As President Barak Obama resettles in the Oval Office and casts his gaze again beyond US politics, he may well be reminded that few eyes were on the ball when the Arab uprisings appeared to erupt suddenly in the spring of 2011, catching pundits and politicians by surprise, and re-positioning Washington’s Middle East policies. Today, […]
Recent developments in Russia have evoked memories of a famous line by Vladimir Lenin: “The courts should not do away with terror … but should give it foundation and legality, clearly, honestly and without embellishments.” In just the six months since he reseated himself as president,Vladimir Putin has been busy creating a legislative framework that might make Lenin proud. Under the Soviet legal system, the court […]
In April 2010, when the global economy was beginning to recover from the shock of the 2008-2009 financial crisis, the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook predicted that global GDP growth would exceed 4% in 2010, with a steady annual growth rate of 4.5% maintained through 2015. But the forecast proved to be far too optimistic. In […]
With the formation of the Syrian national coalition in Doha last weekend, the Syrian conflict seems to have entered a new phase. For the first time since the breakout of the Syrian revolution almost 20 months ago, the Syrian opposition has a representative body that can speak in its name. Western governments have long been […]
Barack Obama has been reelected by concentrating on domestic issues. A look beyond US borders would have been unbearable to American voters anyways. That isn’t Obama’s fault: Foreign policy problems usually come with a long history, and we certainly can’t blame the president for not forecasting global turmoil. Yet we can admit that the global […]
There is no fiscal cliff in China, and probably no sex scandal at a spy agency waiting to burst, yet China’s new leader, Xi Jinping, is under just as much pressure as U.S. President Barack Obama to hit the ground running. Xi is assuming control of the Communist Party at a time when there is […]
As workers across the European Union went on protest strike today, it was hard to disagree with the trade union leader who told the BBC that austerity economics isn’t working. “It’s increasing inequalities. It’s increasing the social instability in society. And it’s not resolving the economic crisis,” she said. All of that is true and serious. […]
n November 2010, President Obama visited India for three days. In addition to meeting with top Indian business leaders and announcing deals between the two countries worth more than $10 billion, the president declared on several occasions that the US and India’s would be the “defining partnership of the twenty-first century.” Afterward, Obama flew straight […]
China‘s president-in-waiting Xi Jinping won a strong mandate to lead the world’s second-biggest economy and deal with problems ranging from corruption to economic uncertainty. Xi was appointed head of both the ruling Communist Party and its top military body as the ruling Communist Party unveiled a new leadership line-up consisting of conservatives and respected financial reformers. In […]
Barack Obama, re-elected president of the United States, will start his new term in January. Xi Jinping, who will lead China for the next decade, will start his stint soon after. The two will have to become friends if they are to ensure that the global economy’s baby steps towards recovery are not crushed midway. […]
