International Relations Archives

New York – India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrives in Washington this week for the first state visit of the Obama administration, prompting policy and media circles in the U.S. and India alike to buzz with the question: “What will be the big drop-dead announcement this time?”
Posted November 23, 2009

As U.S. President Barack Obama visits Tokyo on the first stop of his inaugural trip to Asia, he may unknowingly step into a looming crisis in the alliance with Japan. But it is not the alliance crisis he may be led to expect. Much of the punditry in the media would have us believe that Japan and the United States were on the verge of a breakup over where to relocate 60 Marine helicopters. Yet durable alliances are based on common interests, not simply disagreements over means. As difficult an issue as the relocation of Futenma Marine Air Station has been, however, the salient question is whether next year’s half-centenary celebration of the 1960 Mutual Security Treaty will mark the end of the alliance as we know it or the beginning of the alliance we both need for the 21st century.
Posted November 13, 2009

A strategy for the so-called Af-Pak region must start with a definition of the Taliban today. No longer the Islamist group that aided the al Qaeda attackers of 9/11, the Taliban now is more of a peasant revolt – a group of well-armed mercenaries, drug traffickers, and disenchanted youth without prospects – making a bold challenge to the government authorities who have not been able to deliver social services in remote rural areas. Comprised largely of Pashtuns, the Taliban also projects ethnic nationalism, and like the Kurds, there are tens of millions of them on both sides of a frontier, but without their own country. Preventing the Taliban from overrunning Pakistan is an objective that should resonate with the American people – although a pro-Taliban coup from within is another alarming contingency.
Posted November 10, 2009

Just days before his party took power in September, Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) lawmaker Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi stated that missile defense was “almost totally useless.” That week, as DPJ leader Yukio Hatoyama became Japan’s prime minister on Sept. 16, Japan Air Self-Defense Forces shot down a mock ballistic missile over the skies of New Mexico. Which security policy approach will survive under Japan’s new government? The answer has implications not only for Japan, but also for the United States’ position in Asia.
Posted October 15, 2009

India's pluralistic nature is perhaps the biggest threat for Islamic extremists. Not only does India have the world’s third-largest Muslim population, despite domestic differences with the majority Hindus, Indian Muslims have remained loyal to the Indian state, and have fully embraced democracy. What’s more, talented Muslims have often reached the top of Indian corporations, judiciary, armed forces, bureaucracy, and other fields, entirely on merit. They are able to express their grievances through the democratic system. It is no surprise, then, that of all the recruits al Qaeda has been able to attract around the world, barely a handful of Indian Muslims have been swayed by al Qaeda’s nihilist ideology.
Posted October 11, 2009

In a May 6 statement, the World Health Organization and the U.N. Environment Program announced that their goal is "to achieve a 30% cut in the application of DDT worldwide by 2014 and its total phase-out by the early 2020s, if not sooner.” In the absence of effective vaccines or new antimalarial drugs – and the funding and infrastructure to deliver them – this decision is tantamount to mass murder, a triumph of radical enviropolitics over public health.
Posted September 22, 2009

KABUL, Afghanistan — The result of Afghanistan’s Aug. 20 presidential vote could not be worse: victory for an incumbent government that will likely be even more corrupt and dysfunctional than before, along with a disputed result and no realistic mechanism for resolution. There is growing concern about an outbreak of violence here in the capital city of Kabul, and lines have been forming outside banks as locals withdraw funds in anticipation of trouble.
Posted September 10, 2009

Taipei — Take an exiled spiritual leader seen by Beijing as a “splittist.” Add an island Beijing sees as a wayward province. Flavor with a strong dose of political posturing and grandstanding. The result? The perfect end-of-summer cocktail for Taiwan's sensational media.
Posted September 3, 2009

Comments from some Democratic Party of Japan leaders have caused concern in America that the DPJ will seek to radically change the nature of the U.S.-Japan Alliance after the Aug. 30 election. While the concerns of some Americans are justifiable and prudent given the importance of the Alliance, a close analysis of the DPJ’s domestic political environment suggests that significant change in Japan’s foreign policy in the coming year is unlikely, and any significant DPJ changes may turn out to be essential for the long-term viability of the Alliance.
Posted August 20, 2009

Mae Sot, Thailand – The verdict has been handed down: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is “guilty” as charged. The scenes in court were very dramatic. First, the long expected three-year sentence with hard labor was read out. Next, Burma’s home minister read out the order commuting the sentence from Senior General Than Shwe, stating that Aung San Suu Kyi would instead serve an 18-month sentence under house arrest.
Posted August 13, 2009