Nobody doubts that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is an important country in the world. Various observers cite different reasons, approvingly and disapprovingly. First of all, as a major producer of oil, the Kingdom has accumulated a considerable wealth that has provided decent essential services for its citizens at home and bought loyalty throughout […]
The Leading Global Thinkers of 2013 Foreign Policy Foreign Policy compiles and analyzes this year’s 100 most influential thinkers, organizing them into easy-to-understand categories in a visually delightful must-read. Was Hillary Clinton a Good Secretary of State? By Susan B. Glasser Politico Magazine Hillary Clinton has variously been lauded as the most consequential Secretary of State […]
Yesterday, the government of Bangladesh, whatever that is now, executed Abdul Qader Mollah, a leader of the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami Party. He was one of those elderly Islamists politicos long ago and recently accused of igniting and engineering a Counter-Revolution in East Pakistan by supporting the Pakistani military’s murderous assault against East Pakistan’s (now Bangladesh’s) […]
Not content with controlling and censoring its own domestic news media, the Chinese government seeks also to restrict international media coverage of China. The methods Beijing employs for this purpose include political and economic pressure on Western news media, cyber-attacks on Western news websites, and harassment or expulsion of Western journalists in China. Visa denials […]
Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s Liberator as Prisoner and President, Dies at 95 Bill Keller New York Times Nelson Mandela died yesterday Thursday, December 5 at the age of 95 in his Johannesburg home. In this thorough obituary Bill Keller traces the life of one of the world’s most remarkable and influential political figures of the […]
As readers already know, the P5+1 and Iran concluded an interim agreement regarding Iran’s nuclear program. This was accomplished in remarkably little time despite some reporters’ harried declarations that the talks were on the verge of collapse. (Reporters sometimes accept at face value “confidences” from diplomats that are really part of the bargaining process. It […]
Any unchecked authority or power—especially when involving monies—ultimately leads to corruption. That is why it is necessary to put in place mechanisms to monitor, audit, reward, and, when necessary, punish.All laws stemming from a moral or a legal code are based on a system of rewards and punishments. By corruption I mean: Abuse of authority […]
Catch up this holiday weekend with some of our favorite must reads.
Since the 1970s, Saudi Arabia has employed thousands of foreign workers in many of its sectors and continues to do so as long as they enter the country and obtain work legally and according to the regulations. However, over the years more and more illegal expatriates cross the borders of the Kingdom or remain in […]
Atlanticism in Retreat By A. Wess Mitchell and Jan Havranek The American Interest Twenty years after the end of the Cold War, the special relationship that tied the United States to the states of Central and Eastern Europe is rotting. Mitchell and Havranek describe the emergence of a new Middle Zone, but argue that the United […]
In earlier posts (here, here,here and here), I’ve argued that the Obama administration’s national security process is plagued by extreme insularity, centralization and politicization. Ultimately, however, these institutional problems are a reflection of the person sitting in the Oval Office. The deepening Obamacare fiasco has raised plenty of questions about President Obama’s leadership qualities. But two reports this […]
Need some reading for the weekend? Check out our five favorite long reads and five blog posts.
Popular from Press
