With a general election approaching in Germany this fall, Angela Merkel finds herself mired in a scandal about her communist upbringing. The belated reckoning with Merkel’s past reveals little about the chancellor’s political sympathies — and plenty about the German public’s historical ignorance. Read Here – Foreign Affairs
In the debate over the future of China’s growth, one factor typically animates the bulls more than any other: the country’s sheer size. One way or another, this undergirds most optimistic scenarios. China is so big it can absorb years and years of public-works spending without waste becoming a drag. The population is so large, […]
Among European publics ‘the Greek crisis’ is a phrase that invokes images of corruption, poor government, civil unrest, and social turmoil. Foreign governments and political commentators have grasped that this narrative also provides a way to provoke political change in their own countries. By threatening a future ‘akin to Greece,’ unpopular domestic reforms are passed […]
There is a lot going for India’s relations with Japan if New Delhi can overlook the Dragon in the room and get on with what it needs to do to ensure its economic and diplomatic rise. Read Here – Indian Express
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned on Tuesday that failure to win the battle against youth unemployment could tear Europe apart, and dropping the continent’s welfare model in favor of tougher U.S. standards would spark a revolution. Read Here – Reuters
For decades, India’s foreign and security policies have been defined and driven by the preferences of a tiny elite — notably, a professional diplomatic service numbering in the mere hundreds. Now, a comprehensive new opinion survey sheds light on the worldview of Indians from all levels of society — urban and rural; educated and illiterate; […]
China’s new leaders are talking nice. The country’s “ambitious” reform plans will provide “enormous” opportunities for the world, said premier Li Keqiang on May 27 at a business forum in Berlin, citing plans for industrialization and urbanization, as well as agricultural and technological upgrading. China and the U.S. must“build on past successes and open up new dimensions for the […]
China and the United States should explore a new type of relationship between major countries, President Xi Jinping said ahead of his summit with US President Barack Obama. Xi made the remarks when meeting with US National Security Adviser Thomas Donilon, who is on a three-day visit to China to prepare for the summit, scheduled for June 7 […]
The People’s Liberation Army Navy has been circumspect in its involvement inSouth China Sea territorial disputes, and the United States has been careful to avoid being entrapped by regional allies in their territorial disputes with China. Armed conflict between China and the United States in the South China Sea appears unlikely. Read Here – East […]
The media headlines about a new opinion poll suggest that the answer is that most Indians see China as a security challenge, indeed as a threat. While that is an accurate description of one part of the poll, it is not the whole story. Read Here – The Diplomat
