Topics
Economics
Snapshot,
February 7, 2012
The Vatican has recently made pointed calls for global financial reform, but the Church's teaching is grappling to accommodate the growing divergence between the immediate economic expectations of Catholics in developed European nations and those living in emerging economies.
Snapshot,
January 15, 2012
Observers have insisted that the presidential election was not about cross-strait relations but about socio-economic issues. In fact, those two are inseparable. Taiwanese realize that good relations with China are necessary for their country's continued prosperity.
Snapshot,
January 12, 2012
The problem isn't weak EU economic policy, it is that no country has reason to live up to its obligations or to force its partners to do the same. What Europe really needs is a sovereign credit club; at the cost of accepting certain performance standards, countries would join to get access to low-cost capital.
Environment
Snapshot,
December 13, 2011
Climate negotiators are celebrating the deal reached over the weekend at the conference in South Africa. But the agreement only validates an approach to climate change that has failed to reverse global warming for more than 20 years now.
Snapshot,
December 13, 2011
China's appetite for energy and jobs has made it a global hub for green innovation. Washington and the West will have to change their strategies to catch up.
Essay,
Nov/Dec
2011
In their single-minded pursuit of economic growth, China's leaders have long overlooked public health -- which, by some measures, is now worse than under Mao. Despite recent reforms, China's citizens keep getting sicker, threatening the country's health-care system, the economy at large, and even the stability of the regime.
Security
Snapshot,
February 7, 2012
Somalia's government has recently made gains against the militant group al Shabaab. But those will prove fleeting if it does not find a way to address the organization's grievances and bring moderates into the fold.
Snapshot,
February 5, 2012
Russia vetoed a resolution at the UN Security Council to end the violence in Syria because it feels burned by last year's international intervention in Libya, and it harbors suspicions about the motives of the United States.
Snapshot,
February 2, 2012
Shortly after taking office, Obama traveled to Prague to lay out a vision of a world "free of nuclear weapons." Now the Pentagon has prepared a top-secret memo for the White House, and the president has to decide whether to maintain or shrink the U.S. nuclear arsenal. Now he must decide whether he will uphold the principles he once preached.
Law & Institutions
Snapshot,
February 5, 2012
Russia vetoed a resolution at the UN Security Council to end the violence in Syria because it feels burned by last year's international intervention in Libya, and it harbors suspicions about the motives of the United States.
Comment,
February 2, 2012
NATO’s operation in Libya has rightly been praised for saving lives and ending a tyrannical regime, write the U.S. permanent representative to NATO and its supreme allied commander for Europe. But to replicate the success, member states must reinforce their political cohesion and improve the burden sharing that made the mission work.
Snapshot,
January 6, 2012
More and more outsiders are calling for a humanitarian intervention in Syria to stop Bashar al-Assad's killing sprees. But for this to work, Syria's various opposition groups will have to first coalesce into a single, unified political and military force.
Politics & Society
Snapshot,
February 7, 2012
The Vatican has recently made pointed calls for global financial reform, but the Church's teaching is grappling to accommodate the growing divergence between the immediate economic expectations of Catholics in developed European nations and those living in emerging economies.
Snapshot,
January 31, 2012
Iraq is not suffering sectarian strife as much as what could be called intra-sectarian conflict, in which rivals from both the country’s Shiite- and Sunni-dominated parties reposition themselves amid the political fray.
Essay,
January 24, 2012
Terrible rulers, sullen populations, a terrorist fringe -- the Arabs' exceptionalism was becoming not just a human disaster but a moral one. Then, a frustrated Tunisian fruit vendor summoned his fellows to a new history, and millions heeded his call. The third Arab awakening came in the nick of time, and it may still usher in freedom.
U.S. Policy
Comment,
February 2, 2012
NATO’s operation in Libya has rightly been praised for saving lives and ending a tyrannical regime, write the U.S. permanent representative to NATO and its supreme allied commander for Europe. But to replicate the success, member states must reinforce their political cohesion and improve the burden sharing that made the mission work.
Snapshot,
February 1, 2012
The recently signed NDAA confirms the president's authority to detain terrorists in military custody without trial. The bill's proponents consider it a boon to counterterrorism efforts but it will only hinder intelligence collection; chill information sharing among local, national, and international law enforcement agencies; and alienate the American Muslim community.
Snapshot,
January 23, 2012
The president knows that a foreign policy crisis -- especially one his critics have forewarned -- could derail his reelection campaign at any time. So, during the State of the Union address, he will try to give himself some political cover on a few issues in particular: Iran, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
