Regions
Africa
Snapshot,
April 24, 2013
For the second time in less than six months, polio vaccine workers in Pakistan have come under fire. For the gunmen, killing health care workers has been seen as a legitimate response to a nefarious extension of Western power. And, for the CIA, faux vaccine campaigns have sometimes been justified as part of the war on terror. Both sides are wrong: denying or providing health care should never be an instrument of statecraft.
Snapshot,
April 4, 2013
Despite the claims of its champions, the fair-trade movement doesn't help alleviate poverty in developing countries. Even worse, it is just another direct farm subsidy of the kind most conscientious consumers despise. In the long term, the world needs free trade, not fair trade.
Essay,
May/June
2013
Sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP has grown five percent a year since 2000 and is expected to grow even faster in the future. Although pessimists are quick to point out that this growth has followed increases in commodities prices, the success of recent political reforms and the increased openness of African societies give the region a good chance of sustaining its boom for years to come.
Americas
Snapshot,
May 23, 2013
President Obama's counterterrorism speech didn't earn its hype. Far from changing the country's counterterrorism policy, it will only preserve the status quo.
Snapshot,
May 22, 2013
In his scholarship, Waltz asked the tough questions about the difficult and important issues. He was motivated by both theoretical and policy questions, the latter often setting the agenda for the former. He was intellectually courageous, usually staking out iconoclastic positions -- some of which were initially derided, many of which ended up becoming mainstream thinking. No matter what one’s theoretical persuasion, he was an intellectual force that had to be reckoned with.
Snapshot,
May 7, 2013
All in all, the reaction of the online jihadist community to the Boston bombing was unusually tepid. For many, the relatively small attack was simply a sideshow to bigger operations, most notably in Syria. For others, it was an uncomfortable indication of the global jihadist movement’s real limitations in the West.
Asia
Snapshot,
May 23, 2013
The time to fret about when China will acquire drones is over: it has them. The question now is when and how it will use them. But as with its other, less exotic military capabilities, Beijing has cleared only a technological hurdle -- and its behavior will continue to be constrained by politics.
Letter From,
May 18, 2013
Elections in Malaysia earlier this month resulted in the National Front (BN) coalition maintaining its nearly six-decade hold on power. But the race was closer than any before. Now, Prime Minister Najib Razak, the head of the biggest party within the BN, will struggle to maintain his position in his party and in the government.
Snapshot,
May 13, 2013
The high turnout for the recent general election indicates that the Pakistani public is warming up to democracy. But participation is a double-edged sword: by virtue of having had its voice heard, the public now has heightened expectations of government performance. If Sharif fails to deliver, public disaffection could set in rather quickly and powerfully.
Europe
Snapshot,
April 30, 2013
After an inconclusive vote and months of gridlock, Enrico Letta was sworn in this week as Italy's prime minister. But his center-left party is weak and bereft of ideas -- a problem facing the left Europe-wide.
Postscript,
April 25, 2013
After months of negotiations, Kosovo and Serbia have finally agreed to normalize relations. The deal pushes some questions aside and requires both parties to accept certain fictions. Nevertheless, it could as a template for melting the region's other frozen conflicts.
Snapshot,
April 25, 2013
The finance minister who steered Greece into the common currency club argues that the country’s problems today are not an inevitable result of having adopted the euro -- and they can be resolved without abandoning it.
Middle East
Snapshot,
May 22, 2013
With the Iranian government having disqualified two of the country's boldest presidential candidates, it is unlikely the election will address any major ideological questions. But Iranians know that there is a lot more at stake than ideology.
Snapshot,
May 21, 2013
The recent Kerry-Lavrov initiative to end the conflict in Syria through talks was met with skepticism among those who believe that the United States and Russia will bring their own agendas to the table, that Bashar al-Assad will refuse to step down, and that the Syrian opposition is too fragmented to strike a deal. But those are common problems, and successful talks can be -- and have been -- started under just such conditions.
Snapshot,
May 13, 2013
The debate about what to do in Syria has been sidetracked by discussions of credibility and reputation. But both logic and evidence prove that reputations are mostly imaginary. Obama should not let fears that others might think him irresolute drive him to disaster. Instead, he should refocus on what U.S. interests really are in Syria, and how he can best obtain them.
Russia & FSU
Snapshot,
May 22, 2013
From wigs to dead drops, the espionage tussles between the United States and Russia are increasingly playing by the old Cold War rules -- including the public shaming of the unlucky spooks who get caught.
Snapshot,
April 21, 2013
Since the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing were identified as ethnic Chechens, the national conversation about the incident has focused on the connection between the violence and terrorism in Chechnya. Here's why that is the wrong model.
Snapshot,
April 16, 2013
The case against him may be phony, but Alexei Navalny, the Russian blogger and opposition activist, faces long odds in his trial, which begins Wednesday. When Putin cannot co-opt his enemies, it seems, he has other means of crushing them.
Global Commons
Postscript,
March 27, 2013
With predictions about climate change growing direr every week, geoengineering (which includes everything from fertilizing the oceans in an attempt to cajole great blooms of carbon-sucking phytoplankton to spraying particles into the upper atmosphere to make the earth more reflective) is starting to look more attractive. But the science still lags behind the ambitions. To understand how such schemes would work in practice -- and what their consequences would be -- it is time to start small-scale field tests.
Snapshot,
March 19, 2013
A small country hemmed in on its land borders by adversaries, Israel has always relied on the Mediterranean to avoid commercial and political isolation. New developments at sea, including the discovery of natural gas deposits and the growth of illicit trade, will only increase the importance of maritime issues for the country. Israel needs a comprehensive maritime strategy.
Snapshot,
February 21, 2013
In official statements, the United States claims to be a neutral observer in disputes over islands in the South and East China Seas. In fact, major U.S. energy firms have already partnered with Malaysian, Vietnamese, and Philippine state-owned oil companies to develop promising reserves in maritime territories claimed by those countries as well as China -- and the United States appears intent on protecting those projects and other interests in the region with military might.
