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By Fabio Scarpello
29 Jul 2010
World Politics Review
DENPASAR, Indonesia -- Washington's decision to partially lift the ban
on contact with Indonesia's Kopassus special forces command has angered
human rights organizations. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said that the decision was a result of reforms that the TNI had undertaken. Human rights groups have countered that neither
Kopassus nor the TNI has fully reformed. Both positions are partly
correct.
By Joshua Foust and Paul Meinshausen
28 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
As Gen. David Petraeus takes over the U.S.-led mission in Afghanistan,
he is right to continue a strategy of counterinsurgency and to strengthen it with a plan that seeks to give local Afghan communities the means to defend themselves. However, both the recently announced local defense plan and the
over-arching counterinsurgency of which it is a part take the wrong
path to reducing violence in Afghanistan.
By Dan Peleschuk
27 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
KYIV, Ukraine -- To many observers, Ukraine's recently elected President
Viktor Yanukovych is the same pro-Russian stooge he was in 2004. Yet smaller details abound that paint a different and perhaps more
nuanced portrait of the Yanukovych administration, one of a limited push
toward Russia combined with a sincere commitment to European
integration.
By Richard Gowan and Bruce D. Jones
26 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
International officials like talking about conflict
prevention, but they are uncomfortable talking about how
conflicts actually work. Instead, they talk about how greed and natural
resources fuel violence, reducing rapacious governments and marauding
rebels to rational economic actors. Left
unexamined are the questions of how and why politicians decide whether
or not to stir up or harness popular angst.
By Luke Hunt
26 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Kang Guek Eav, a.k.a. Duch, the notorious
commandant of Pol Pot's S21 death camp, was found guilty on Monday of murder, torture and
crimes against humanity by a United Nations-backed court. The
decision was hailed by local and international authorities, but many of the victims were upset by Duch's sentence, which could see him eventually walk out of prison a free man.
By Neeta Lal
23 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
NEW DELHI -- Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna's
visit to Pakistan last week to move the bilateral Composite Dialogue
forward will be joining a long list of Indo-Pak diplomatic debacles. However,
even by the standards of Indo-Pakistani diplomacy, the spat between Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart, Mehmood Qureshi, in Islamabad on July 15, marks a new low in
bilateral engagement.
By Michael Wilkerson
23 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
KAMPALA, Uganda -- Nearly two weeks after three bombs exploded in
Uganda's usually tranquil capital, the investigations into the attacks seem to be
moving swiftly. With Kampala and other parts of Uganda still tense, the apparent
progress has provided some reassurance. But questions remain about what the Ugandan government ought to do next and
whether it is capable of doing so.
By Luke Hunt
22 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is putting the finishing touches on
his second budget since taking office, one that some suspect could
serve as a campaign platform for early elections aimed at winning back
support his party lost in the 2008 voting that brought him to power. Back then, the Malaysian opposition scored unprecedented
gains at the ballot box. But it was a setback that is unlikely to be repeated.
By Amy Lieberman
21 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
Though foreign aid to Haiti is reaching the
government at a sluggish rate, waves of assistance to international aid
organizations working there continue to flow. But a continued reliance on organizations such as the Red Cross and Oxfam International could place Haiti on an unsustainable
path -- one that circumvents the broken national government and excludes
the Haitian people from rebuilding their own country.
By Roque Planas
20 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
RIO DE JANEIRO -- Two years ago, former Brazilian President Fernando
Henrique Cardoso called for a shift in the country's drug policy, from policing to treatment. However, it appears that Brazil not only remains committed to
treating drugs as a problem for the police, it is also becoming the first country in Latin America whose drug use is pushing
it to adopt a more aggressive foreign policy towards its neighbors.
By Joshua Gross
19 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
Lists of proscribed terrorist groups are an important element of U.S. counterterrorism policy. But
they are a blunt instrument -- too
resistant to modification when political realities shift. Worst of all, they force the U.S. to adopt a uniform policy that
disregards the variety among terrorist entities in size, location,
ideology and capabilities -- and the differences in how they might
respond to incentives and disincentives.
