Global Geopolitics

U.N. Member States Accused of Cherry-Picking Human Rights

By Thalif Deen
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein has criticised member states for ‘cherry-picking’ human rights – advocating some and openly violating others – perhaps to suit their own national or political interests.

Tobacco Workers in Cuba Dubious About Opening of U.S. Market

By Ivet González
“We have to wait and see,” “There isn’t a lot of talk about it,” are the responses from tobacco workers in this rural area in western Cuba when asked about the prospect of an opening of the U.S. market to Cuban cigars.

Opinion: The Middle East and Perpetual War

By Leon Anderson
There is a currently popular idea in Washington, D.C. that the United States ought to be doing more to quash the recently born Islamic States of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), because if we don’t, they will send terrorists to plague our lives.

Opinion: Europe Under Merkel’s (Informal) Leadership

By Emma Bonino
When I am asked whether Europe is still a relevant “protagonist” in the modern world, I always answer that there is no doubt about it. For a long time now, the continent has been shaken by financial crises, internal security strategy crises – including wars – and instability within its borders, which definitely make it a protagonist in world affairs. 

Human Rights in Asia and the Pacific: A “Regressive” Trend, Says Amnesty International

By Kanya D'Almeida
The cradle of some of the world’s most ancient civilizations, home to four out of the planet’s six billion people, and a battleground for the earth’s remaining resources, Asia and the Pacific are poised to play a defining role in international affairs in the coming decade.

Better to Die at Sea, than Languish in Poverty

By Amantha Perera
Weerasinghearachilage Ruwan Rangana had it all planned out last year in September: the big break that would change his life and those of his extended family had finally arrived.

Syria’s “Barrel Bombs” Cause Human Devastation, Says Rights Group

By Thalif Deen
The warring parties in the brutal four-year-old military conflict in Syria, which has claimed the lives of over 200,000 civilians and triggered “the greatest refugee crisis in modern times,” continue to break every single pledge held out to the United Nations.

Tackling Corruption at its Root in Papua New Guinea

By Catherine Wilson
Corruption, the single largest obstacle to socioeconomic development worldwide, has had a grave impact on the southwest Pacific Island nation of Papua New Guinea. While mineral resource wealth drove high gross domestic product (GDP) growth of eight percent in 2012, the country is today ranked 157th out of 187 countries in terms of human development.

Argentina Moves Towards Marriage of Convenience with China

By Fabiana Frayssinet
The government of Argentina is building a marriage of convenience with China, which some see as uneven and others see as an indispensable alliance for a new level of insertion in the global economy.

Threats, Deaths, Impunity – No Hope for Free Press in Pakistan

By Ashfaq Yusufzai
It is no surprise that most Pakistani journalists work under tremendous stress; caught between crime lords in its biggest cities, militant groups across its tribal belt and rival political parties throughout the country, censorship, intimidation and death seem almost to come with the territory.

OPINION: U.S. and Middle East after the Islamic State

By Emile Nakhleh
As the Congress ponders President Barack Obama’s request for an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) to fight the Islamic State (ISIS or IS), U.S. policymakers must focus on the “morning after” before they embark on another potentially disastrous war in the Levant.

The Two Koreas: Between Economic Success and Nuclear Threat

By Ahn Mi Young
The two Koreas are an odd match – both are talking about possible dialogue but both have different ideas of the conditions, and that difference comes from the 62-year-old division following the 1950-53 Korean War.

OPINION: Developing Economies Increasingly Vulnerable in Unstable Global Financial System

By Yilmaz Akyüz
After a series of crises with severe economic and social consequences in the 1990s and early 2000s, emerging and developing economies have become even more closely integrated into what is widely recognised as an inherently unstable international financial system. 

Israel’s Obsession for Monopoly on Middle East Nuclear Power

By Thalif Deen
As the Iranian nuclear talks hurtle towards a Mar. 24 deadline, there is renewed debate among activists about the blatant Western double standards underlying the politically-heated issue, and more importantly, the resurrection of a longstanding proposal for a Middle East free from weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

“Drastic Decline” Seen in World Press Freedom

By Leila Lemghalef
A leading advocacy group warns of a "worldwide deterioration in freedom of information" last year.

Marshall Islands Nuclear Proliferation Case Thrown Out of U.S. Court

By Josh Butler
A lawsuit by the Marshall Islands accusing the United States of failing to begin negotiations for nuclear disarmament has been thrown out of an American court.

U.N. Touts 2015 as Milestone Year for World Body

By Thalif Deen
The United Nations, in a sustained political hype, is touting 2015 as a likely breakthrough year for several key issues on its agenda - primarily development financing, climate change, sustainable development, disaster risk-reduction and nuclear non-proliferation.

OPINION: People Power, the Solution to Climate Inaction

By Rob McCreath
Nothing is more important to farmers like me than the weather. It affects the growth and quality of our crops and livestock, and has a major impact on global food supply.

OPINION: China – The Future, After 4,000 Years of History

By Johan Galtung
A theory serves comprehension, prediction and identification of conditions for change. Seven such historical-cultural pointers will be indicated for China – using the West in general, and the United States in particular, for comparison.

OPINION: This Is Going to Hurt Me More Than It Hurts You

By Peter Costantini
“Enhanced interrogation”: the George W. Bush administration bureaucrats who coined the term had perfect pitch. The apparatchiks of Kafka’s Castle would have admired the grayness of the euphemism. But while it sounds like some new kind of focus group, it turns out it was just anodyne branding for good old-fashioned torture.

Debating U.S. Foreign Policy: Where are the Women?

By Jasmin Ramsey
Women are running some of the United States’ most prominent foreign policy focused think tanks, leading U.S. diplomatic initiatives, and reporting from the front lines of the world’s most dangerous conflict zones.
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