Because of its strategic location between the two twentieth-century centers of Arab power, Egypt and Iraq, Syria has been for many decades a bellwether of Arab politics, viewed widely in the region as the heartland of Arab nationalism. The fact that the first major pan-Arab nationalist party, the Baath, was established in Syria and the […]
Even by Pakistan‘s standards, it has been an exceptionally busy week. Terrorist attacks targeting the Hazara Shia community in Quetta killed over 100, leading to widespread protests and the subsequent sacking of Baluchistan‘s elected assembly and the imposition of Governor law. Tensions flared up on the border with India with troops from both sides being […]
A slight acceleration in Chinese economic growth at the end of last year is reinforcing the common narrative that China’s expansion is a threat to other nations, including the U.S. The bigger danger over the medium term, however, may be a slowdown in Chinese growth — which appears to be more likely than most U.S.-based commentators […]
The $10 Trillion Prize authored by consultants at the Boston Consulting Group digs deeper into the changing consumer landscape in China and India to find out the big, juicy, revenue model that should excite everybody who cares to be in these two markets. And numbers, as always, make for a fascinating reading. Here are some […]
President Barack Obama is likely to name deputy national security adviser Denis McDonough his next chief of staff, replacing Jack Lew after his nomination to be treasury secretary, according to sources familiar with the matter. McDonough, a longtime Obama foreign policy adviser who worked on the Democrat‘s 2008 presidential campaign, would bring a strong working […]
While the U.S.’s foreign wars wind down, the body count at home keeps rising. The Pentagon said this week there were 349 suicides by active-duty members of the armed services in 2012, as opposed to 311 combat deaths. Before you jump to conclusions about the plight of battle- traumatized veterans failing to readjust to life stateside, consider […]
FOR 35 years the steel bolts holding up the ceiling of Sasago Tunnel, on a busy toll road west of Tokyo, were never checked. On December 2nd more than 600 of them had worked themselves so loose that a 130-metre stretch of the roof collapsed, crushing nine motorists. The disaster played into the hands of […]
President Obama’s pick to succeed Hillary Clinton as secretary of state is making some in New Delhi’s diplomatic, military, and intelligence communities nervous that Washington will soon tilt to Islamabad, India’s decades-old rival and tormentor. Last week in New Delhi, a former ambassador to the US complained to me about America’s support for Pakistan—on three […]
Any look back at 2012 would necessarily focus on three parts of the world: the eurozone, with its seemingly endless financial uncertainties; the Middle East, with its many upheavals, including, but hardly limited to, the Muslim Brotherhood’s accession to power in Egypt and Syria’s savage civil war, which has already claimed more than 60,000 lives; […]
One year has passed since Russia awakened. A negative trend had dominated the past 12 years in Russia: The number of freedoms decreased while abuses of the Kremlin‘s power increased. This was largely met by indifference among the people. But in December 2011, that indifference ended with the beginning of the protest movement. The country was set on a new path that will lead to either the overthrow of the regime […]
