Mar 19, 2012

Authoritarian democracy looking less Asian

by Sergei A. Karaganov

The world is being shaken by tectonic changes almost too numerous to count. The economic crisis is accelerating the degradation of international governance and supranational institutions amid a shift of economic and political power to Asia. Now, less than a quarter-century after Francis Fukuyama ...

Mar 12, 2012

Delusional pretexts to attack Iran

by Gwynne Dyer

The last time U.S. President Barack Obama met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it was obvious that the two men distrusted and despised each other. This time (March 5), their mutual dislike was better hidden, but the gulf between them was still as big, ...

Feb 29, 2012

Iran outcome critical for Asia

by Michael Richardson

Can the United States and the European Union apply sanctions on Iran to curb its nuclear program without boosting oil prices and undermining economies in Asia as well as the West? The answer is particularly critical for Asia because it is has to bear ...

Feb 22, 2012

Why Iran thinks it needs the bomb

by Ray Takeyh

Bombastic claims of nuclear achievement, threats to close critical international waterways, alleged terrorist plots and hints of diplomatic outreach — all are emanating from Tehran right now. Last week, confrontation between Iran and the West reached new heights as Israel accused Iran of a ...

Feb 20, 2012

How the Arab Spring was hijacked

by Brahma Chellaney

A year after the Arab Spring came to symbolize the ascent of people’s power, hope has given way to a bleak sequel. The democratic awakening has fallen prey to murky geopolitics that has cleaved the Arab Spring into two parts, with the oil monarchies ...

Feb 17, 2012

Behind Obama's Mideast policy of capitulation

by Zaki Laidi

No sooner did U.S. President Barack Obama welcome home American troops from Iraq and laud that country’s stability and democracy than an unprecedented wave of violence — across Baghdad and elsewhere — revealed the severity of Iraq’s political crisis. Is that crisis an unfortunate ...

Feb 2, 2012

What does Egypt's military leadership want?

by Omar Ashour

“Whatever the majority in the People’s Assembly, they are very welcome, because they won’t have the ability to impose anything that the people don’t want.” Thus declared Gen. Mukhtar al-Mulla, a member of Egypt’s ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). Al-Mulla’s message ...

Jan 31, 2012

To prepare for nuclear war is to seek the peace of death

by Ramesh Thakur

The world faces two existential threats: climate change, and nuclear Armageddon. Action on both is required urgently. Tackling the first will impose significant economic costs and lifestyle adjustments, while tackling the second will bring economic benefits without any lifestyle implications. Those who reject the ...

Jan 30, 2012

Islamist military coups and nuclear weapons

by Gwynne Dyer

The eastern half of what used to be Pakistan narrowly escaped a military coup last month. Brig. Masud Razzak, spokesman for the Bangladeshi Army, announced Jan. 19 that “a band of fanatic officers has been trying to oust the politically established government. Their attempt ...

Jan 27, 2012

Conciliating the Armenians

by Gwynne Dyer

I go to France quite often, but after this article is published, I may be liable to arrest if I set foot in the country. The French parliament has just passed a bill, proposed by President Nicolas Sarkozy’s party, that will make it a ...