The earthquake changed everything. What will Tokyo do next?
A eulogy for Pakistan
Author:
Christian Caryl
Last week Outpost had the honor of attending a memorial service for Shahbaz Bhatti at the Embassy of Pakistan here in Washington, D.C.. As you may recall, Bhatti -- the minorities minister in the current government of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani -- was shot on his way to work in Islamabad on March 2.
How dictators fall
Author:
Peter Beaumont
From 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.
Japan after the quake
Japan is no stranger to natural disaster and struggling back. From shogun, samurai days and far earlier, the Japanese have faced earthquake and tsunami and war, and famously persevered. But some epic events have changed Japan, within that perseverance.
Japan disaster may have global economic impact
Japan'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.
Why Japan relies on nuclear power
Author:
Wayne Drash
Japan 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.
The President's triumph: Obama gets his man
Author:
Christian Caryl
The U.S. Special Operations Forces raid that killed Osama bin Laden drew on the efforts of a large team of people from myriad branches of government working in locations around the world. All of them -- including many whose roles may never become public -- deserve a share of the credit. Yet it seems likely that it's the most public figure in the operation who stands to gain the greatest benefit from its success. And if many of the experts are right, he's earned it.
Fotini on the war in Afghanistan
Author:
Peter Dizikes
What impact will the death of Osama bin Laden have on the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan? And what effect will it have on the often-tense relationship between the United States and Pakistan? Fotini Christia, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science, is conducting ongoing research in Afghanistan and has written widely on the subject. MIT Newsspoke to Christia about the outlook in the region.
David Singer on the Greek Euro-tragedy
Author:
Peter Dizikes
The economic and fiscal woes of Greece remain at the center of European politics. In recent months, a variety of economists and commentators have asked if Greece should consider the unprecedented move of leaving the European Currency Union, so that it could control and lower its own currency rate, in order to spur exports and growth at a time when its economy is struggling badly. David Singer, an associate professor of political science at MIT, discussed Greece and the Euro-mess with MIT News.
IMF turmoil unlikely to derail Euro debt talks
Author:
Bob Moon
Just last week, a Bloomberg survey of international investors found 85 percent expect Greece to default on its debt -- that's a stark indicator of the urgency facing the International Monetary Fund in pushing for a resolution to the ongoing crisis. As the former finance minister of France, Dominique Strauss-Kahn's authority on Europe's debt crisis has been widely respected. And his political clout had moved negotiations toward agree. Now these talks face new uncertainty.