For a nation that receives $3.1 billion in U.S. military aid per annum, Israel seldom answers to our national interest. In the most poignant, contemporary example, the American foreign policy establishment has concluded that an Israeli decision to attack Iran will be fully autonomous, made with or without our preapproval. Furthermore, Pentagon analysts predict that … Read more
Nepali politics has always been gracious enough to leave plenty of room for disappointment. After four years politicians were given to draft a Constitution—marred by consecutive extensions—the Constituent Assembly botched its final chance at redemption in May. It collapsed empty-handed over a core issue: the federal framework of the nation. After elections are held in … Read more
While visiting Hanoi recently, HPR staff writer Jay Alver noticed an astounding number of privately owned businesses in the city. Slightly confused, he asked a local guide how this could be true, given the supposedly absolute control the Communist Party wields. Smiling a bit, the guide responded slyly that with increasing liberalization in Vietnam and … Read more
Generally, the photos and videos released by North Korean state media are meant to uphold the regime’s aura of power and greatness. But in February 2011, state television aired footage of Kim Jong-un holding binoculars upside down as military officials surrounded him, a mistake uncharacteristic of the tightly controlled government. For the then-vice chairman of … Read more
On Dec. 6, 2011, at a Human Rights Day convention in Geneva, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated that “being LGBT does not make you less human. And that is why gay rights are human rights.” The United States and many other Western democracies pride themselves upon being progressive leaders, yet with respect to … Read more
My morning routine usually takes me to Foreign Policy, whose online magazine’s phenomenal sampling of analysis and expert opinion keeps my World editor gears moving. Like any student of international affairs, I have taught myself to read these selections dispassionately—reserving special caution for the issues I expect to set me off. But on rare occasion, … Read more
A Player in Transition With immense wealth, a novel brand, and a distinctive foreign policy agenda, Qatar has emerged as a rising power in the Persian Gulf. Abetted by 13 percent of the world’s total natural gas reserves and the preeminence of its national news outlet, Al-Jazeera, Qatar has demonstrated a unique capacity for promulgating … Read more
With the closing of Camp Ashraf, one of the most remarkable untold stories of American involvement in Iraq is concluding. With support from the United States and United Nations, the Iraqi government has begun moving long-time residents of Ashraf, the Mujahedin e-Khalq in Iraq’s Diyala province, to another location called “Camp Liberty,” potentially the first … Read more
From “Sam Spade at Starbucks”: It’s hard not to feel inspired by all these idealists, but their service religion does have some shortcomings. In the first place, many of these social entrepreneurs think they can evade politics. They have little faith in the political process and believe that real change happens on the ground beneath … Read more
The strategy of imposing increasingly punitive economic sanctions has long been the cornerstone of U.S. policy towards Iran and other rogue nations, ranging from Iraq and Libya to North Korea. However, the fundamental question of whether this policy will tend towards a favorable outcome remains too often unexamined. Beyond the inherent challenges of collective action … Read more