then, China Now

Minxin Pei Series: China World

2012-02-13

When US President Richard Nixon began his historic trip to China 40 years ago this February 21st, he could not have imagined what his gamble would unleash. The question today is whether China can sustain its success under a one-party regime that is hostile to the liberal values that inspire and underpin globalization.... read

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The Snow Revolution’s Orange Shadow

Anders Åslund Series: A Window on Russia

2012-02-10

Vladimir Putin’s regime is warning Russians that their budding “Snow Revolution” will be as big a mistake as the Ukrainian Orange Revolution of 2004. The Orange Revolution was no mistake, but it should serve as a lesson to Russians that a just cause is no guarantee of victory.... read

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China’s Syrian Folly

Steve Tsang Series: China World

2012-02-08

In vetoing the UN Security Council’s draft resolution on Syria, China claims that it has acted in the interests of the Syrian people. In fact, the Chinese stance has effectively ensured that atrocities in Syria will continue and increase in intensity – and that China's soft power will diminish throughout the Middle East.... read

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Tomorrow’s Pax Pacifica

Kevin Rudd Series: The Asian Century

2012-02-07

Although the relationship between China and the United States is critical to Asia’s future, the concept of a "G-2" is never going to fly in the region. The task today is to recognize the realities of US and Chinese power, without turning the rest of the region into collateral damage should the Sino-American relationship deteriorate.... read

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Russia’s Inevitable Democratization

Sergei Guriev and Aleh Tsyvinski Series: A Window on Russia

2011-12-30

Twenty years ago, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev resigned, the Soviet Union ended, and Russia began an imperfect transition to democratic capitalism. And yet the recent protests – somewhat similar to those that preceded the Soviet collapse – provide grounds for cautious optimism about the future.... read

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China’s Trouble with the Neighbors

Zhu Feng Series: China World

2011-10-31

China’s “good neighbor” policy is under unprecedented pressure; indeed, it is at its nadir since the Cold War’s end. And China’s neighbors will not be reliably good until China begins to provide essential public goods – particularly full-fledged regional governance based on the rule of law, respect for human rights, and regional economic growth.... read

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The Language of Global Protest

Jan-Werner Mueller Series: The Worldly Philosophers

2011-10-24

Indignation has become a watchword for movements in France, Spain, and elsewhere. And language matters here: indignation, unlike outrage, suggests that some social actors – a government or elites in general – have violated shared norms or moral understandings.... read

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The Talmud and Greek Debt

Mario I. Blejer Series: The Worldly Philosophers

2011-07-19

There are two ways to look at Greece’s majestically unsustainable sovereign-debt mountain – both correct, though difficult to reconcile. In these circumstances, the Talmud, the ancient repository of Jewish legal commentary – and one of the oldest sources of human thought on morality and economic activity – might hold the key.... read

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Was Killing Bin Laden a Mistake?

Omar Ashour Series: The Worldly Philosophers

2011-05-05

Eliminating the “spiritual guide” (rather than the organizational leaders) of a militant group might be perceived as a political victory in the short term, but it is not likely to mean the end of the organization in question. Indeed, it probably makes a comprehensive de-radicalization process less likely.... read

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Stick to the Resolution

Gareth Evans Series: Human Rights

2011-03-23

The international military intervention in Libya is not about bombing for democracy or for Muammar el-Qaddafi’s head – let alone keeping oil prices down or profits up. But many voices now capturing media attention are beginning to confuse the basic message of the UN Security Council's historic Resolution 1973.... read

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The Dirt on Nuclear Power

Benjamin J. Sovacool Series: Science and Society

2011-03-16

Japan’s nuclear crisis is a nightmare, but it is not an anomaly. In fact, it is only the latest in a long line of nuclear accidents involving meltdowns, explosions, fires, and loss of coolant – accidents that have occurred during both normal operation and emergency conditions, such as droughts and earthquakes.... read

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Japan’s Nuclear Morality Tale

Brahma Chellaney Series: Earth in the Balance

2011-03-14

The troubles of nuclear-power plants in northeast Japan have dealt a severe blow to the global nuclear industry, which had been trumpeting a nuclear-power renaissance. Judging by the fallout from previous nuclear disasters, however, the industry's advocates will be back.... read

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The Battle for Bahrain

Barak Barfi Series: Islam

2011-02-22

Change may be coming to much of the Middle East. But, with Bahrain’s social fault lines too wide to bridge, the regime willing to resort to brutal violence to crush any uprising, and the international community prepared to look the other way, the protesters in Manama should be prepared for defeat.... read

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Taking the Fat Out of Global Warming	Ian Roberts
Mitigating climate change presents unrivaled opportunities for improving human health and well being. Indeed, policies to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions promise to bring about substantial reductions in heart disease, respiratory illness, cancer, obesity, diabetes, depression, and road deaths and injuries.... read
No to Green Fundamentalism	Alain Juppe
People in poor parts of the world have a right to economic development so that they can produce their own food, gain access to clean water, live in adequate shelter, and have all the benefits represented by hospitals and schools. How, then, can some advocate limiting economic growth as a solution to the problem of global warming?... read

The Man Who Made Malaysia

Wang Gungwu Series: The Asian Century

2003-09-29

Once again, Malaysia ' s Mahathir Muhammed acerbic tongue has incited controversy. But his long rule in his country -- which ends November 1 -- amounts to much more than intemperate remarks, as Wang Gungwu, one of Southeast Asia's leading strategic analysts, suggests. ... read