Under the cover of night, small boats depart from the Libyan coastline, headed toward sanctuary in Italy. Packed onto rickety vessels and often bought and traded by armed gangs, thousands of migrants and refugees face grueling challenges on the...
A blue passport can get you far. The leatherbound booklet denotes association with the ‘New World’ and grants access to an unprecedentedly high degree of global mobility and embassy protection — unless the passport reads “Republique D’H...
In February 2025, Taiwan’s coast guard noticed something unusual in the Taiwan Strait. A Togolese-flagged cargo ship, the Hong Tai 58, had slowed near a submarine cable route connecting Taiwan to the Penghu Islands. Officers repeatedly attempted to...
This week, I originally planned to write of a new and recent phenomenon, the assumption of China as the globe’s leading importer of oil, a heavy title the U.S. has carried for nearly the past forty years. The implications of this shift can and ...
This week, I originally planned to write of a new and recent phenomenon, the assumption of China as the globe’s leading importer of oil, a heavy title the U.S. has carried for nearly the past forty years. The implications of this shift can and ...
It is no secret that revolution, successful or otherwise, rarely produces results as glorious as initially imagined. For example, the world has seen its expectations dashed time and time again in the so-called “Arab Spring” countries, whi...
It is no secret that revolution, successful or otherwise, rarely produces results as glorious as initially imagined. For example, the world has seen its expectations dashed time and time again in the so-called “Arab Spring” countries, whi...
In his recent column on the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands dispute between China and Japan, Carter Johnson raises several interesting points. I agree with most of them, and after reading the article I found myself thinking on a historical analogy of the conf...
In his recent column on the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands dispute between China and Japan, Carter Johnson raises several interesting points. I agree with most of them, and after reading the article I found myself thinking on a historical analogy of the conf...
For the next few weeks, I am planning to be writing on the Egyptian Constitution. Today, I begin with the starting words of the Preamble. The Egyptian Preamble starts the same way as the American one: We the People. In the United States, there is ove...
For the next few weeks, I am planning to be writing on the Egyptian Constitution. Today, I begin with the starting words of the Preamble. The Egyptian Preamble starts the same way as the American one: We the People. In the United States, there is ove...
Several weeks ago, I wrote of the resurgence of Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe. I focused on the process by which he plans and hopes to reinvigorate a flagging Japanese economy, and only hinted at the role his nationalist ambitions might play in ...
Several weeks ago, I wrote of the resurgence of Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe. I focused on the process by which he plans and hopes to reinvigorate a flagging Japanese economy, and only hinted at the role his nationalist ambitions might play in ...
It seems absurd to claim that any country in a region as unstable as the Middle East/North Africa could be stagnant – but if any of them fit the bill, it would be Lebanon. Despite its seemingly volatile political situation (exemplified by const...
It seems absurd to claim that any country in a region as unstable as the Middle East/North Africa could be stagnant – but if any of them fit the bill, it would be Lebanon. Despite its seemingly volatile political situation (exemplified by const...
In Myanmar, change seems to be the new norm. Now officially known as the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the Southeast Asian nation with a population of 60 million is shaking off the dust from a protracted period of isolation and opening up to the ...
In Myanmar, change seems to be the new norm. Now officially known as the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the Southeast Asian nation with a population of 60 million is shaking off the dust from a protracted period of isolation and opening up to the ...
Last week I missed an important reason why Spain is in a state of absolute disarray. This of course is the growing strength of independence movements, both in the Basque Country (Euskadi) and Catalonia –which may have crossed the Rubicon in its dec...
Last week I missed an important reason why Spain is in a state of absolute disarray. This of course is the growing strength of independence movements, both in the Basque Country (Euskadi) and Catalonia –which may have crossed the Rubicon in its dec...
It was a little over five years ago that Shinzo Abe, Japan’s 90th Prime Minister, unceremoniously resigned his post amidst government scandal. He had been at the helm of Japan’s government only a year, and, at the time of his resignation, enjoyed...
It was a little over five years ago that Shinzo Abe, Japan’s 90th Prime Minister, unceremoniously resigned his post amidst government scandal. He had been at the helm of Japan’s government only a year, and, at the time of his resignation, enjoyed...
There are cultural moments when I switch into impartial observer, not the usual crazy-eyed denizen, of the blogosphere left. Say, perhaps, when the Commentariat explodes with excitement curiosity regarding whether a Pope might imminently be thrown ...
There are cultural moments when I switch into impartial observer, not the usual crazy-eyed denizen, of the blogosphere left. Say, perhaps, when the Commentariat explodes with excitement curiosity regarding whether a Pope might imminently be thrown ...
In reading the New York Times yesterday, it struck me that following the news about Syria is becoming almost unbearably frustrating. More and more are dying, and there still doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. Instead, we are treated to an endl...
In reading the New York Times yesterday, it struck me that following the news about Syria is becoming almost unbearably frustrating. More and more are dying, and there still doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. Instead, we are treated to an endl...
There is a famous Spanish saying, éramos muchos y parió la abuela –we were too many, and then grandma had a baby. In military jargon this is summarized as a clusterfuck: a situation in which everything, everywhere, falls apart at the same time. A...
There is a famous Spanish saying, éramos muchos y parió la abuela –we were too many, and then grandma had a baby. In military jargon this is summarized as a clusterfuck: a situation in which everything, everywhere, falls apart at the same time. A...