Russian Around — The New York Times explores the uneasy alliance fraying between Russian liberals and nationalists opposed to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The Washington Post reports on the other side: “The authorities are …
Daily Briefing
Must Reads from Around the World: Jan. 27, 2012
Geopolitics - Foreign Policy takes an astute look at how Iran – contrary to its own initial hopes and others’ fears – has failed to benefit from the Arab Spring. “In fact, Iran’s regional position has taken a big hit,” Colin H. …
Reads from Around the World: Tibet, Tsunamis and TV Talk
Tibetan Turmoil – The South China Morning Post reports another Tibetan has been shot dead in escalating protests in the western part of China’s Sichuan province. The death follows similar unrest Monday that left at least one …
Must Reads from Around the World: Jan. 25, 2012
Daring Raid — U.S. Special Forces swooped into Somalia on Wednesday, and rescued two hostages, including an American woman, who had been kidnapped by pirates. The New York Times pieces together the details, noting that it …
Global Briefing, Jan. 24, 2012: POTUS, Problems and Progressive Politics
POTUS Probs — Hot on the heels of Fareed Zakaria’s TIME cover analysis of the U.S. president’s international agenda, Foreign Policy‘s Rosa Brooks delves into whether there’s an emerging Obama doctrine. The conclusion: “President …
Global Briefing, Jan. 23 2012: Syria, Sendai and Sarkozy
Juvenile Injustice — The Guardian examines accusations that Israel’s military justice system mistreats Palestinian children. The special report, based on interviews and affidavits given by minors to an international human …
Global Briefing, June 1, 2011: The Thrill is Gone
Nuclear Fallout — In an essay for Dawn.com Rafia Zakaria mulls the meaning of ‘the bomb’ in Pakistan’s collective consciousness. “The bomb that was supposed to deter and defeat has been unable to frighten anyone into leaving us alone,” she writes. “It has revealed, instead, the flimsy remains of our national pride and a confused, …
Global Briefing, May 30, 2011: Control Freaks and Calls to Arms
Last Legs— Panicking over the demonstrations, Assad has backtracked on economic liberalization, reports our correspondent in Syria. Will economic collapse end his rule?
Control Freaks — America’s response to the ‘Arab Spring’ is an attempt to re-assert its control over the region, argues Soumaya Ghannoushi at AJE. “After watching …
Global Briefing, May 27, 2011: Remembering Srebrenica
Mladic, Behind Bars — General Ratko Mladic, the alleged architect of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, was arrested yesterday. Dejan Anastasijevic explains why it took so long; The Atlantic mulls parallels with Pakistan and Osama bin Laden raid; The Christian Science Monitor features their Pulitzer Prize winning coverage of the massacre. …
Global Briefing, May 26, 2011: Notes on a Scandal
Neo-Isolationism — Clyde V. Prestowitz asks why America is upset by China’s overtures in Pakistan. Let them have it, he argues at Foreign Policy. Instead of trying to increase its geo-political influence, America ought to invest in education at home, retrain workers and encourage FDI, he says.
Dear Visitor — So, what was Kim Jong …
Global Briefing: Bosom Buddies and the Same Old Bad Guys
Anglo Unity: Fresh from his late Monday night arrival in Ireland, President Obama meets U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron in London today, as the White House steps up its efforts to rekindle the much-touted “special relationship” between the across-the-pond allies. As Catherine Mayer writes, they do have a lot to discuss.
Bursting the …
Global Briefing, May 12, 2011: Big Love and Big Spenders
Talking Torture — Sen. John McCain condemns the use of so-called ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ in an important, if overwrought, op-ed for the Washington Post.
Common Ground — In Foreign Affairs Jonathan Kay explains why Americans should care about the Canadian election. His take: “Canada will align more closely with the …
Global Briefing, May 11, 2011: Paradoxes, Pots and Kettles
Osama’s Irrelevance — The Taliban won’t miss bin Laden, observes Julius Cavendish in a dispatch from Kabul. The goals of Afghanistan’s insurgency are national, and even many Taliban leaders resented al-Qaeda’s presence on their turf.
Pots and Kettles — In an interview with the Atlantic, Hilary Clinton lashes out at China, calling …