By Neeta Lal
16 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
Indian National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon had plenty on his diplomatic plate during his three-day visit to China earlier this
month. With the trip coming after a year of renewed strains between the two countries, Menon's task was by no means
an easy one. However, despite the nuanced complexity of Menon's visit, the news on
the Sino-Indian front has been positive.
By Johan Bergenäs
15 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
The European Union's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, and Iran's
top nuclear negotiator are currently involved in a
diplomatic dance over resuming talks on Tehran's nuclear program. If the
talks take place, Ashton could assume the negotiating
role previously played by her predecessor, Javier Solana. While Solana's efforts did
not bear fruit, the circumstances that hampered his attempts have since improved.
By Ambassador Erlan Idrissov
14 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
Last month, the Conference for Interaction and Confidence-Building
Measures in Asia (CICA) passed an historic milestone, as 36 Asian nations met for the first time
outside of Kazakhstan for a summit meeting in Istanbul. Regrettably,
Western media coverage of the summit focused almost exclusively on one
sensational event: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's tirade
against Israel's interception of the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza.
By Iain Mills
14 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
BEIJING -- In addition to now holding
three of Iraq's 11 major oil concessions,
China has also been investing heavily in Afghanistan, and recently
signed a high-profile nuclear deal with Pakistan. These significant
strategic developments in all the major geographic theaters of the U.S.
War on Terror further demonstrate the efficacy of Beijing's
economy-first diplomacy and reflect China's growing influence in Central
Asia as a whole.
By James M. Dorsey
13 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
Tension between Iran and the United Arab Emirates is rising after the
UAE became the first Gulf state to publicly signal endorsement of
military force to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power. Though the UAE Foreign Ministry later repudiated remarks
made by its ambassador to the United States, the comments offer a rare insight into the thinking behind closed doors of a key U.S.
ally.
By Shihoko Goto
12 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan's Democratic Party of Japan
took a severe blow in Sunday's Upper House elections, with voters
turning once again to the country's longstanding political hegemon, the
Liberal Democratic Party. Still, the biggest surprise in
yesterday's voting was the strong showing of the start-up Your Party,
indicating that faith in the two major political
parties is fast dwindling.
By Michael A. Cohen
09 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
In the two weeks since Gen. David Petraeus was nominated to be the new
commander for U.S. and NATO operations in Afghanistan, continuity has
been the dominant theme in describing what his replacement of ousted
Gen. Stanley McChrystal represents. But
continuity is the worst possible option for U.S. efforts in Afghanistan,
because it would mean maintaining a strategy that appears increasingly
unlikely to succeed.
By Eric Sterner
08 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
Since cyberspace's creation, the U.S. government has struggled with
protecting it. Part of the problem lies with the fact that policymakers are still
unsure how to treat cyber attacks. Are they acts of war? Crimes?
Intelligence operations? Once authorities categorize an attack, they
can use existing policymaking frameworks to deal with
it. But for now, policy development is stalled while the country tries to sort out the
answers.
By Prashanth Parameswaran
07 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
The United States and Japan commemorated the 50th
anniversary of their security alliance last
month with an uneasy sense of ambivalence. The sheer
fact that the alliance, has persisted for so long is reason enough to
celebrate. Yet several
trends in Japanese politics
have added strains to the alliance, and may make it more difficult for Washington and Tokyo to make
necessary adjustments in their relationship.
By James M. Dorsey
06 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
Virtually unnoticed, U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime
Minister Benyamin Netanyahu have quietly set the stage to move forward
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, mend their tense personal relations and
build an effective working relationship. In a series of low-key moves, both men have worked to ensure that
their meeting today demonstrates improved relations
since Netanyahu's last visit in March.
