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Forgotten India
March 30, 2009 2 min. read

Some commentators are encouraging the Obama administration to nurture a strong relationship with India. With attention turned towards China, Russia, the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan and even Mexico, is the United States ignoring a rising power in a geopolitically significant region? India is too big and important to ignore. James Steinberg, deputy secretary of state, […]

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First Date
March 29, 2009 2 min. read

For the first time, an American official attended a meeting organized by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The SCO met in Moscow on Friday to discuss Afghanistan. Patrick Moon, the United States deputy assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, was present and commented that the US views “this as a positive forum for […]

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Democratic Divisions in a Rising Power
March 29, 2009 2 min. read

Turkish municipal elections just finished today.  The vote is seen by many as a confidence vote for the ruling AK Party (Justice and Development Party) of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.  Most electoral analysts expect the AK, an Islamist Party which is highly criticized by secularists and military leaders, to retain its majority leadership over […]

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Repeat of History?
March 29, 2009 2 min. read

This week, two experts debated whether China is the new America or the United States is the new China in Foreign Policy. While the authors compare the two powers in different ways, both believe China is rising and the US is falling. Harold James, a professor at Princeton University, says leadership in the international order […]

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Still Blacklisting Countries
March 29, 2009 1 min. read

The State Department has released the blacklist of religious freedom violators established by the Bush administration. It is the same list as in 2006, and it’s questionable whether the new department really analyzed the current situation before releasing the names of eight countries. Burma, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Uzbekistan are […]

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Icy Frontier
March 27, 2009 1 min. read

A Kremlin strategy paper, outlining Russia’s plans to develop a military force capable of protecting its interests in the disputed arctic region, was made public today. By 2020, Moscow expects the arctic to be the country’s main strategic resource base. Rising temperatures are melting polar ice, opening shipping lanes and easing exploration in the area. […]

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Border Issues
March 27, 2009 2 min. read

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton travelled south this week to ease relations with Mexico. The US-Mexico relationship is increasingly characterized by trade, drugs and violence. Clinton praised President Felipe Calderón’s efforts to reduce corruption and fight drug cartels, tried to alleviate concerns over a recent decision to scrap a pilot program allowing Mexican […]

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China's Growing Pains in Africa
March 27, 2009 2 min. read

This week South Africa rejected a visa to Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama for his scheduled visit to a peace conference in Johannesburg.  Many of the attendees including several Nobel laureates have withdrawn from the event and the conference has been canceled.  South Africa reportedly admitted that it banned the Dalai Lama’s visa due to […]

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Number of the Week: 2
March 26, 2009 2 min. read

2. The global financial crisis pushed the G20 to the fore and next week the grouping will take center stage. Many hope the solutions for the economic crisis – developing new financial regulations, coordinating stimulus packages, reforming financial institutions and preventing protectionism, trade wars and “deglobalization” – will be born in London. In many ways, […]

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Anticipated Response
March 26, 2009 1 min. read

As expected, Beijing reacted angrily to the United States Defense Department’s latest report on China’s military. Qin Gang, the spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, called the document a “gross distortion” and “interference” into the country’s internal affairs. “We urge the U.S. side to…drop the Cold War mentality and bias, stop issuing the so-called report on […]

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Annual Pentagon Report on China’s Military
March 26, 2009 2 min. read

    Obama Administration:  Please don’t neglect China because of too much focus on Afghanistan, Iraq, the Middle East and elsewhere, like, uh, your predecessor did…   The Pentagon has been required by law since 2000 to report to Congress annually on China’s military.  This year’s report, along with testimony this week before Congress by […]

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Brain Drain…to India this time…
March 26, 2009 1 min. read

Serious setbacks in U.S. economic performance are convincing highly-trained nationals from such Rising Powers as India and China to return to their countries from the United States.  Many are not even opting to study in the U.S., worried about financial aid, as well as jobs once their studies are finished.  In three recent articles, this […]

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