I had the privilege on Friday of attending a Pacific Council on International Policy luncheon discussion with US Deputy Secretary of State James B. Steinberg, a thoughtful and intelligent State Department appointee who holds the position of Hillary Clinton’s top deputy. In the discussion a guest asked the Deputy Secretary an interesting question: why did […]
When Lenin’s body was still warm, a special emergency committee was formed to keep him “more alive than the living”, in the words of Mayakovsky. It was called the Immortalisation Commission. The Soviet Union’s top scientists were assembled to work against all odds. As one remarked, when Lenin was shown to them, “the left hand […]
The latest democratic movement taking place in Tunisia has already cost the presidency to long timer Mr. Ben Ali, but now is exemplifying the limit of EU power and influence in times of crisis. Following Mr. Ben Ali’s departure caused by massive strikes and civil unrests against his power and regime, the EU and other […]
Indirectly we’ve talked about immigration repeatedly on this blog. I commented on the right-wing, anti-Islam reaction in a number of European states, it again played a role in my post on Tunisia and the tepid lack of European support for its democratization. Finally, as my co-blogger pointed out the other day: the overall immigration population […]
The Oxford English Dictionary defines “pogrom” as “an organized massacre of a particular ethnic group”. By this definition, although there have been hundreds of religious riots in independent India, there have been only two pogroms: that directed against Sikhs in Delhi in 1984, and that directed against the Muslims of south Gujarat in 2002. Ramachandra […]
South Africa plans to launch its own developmental aid agency this year, The South African Development Partnership Agency. Maybe some of my readers who are more directly involved in development can give some of their perspectives, but this seems like both a good (if imperfect) and a savvy idea. If the ideal aid involves local […]
With a new Ambassador in town I wanted to get some fresh ideas and opinions represented here on the FPA Syria blog. So I asked the two most interesting people I could think of to comment on the new Ambassador. It has been a bit lonely writing solo these past months and I wanted to […]
The government of President Rene Preval and its Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) prevented many candidates, political parties from taking part in the Nov. 28 Haitian elections, including philanthropist Wyclef Jean, and popular party Fanmi Lavalas of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Ironically, his administration seems currently engaged in a desperate battle for survival, some last grand stand to keep his […]
My editor here at the Foreign Policy Association has written a fine book for the FPA “Headline Series,” The Quest for African Unity: 50 Years of Independence and Interdependence. You should track down a copy and visit his African Union blog here at FPA.
BP and Rosneft, two of the world’s largest oil companies, have formed a “global alliance” to explore three license blocks in the Kara Sea on the Russian Arctic continental shelf. BP is the world’s third-largest energy corporation, while Rosneft is a major oil extraction company owned by the Russian government. Rosneft will now have a […]
On Wednesday, January 12th, Hizballah and its allies withdrew 11 of their ministers, causing Lebanon’s government to collapse. Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri is now a caretaker, and it is unclear what his role will be in the formation of a new government, if any. At the heart of the dispute is the UN’s Special […]
As the United States is trying to fight terrorism in different parts of the world, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon and Egypt, evidence suggests that agencies tasked with domestic security have overlooked key aspects of home-grown threats and their root causes. Recent examples of failed attempts to attack Americans were linked to international hot spots. In […]
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