China’s Great India Folly

One hopes China has genuinely reconsidered picking a fight with India, a great power with which it shares a long land frontier. Beijing has created headaches aplenty for itself through its conduct in the South China Sea and East China Sea. The last thing it should do is open another axis along which to disperse energy […]

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Brazil’s WTO Win

Brazil, one of the world’s largest emerging markets, achieved a major diplomatic victory with the election this week of its candidate, Roberto Azevedo, as director-general of the World Trade Organization. In this heavily disputed election, involving 159 member countries, Brazil cashed in on a long campaign, cultivating support among the developing countries of Africa, Asia, […]

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Lies And The Chinese Army

One of the predictable two-step dances in U.S.-China foreign relations goes like this: First, an arm of the U.S. government issues a carefully worded statement referring to recent activities carried out in, or by, China—all deeply documented. Second, a representative of the Chinese government flatly denies everything. Read Here – Businessweek

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The Struggling Middle Powers

In an increasingly contested Asia, with China rising and America rebalancing, middle powers are struggling to redefine their defense strategies.  One such player, Australia, has now done so in a way that seeks to reconcile its extensive national interests with a close U.S. alliance, a web of new Asian security partners and a relationship of mutual […]

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Building A New Pakistan

Pakistan’s long election season, which has effectively spanned almost two years, will conclude less than a week from now. On May 11, over fifteen thousand candidates from dozens of political parties will contest close to 850 directly-elected national and provincial assembly seats. Between 35 and 40 million Pakistani voters are expected to take part in […]

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Why Are Chinese Taking To The Streets?

China‘s new leaders have interpreted recent unrest as being fueled by anger about inequality. But most Chinese find the gap between rich and poor relatively unproblematic. If the Xi administration hopes to settle the country, it needs to starts focusing on the real reasons citizens are taking to the streets: injustice and corruption. Read Here […]

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China’s Slowdown Skins Gold And Oil

The wreckage caused by China’s great, juddering slowdown continues to spread far beyond the country’s shores. Although most commodities enjoyed a bounce on May 3, after better-than-expected U.S. employment data, the plunge in their prices over the past few months suggests the past decade’s rally is truly broken, Ruchir Sharma argues Read Here – Bloomberg

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The World’s Muslims: Religion, Politics and Society

A new Pew Research Center survey of Muslims around the globe finds that most adherents of the world’s second-largest religion are deeply committed to their faith and want its teachings to shape not only their personal lives but also their societies and politics. In all but a handful of the 39 countries surveyed, a majority […]

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Pakistan’s Tipping Point

Pakistan’s moment of political truth is fast approaching. On May 11, some 40-50 million voters will elect a new national assembly. The outcome, preceded by a spike in extremist violence, is likely to reverberate far and wide. Read Here – Project Syndicate

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The World Without America

Let me posit a radical idea: The most critical threat facing the United States now and for the foreseeable future is not a rising China, a reckless North Korea, a nuclear Iran, modern terrorism, or climate change. Although all of these constitute potential or actual threats, the biggest challenges facing the US are its burgeoning […]

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