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Foreign Affairs
Up one levelGoings on around the globe.
Ins and outs of a China courtship
China has made great efforts to court its Southeast Asian neighbors and expand its sphere of economic influence. Through soft power diplomacy, Beijing is able to obtain more policy channels to engage with these countries, without sacrificing its own economic and political interests. (Dec 3,'08)
The Continuing Crisis in Thailand
The ouster of a constitutionally elected government may be only the beginning of trouble
Opinion: India's Moment of Truth
The way the country responds to the terrorist attacks will have a huge effect on its future. Investors would do well to wait.
ENGAGING CHINA IN SPACE, Part 2 : US firms tired of being shut out
The new Barack Obama administration has to engage China in space as well as cope with Europeans eager to do satellite deals with Beijing which United States companies cannot pursue. - Peter J Brown (Dec 3,'08)-This is the second article in a two-part report.
SPEAKING FREELY : Obama needs new start with China
If Barack Obama's administration treated China as an equal partner, the gains accruing to the US would include reduced military expenditures and better prospects for world stability. Not least, improved relations would help save America's foundering economy. - George Koo
Would Ukraine and Georgia be valuable members of Nato?
The question is not whether Russia approves of contradicts, but whether they meet membership criteria.
What Stands In The Way Of India's Being A Modernized Nation?
WASHINGTON--In recent years, the outside world's idea of India has been tied almost exclusively to its glorious economic rise. The tragedy of Mumbai reminds us that severe religious, ethnic and nationalist differences remain. And these differences weigh heavily against India's definitive rise.
Nato snubs US by resuming Russia contacts
The US suffered a setback yesterday when their west European Nato allies forced a resumption of contacts between the alliance and Russia and stalled Nato-membership bids from Georgia and Ukraine. A meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Brussels agreed to reopen contacts with Moscow, frozen in protest at Russia's invasion and partition of Georgia last August. Despite US pressure, the meeting also declined to hasten Nato applications from Georgia and Ukraine. The meeting agreed on a "conditional and graduated re-engagement with Russia", said the Nato secretary general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, adding that the liaison body known as the Nato-Russia [...]
Military chief urges Afghanistan rethink
No more British troops should be sent to Afghanistan unless other countries make greater efforts to promote the economic and political development of the country, senior British military officials have said. They are also concerned about the inability of Hamid Karzai's government to impose itself outside the capital, Kabul, and that the Taliban are winning the propaganda war. Frustration among British military commanders is coming out into the open. It was reflected in a forthright but little-noticed speech by Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, chief of the defence staff. He said Britain could not simply make a "one-for-one transfer" [...]
Seven Questions: James R. Locher III
A scathing new report on U.S. national security offers a sneak
preview of how Gen. James L. Jones, Barack Obama's top foreign-policy advisor, might approach
the difficult task before him.
Getting Pakistan Out of the Grip of Extremism
The urgency of cleaning out terrorists grows
Head of State Tackles Crisis in Canada
The governor general of Canada said that she would cut short a state visit to Europe and return here as a coalition of opposition parties sought to unseat the Conservative government.
U.S. Softens Stance on Russia at NATO Summit
The U.S. agreed to support a modest reopening of NATO’s dialogue with Russia, despite Moscow’s continuing occupation of Georgia’s South Ossetia and Abkhazia territories.
India needs a clear Pakistan policy
It simply must address the implications of Pakistan's implosion – its rapidly deteriorating capacity to act like a sovereign state, writes Sunil Khilnani
Pakistan's Militants Trouble New Delhi and Islamabad
Daniel Markey, CFR's expert on South Asia policy, says accusations of complicity between Pakistan and the Mumbai terrorists will further complicate U.S. efforts to balance ties with South Asia's two giant rivals.
Qatar, an oil-rich gulf state has asked Kenya if it can lease land to grow food
Qatar has asked Kenya to lease it 40,000 hectares of land to grow crops as part of a proposed package that would also see the Gulf state fund a new £2.4bn port on the popular tourist island of Lamu off the east African country. The deal is the latest example of wealthy countries and companies trying to secure food supplies from the developing world . Other Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have also been negotiating leases of large tracts of farmland in countries such as Sudan and Senegal since the global food shortages and price [...]
Tom Fawthrop: What next for Thailand?
Tom Fawthrop: Bangkok's airport may have reopened, but the bitter political polarisation between pro-and anti-Thaksin camps is unresolved
ENGAGING CHINA IN SPACE, Part 1 : A fresh start or a protracted showdown?
The new administration in the United States will have to deal with China in space at a time when the Europeans, Russia, India and Japan are gaining momentum there as well. Achieving a greater degree of cooperation sounds easy, but if another Chinese anti-satellite test takes place, a more confrontational space warfare agenda will be the driving force again. - Peter J Brown (Dec 2,'08) -This is the first article in a two-part report.
Court brings down Thai government
Thailand's courts did on Tuesday what anti-government protesters have been trying to do for months - bring down the government. The Constitution Court ordered that the ruling party and two of its allies be disbanded over electoral fraud, and that numerous politicians, including the premier, be banned from politics. The anti-government groups responded by saying they will unblock the international airport and others they have forced to close. But the political crisis is far from over. - Shawn W Crispin (Dec 2,'08)
A Pakistan Connection?
India-Pakistan tensions rise as New Delhi accuses Pakistan of involvement in last week's Mumbai attacks. Experts fear this might threaten regional stability, and make it difficult to stabilize Afghanistan.