Feature Posts
-
Preventing an Asia-Pacific Arms Race
While many foreign policy thinkers can’t resist exploring the growing probability of military rivalries between the West and East, the cold reality is that the states most likely to experience future arms races are actually within the Asia-Pacific region itself.
-
Russia and Modernization: The United States versus China
The word “modernization” has become ubiquitous in almost all major government policies and initiatives since the 2009 release of Russian president Dmitry Medvedev’s “Go Russia!” policy manifesto, where he called for the modernization of Russia’s economy and society. This has been especially evident in Russian foreign policy, which has been seeking to attract foreign investment in new high tech sectors of the Russian economy in order to further the cause of modernization.
-
To the Kingdom Come – Seeking Energy, Security, and Balance in the Middle East
From this year forward, longtime U.S. ally Saudi Arabia will supply more oil to China than the U.S. In 2010, the Middle East and Saudi Arabia accounted for 18% and 12% of U.S. crude oil imports, respectively. That same year, 46% of China’s crude oil imports originated in the Middle East and 19% came from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. While U.S. demand for oil has plateaued, China’s demand is expected to increase rapidly for at least the next two decades.
-
Increased Taxes Take a Bite out of Innovative Small Business
An internal argument over higher taxes on business has been shepherded to a close by Russia’s prime minister Vladimir Putin in a decision that deals a blow to Russia’s innovation-based small businesses. The compromise also represents a setback for President Dmitry Medvedev, who has spearheaded attempts to stimulate small business, in the run-up to parliamentary elections this fall and the presidential election next spring.
-
Crash Course
Iranian workers were not at the forefront of the country’s recent pro-democracy uprising. With a few notable exceptions, that struggle was spearheaded by students, women, professionals, and other members of the urban middle class. Yet Iran has a rich history of labor activism.
-
A Young African’s Choice: AK-47 or a Laptop?
The good news this month is that South Africa marks the twentieth year of the end of its nuclear weapons program this July. That may have removed a significant threat but elsewhere in the impoverished and war-ravaged continent the increasing quantities of conventional weapons make any observer of African politics nervous. According to some reports, in 2010, Africa imported arms worth nearly one billion dollars from Ukraine alone.
-
Foreign Policy Digest App for iPhone and iPod Touch
Download our latest app for iPhone and iPod Touch.
Regions Click on a region to see related Posts
Browse RegionsStories What's happening in the world
Browse All Stories
Preventing an Asia-Pacific Arms Race
- Niruban Balachandran
Crash Course
- Peter Kohanloo and Sohrab Ahmari
A Young African’s Choice: AK-47 or a Laptop?
- Mohammed Hamid Mohammed
Foreign Policy Digest App for iPhone and iPod Touch
- Olivier Kamanda
