For the past few years, as China’s emergence has cast an increasing shadow over the region, Canberra’s strategic thinkers have tried to interest New Delhi in the concept of the “Indo-Pacific” as the two former colonies of Britain, now two leading democracies, find common ground. Those strategists in Australia, the shores of which are washed […]
This month marks the 70th anniversary of the Red Army‘s victory at the Battle of Stalingrad, prompting renewed debate over the legacy of Josef Stalin. Once again, many conservative Russians are hoping that the name Volgograd will one day be permanently changed back to Stalingrad. As a nod to them, local Volgograd deputies agreed to call the city Stalingrad during the six days of the battle’s anniversary every year. […]
Why do once-successful societies ossify and decline? Hundreds of reasons have been adduced for the fall of Rome and the end of the Old Regime in 18th-century France. Reasons run from inflation and excessive spending to resource depletion and enemy invasion, when historians attempt to understand the sudden collapse of the Mycenaeans, the Aztecs, and, […]
President Barack Obama in his State of the Union speech reiterated his call for a bipartisan agreement that would stabilize the debt and end a period where fiscal policy has lurched from crisis to crisis. This ambition is broadly shared, but profound disagreements remain over the composition of measures to address debt and growth. Democrats […]
In his State of the Union address, U.S. President Barack Obama described North Korea‘s recent nuclear test as a provocation that required a firm response. The intended audience for that provocation, though, is up for debate. Some commentators have posited that the test was a signal aimed at China, designed to demonstrate North Korea’s independence […]
The remote district of Rovieng was once a battleground between Cambodian government troops and Pol Pot‘s genocidal Khmer Rouge. Unexploded bombs still lurk in its fields and forests. So does something more desirable – iron ore – and supposedly in such huge quantities two Chinese companies have an $11-billion plan to extract it. Their proposal – […]
China urges caution and opposes moves that increase tension. The United States and its allies may boost their military presence in the Asia-Pacific region, citing Pyongyang’s nuclear test, analysts said. The comments came as China engaged in a flurry of diplomacy on Wednesday to ease regional tension. “More drills by the US and its allies […]
In Teheran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has the last word. But is the “No” of Iran’s spiritual leader really his last word when it comes to negotiating directly with the U.S. in the conflict over his country’s nuclear program? Maybe not. His position must be seen in the context of Iran’s domestic politics – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, […]
A few months ago, the eminent Chinese scholar Wang Jisi noted that China had achieved “first class power status” and “should be treated as such.” The current situation with North Korea suggests two responses: There is scarcely a more opportune moment for Beijing to step up to the plate; and be careful what you wish for. Read […]
President Barack Obama called for raising the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour and warned he’ll use executive powers to get his way on issues from climate change to manufacturing if Congress doesn’t act, laying out an assertive second-term agenda sure to provoke Republicans. In the first State of the Union address (See Here) since winning re- […]
looking beyond borders 