Agreeing on the combination of these issues – statehood, nationhood, sovereignty and governance – comprises the classic definition of national self-determination. Arab citizens have never had the opportunity to undergo the thrills of national self-determination. This is because Arab countries and governing systems have always been defined either by foreign powers or by very small […]
In the West, Xi’s assumption of power has largely been covered as an economic and political drama: Can he keep China’s booming markets on track? Will he tame the country’s toxic levels of official corruption before demands for political reform derail him? Is he a reformer at all? What these accounts often miss are Xi’s […]
Asia needs to guard against asset bubbles, and its emerging economies must improve government institutions and liberalize rigid labor and product markets to encourage development, the International Monetary Fund said. Read Here – New York Times
Enrico Letta, Italy’s new prime minister, says he can reinvigorate his country’s ailing economy by slashing taxes and downsizing government…Letta plans to roll back taxes imposed by his predecessor, Mario Monti, while offsetting the lost revenues with as-yet-unspecified budget reductions. Lettanomics could represent the first big test of the anti-austerity movement that has been gaining steam […]
Afghanistan‘s future will not be determined by the thousands of lives tragically lost, the billions spent, or the number of international troops that will remain after 2014. The number of troops on the ground — whether foreign or Afghan — will not decide our future. We can only secure Afghanistan’s success if we first secure sustainable economic […]
George W. Bush, who united almost all Republicans during most of his time in national politics, now divides them. Most Republicans view his presidency favorably, and cheer his recent rise in the public’s esteem. A vocal group of conservatives, though, thinks of the Bush presidency as a wrong turn — a turn toward big government that […]
If global economists are distraught over the gloomy numbers coming out of China, imagine how Xi Jinping must feel. China’s president, officially in the post for barely a month, is still consolidating his power. At home, he confronts a widening rich-poor gap and endemic pollution, not to mention bird flu and rivers overrun with dead pigs. […]
China has committed $75bn (£48bn) on aid and development projects in Africa in the past decade, according to research which reveals the scale of what some have called Beijing’s escalating soft power “charm offensive” to secure political and economic clout on the continent. The Chinese government releases very little information on its foreign aid activities, […]
Southeast Asia has four monarchies, each with its own unique traits. Brunei is an absolute monarchy, while Thailand, Malaysia, and Cambodia have the constitutional form…It remains to be seen if these institutions will play a prominent role in shaping the future of their societies, and whether they will coexist with greater democracy and transparency. Read […]
Is India different? Last month, India’s finance minister confidently declared that nothing could stop his country from becoming the world’s third-biggest economy. He may well be right, but size alone does not make India a special case. Its growth has been fast, but it is no trailblazer. Read Here – Foreign Policy
