“If there is going to be a big new lift to global democratic prospects in this decade, the region from which it will emanate is most likely to be East Asia.”
Human rights
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 …
Human Rights Under Threat: Five Not-So-Usual Suspects
Human Rights Watch this week released its 2012 World Report. The 676-page write-up covers some of the biggest stories of the year, including China’s crackdown on dissent, ongoing attacks on civilians in the Democratic Republic …
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 …
Nigeria’s Rulers Reap Rewards of Corruption with Sudden Descent Into Chaos
The killing of more than 178 people by Islamic militants in a series of attacks on state buildings in the northern Nigerian city of Kano, underlines how one of Africa’s most corrupt nations is reaping the rewards of decades of …
Author Who Fled China Details Abuse by Authorities
Dissident Chinese writer Yu Jie held a press conference Wednesday in Washington, D.C., to describe the abuse that drove him to flee to the U.S. with his family last week. Yu, the author of more than a dozen books including the …
Global Briefing, Jan. 18, 2012; Intervention, Inaction, Independence, Iran — and Iceland’s Funnyman Mayor
“It’s Time to Think Seriously About Intervening in Syria”— CFR fellow Steven A. Cook argues in the Atlantic the West must reconsider the assumption Bashar al-Assad’s regime will fall on its own. Meanwhile, the Guardian‘s Middle …
Facing Censorship and Abuse, a Chinese Writer Chooses Exile
A Chinese writer who was kept under house arrest for much of the past year and claims he was tortured by police has left China for the United States, saying that he faced unbearable pressure at home. Yu Jie, 38, is known for his …
Youssou N’Dour Tries to Go from Music Superstar to President in Senegal
World music fans know him as a giant, 30-somethings will instantly recognize his voice from the 1994 worldwide smash “7 seconds” and followers of West African politics will, as of this week, know him as a candidate for President in Senegal’s February 26 election. But to see how big Youssou N’Dour really is, you need to hang out with him …
South Sudan: At What Point Does Conflict Become a War?
Assassinations. Pitched battles. Cross-border bombing raids. Hundreds of thousands of refugees. At what point will the rising conflict between Sudan and South Sudan be recognized as a new war?
In China, a Christmas Crackdown on Dissent
Christmas means different things around the world, but in China one of the things it’s come to stand for crackdown. In recent years Chinese courts have chosen the holiday season as the time to hand down the harshest sentences
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Christian Bale Roughed Up in Failed Attempt to Visit Blind Chinese Activist
While in China this week on a publicity tour for the new film “Flowers of War,” Academy Award-winning actor Christian Bale attempted to visit Chen Guangcheng, the blind legal activist who is under house arrest with his family. Bale, who visited with a CNN crew, was punched and eventually turned away by plainclothes security guards. …
Chasing the Dragon: In Burma, All Conversations Seem to Lead to China
I went to Burma to see whether the reforms I’d heard about were truly transforming one of the most isolated nations on earth. Yet what many of my Burmese friends wanted to talk instead about was my place of residence: …