In the News | Older
 |
In the NewsMarch 16, 2011Japan's black swanRobert Madsen, Richard SamuelsForeign PolicyThe earthquake changed everything. What will Tokyo do next? |
 |
In the NewsMarch 15, 2011Why Japan relies on nuclear powerWayne DrashCNNJapan has more than 50 nuclear power plants and had planned to build two dozen more by 2030, according to a professor who has written on Japanese energy and security policy. |
 |
In the NewsMarch 15, 2011Leaks in all the wrong placesChristian CarylForeign PolicyWhy the Japanese public has good reason to distrust official information. |
 |
In the NewsMarch 13, 2011Japan disaster may have global economic impactNPRJapan's economy — like much of the world — was already facing serious challenges before the earthquake struck. Economist Robert Madsen, a senior fellow at MIT's Center for International Studies, discusses the effects of the disaster in Japan on the economy there and around the globe. |
 |
In the NewsMarch 2, 2011How dictators fallPeter BeaumontThe GuardianFrom the streets of Bucharest to the slums of Manila, people power invariably wins out in the end. As Libya recovers its voice, foreign affairs editor Peter Beaumont examines the dynamics of bringing down a despot. |
 |
In the NewsFebruary 28, 2011With its eye on China, Japan builds up militaryMartin FacklerNew York TimesIn December, Tokyo announced plans to strengthen its forces in the southwestern Okinawan islands, including adding a dozen F-15s in Naha. The increase is part of a broader shift in Japanese defensive stance southward, toward China, that some analysts are calling one of Japan’s biggest changes in postwar military strategy. |
 |
In the NewsFebruary 6, 2011Stand alone: the case for a new isolationismThanassis CambanisBoston GlobeThere are few ways to get Democrats and Republicans to agree faster than by bringing up national security. Should America invest in a dominant, high-tech military? Should it spend time, treasure, and lives intervening in distant lands and protecting allies? Almost always, the short answer is a resounding yes. |
 |
In the NewsFebruary 3, 2011The specter of 1979 is haunting the Middle EastChristian CarylRadio Free Europe/Radio LibertyAs the world watches events in Egypt unfold, the spectacle of demonstrators massed on Cairo's Tahrir Square (Liberation Square) is awakening memories of an equally epochal moment in the Middle East 32 years ago. |
 |
In the NewsJanuary 12, 2011India and America in the strategic times to comeAmbassador Chas W. Freeman, Jr. (USFS, Ret.)As the second decade of the 21st Century begins, no great regional power is as sought after as India. Over the past few months, the prime ministers and presidents of China, France, Russia, and the United States have all come here to Delhi to make the case for enhanced relationships with India. |
 |
In the NewsDecember 9, 2010Unveiling hidden ChinaChristian CarylNew York Review of BooksNapoleon famously described China as a sleeping giant that would shake the world when it finally awoke. Well, now the giant is up and about, and the rest of us can’t help but notice. 2010, indeed, could well end up being remembered as the year when China started throwing its weight around. |
 |
In the NewsDecember 2, 2010A special report on China's place in the worldThe EconomistTheir wealth depends on China, their security on America. Which way should Asian countries face? |
 |
In the NewsNovember 26, 2010Debt crisis highlights I.M.F.'s renewed roleSewell ChanNew York TimesIreland’s reluctant acceptance of a bailout supported by the International Monetary Fund is the latest in a string of developments since 2007 that have thrust the monetary fund into a new position of authority and prominence. The fund, which earlier in the decade seemed dormant and even irrelevant, is back in a big way. |
 |
In the NewsOctober 26, 2010UN women's resolution: an unhappy birthdayTracy Clark-FlorySalonThe anniversary of a pledge to include females in peacekeeping brings reports of failure, more Congo rapes. |
 |
In the NewsOctober 14, 2010China's dilemmaGeorge Gilboy and Eric HeginbothamForeign AffairsSocial change and political reform. |
 |
In the NewsFebruary 6, 2009Reigniting violence: how do ceasefires end?Nancy Kanwisher, Johannes Haushofer, & Anat BiletzkiHuffington PostAs Israel and Palestine suffer a hideous new spasm of terror, misery, and mayhem, it is important to ask how this situation came about. Perhaps an understanding of recent events will afford lessons for the future. |
 |
In the NewsJanuary 22, 2009An alliance in need of attentionRichard J. SamuelsNew York TimesRecently declassified Japanese documents have disclosed that after Beijing's successful nuclear test in October 1964, Japan's prime minister urged the United States to use nuclear weapons against China in the event of hostilities. "If war breaks out [with China], we expect immediate nuclear retaliation from the United States," Prime Minister Eisaku Sato told Defense Secretary Robert MacNamara. |
 |
In the NewsJanuary 14, 2009Admiral Fallon scans the horizonWBUR: On PointFour-star Admiral William J. Fallon had a brilliant Navy career and a mouth, it was said, that could peel paint off the walls. He flew fighter missions over Vietnam, rose to head of the Pacific Command, then was named by George W. Bush Combatant Commander of U.S. Central Command — Centcom — the U.S. military’s top commander in the white-hot region from Egypt to Pakistan. He oversaw the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and abruptly retired after Esquire magazine called him the last man standing between Washington and war with Iran. |
 |
In the NewsJanuary 14, 2009Grieving over GazaAnat BiletzkiThe NationSome of us, as Israelis, are grieving over what we have become. Blaming the other side with a roster of rehearsed clichés cannot mitigate the grief. |
 |
In the NewsDecember 20, 2008Eugene Skolnikoff: the pioneer of science diplomacybridgesEugene B. Skolnikoff is one of the pioneers who recognized the value of S&T in foreign relations. One of the founding fathers of "Science Diplomacy," he has been working on science in foreign policy for almost 50 years. He served on the science advisory staff under Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Carter, and has had a distinguished academic career at MIT, where he is now professor emeritus of political science. He kindly agreed to speak with about his decades-long experience in the field of science and public policy, how the Soviets opened the opportunity for him to join the White House, and why he thinks that global warming is not the most pressing foreign policy issue for science diplomacy. |
 |
In the NewsDecember 5, 2008A 'Once-in-a-Century' Financial Crisis-Mortgaging the Future: How We Got in This Mess & Why It Could Happen AgainRobert MadsenEconomy, Culture & History Japan SPOTLIGHT Bimonthly (November/December 2008): Pages 30-33Overcoming the present financial crisis—which Alan Greenspan recently described as "a once-in-a-century" disaster—and shoring up the foundations of the world economy will doubtless require several years. In the meantime, the recriminations have already begun. Most of the criticism justifiably centers on the United States, whose poorly regulated real estate and mortgage markets precipitated the trouble and whose investment banks, hedge funds, and other institutions almost instantaneously transformed it into a worldwide phenomenon. It would be a mistake, however, to limit the scope of the inevitable scrutiny to just the United States or even the global financial system, for many other institutions also played significant roles in these tragic events. |
Expert Guide
Video Gallery
Contact
Events
Connect with CIS