Features
Snapshots
Unlike in 2004, Ukraine's upcoming presidential election will not determine the country's geopolitical orientation. But it will test whether the young democracy can stabilize its economy, cut down on corruption, and navigate its relations with Russia and the West.
ReadBeijing's ongoing efforts to promote growth are infringing on people's economic and political rights. In order to survive, the Chinese government will have to start allowing ordinary citizens to take part in the political process.
ReadThe recent ban of more than 500 candidates from Iraq's upcoming elections is designed to cement the power of the country's Shiite Islamists aligned with Iran. Will this latest sectarian rupture sink any hopes for a stable Iraq?
ReadLetters From
That talks between the Philippine government and the secessionist group Moro Islamic Liberation Front have restarted is a good sign, but the hope of some officials that an accord can be reached soon seems overly optimistic.
ReadA hostile diplomatic battle has erupted in recent months between China and India. Do tensions over visas and the two countries' shared border pose a threat to one of Asia's most formidable partnerships?
ReadIn recent years, international attention on Sudan has focused on Darfur. But the regime in Khartoum has been concerned with its own political survival, and with elections looming in the spring, the country's ruling party is prepared to use repression and intimidation to ensure its victory.
ReadPostscripts
Since winning elections in 2006, Hamas has demonstrated that it cannot be part of an Israeli-Palestinian peace process, nor part of a Palestinian body politic based on democracy and free elections. But can policymakers deny the group the ability to play the spoiler?
ReadAs the International Year of Biodiversity approaches in 2010, the loss of wildlife, genetic material, ecosystems, and evolutionary processes is as marked as ever. Climate change, meanwhile, is becoming an even greater threat to the biosphere.
ReadSenior officers who resign over policy disagreements with civilian leaders undermine the principle of civilian control over the military and damage the professionalism of the U.S. armed forces.
ReadReading Lists
Comments
The "green revolution" dramatically boosted crop yields throughout the world, but it also bred overconfidence and complacency. Now, global food stocks are too low, and food prices are too high. Malthus is back.
ReadSoon, travelers worldwide will have a chance to contribute to the global fight against HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis whenever they purchase airline tickets. This initiative is part of a new development strategy called innovative financing, which hopes to redistribute some of globalization's gains to sick people in poor countries.
ReadStrict export restrictions are making U.S. businesses less competitive and the country less secure. Policymakers must craft new regulations to help, rather than harm, U.S. interests.
ReadEssays
If the Obama administration has any hope of reducing the world’s nuclear arsenals, the U.S. government will have to assuage the fears of nonnuclear states, diminish the prestige of nuclear weapons, and address the risk of proliferation posed by civilian nuclear energy programs.
ReadAs Taipei drifts further into Beijing’s sphere of influence, the United States must decide whether to continue arming Taiwan as a bulwark against a rising China or step back to allow the Taiwanese people to determine their own future.
ReadSome threats to international security are so potentially damaging that preventing them in advance is preferable to remedying their effects. In such cases, states should judge preventive actions by a standard of legitimacy, not strict legality.
ReadResponses
Andrew Krepinevich's vision for the U.S. military underestimates Washington's existing commitments and capabilities, Thomas Donnelly and Philip Dur argue. Not so, replies Krepinevich, and now is no time to stay the course.
ReadLeslie Gelb's skepticism of "smart power" is misguided; it is only by combining the strategies of both hard and soft power that the United States can achieve its ends.
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