By: Miles Pomper | Briefing
Iran’s new president, Hasan Rouhani, plans to use his
scheduled address to the U.N. General Assembly to reach out to world
leaders about restarting talks on Iran’s controversial nuclear program.
As the Obama administration considers how to react to the friendlier
diplomatic face put forward by Rouhani and his team, they will need to
contend with five popular myths about U.S. policy toward Iran’s nuclear
program.
By: Matt Peterson | Trend Lines
The terrorist assault on Nairobi's Westgate mall comes amid
a lengthy military campaign by Kenyan forces to root out the militant
group al-Shabab from southeastern Somalia. That intervention has proved
more difficult than Kenyan officials initially predicted and sparked
fears—now apparently realized—of terrorist blowback within Kenya. This
background note reviews WPR's extensive coverage of the Kenyan
intervention and Somalia's state of governance and security.
By: Armando Barrientos | Feature
Among developing countries, Brazil is increasingly seen as a
model for social development. Social policies, and especially social
protection policies, are the key to explaining its successes. Studies
show that social assistance programs have contributed significantly to
the decline in poverty and inequality in Brazil. However, these
developments have resulted in a dual social protection system, with
social insurance covering one half of the population and social
assistance covering the other half.
By: Devesh Kapur, Prakirti Nangia | Feature
As with other poor developing countries, India’s efforts to
improve the welfare of its vulnerable populations have involved three
major components: raising incomes, providing public goods and weaving
safety nets. India has done modestly well on the first component,
especially in recent years. By contrast, India’s record on universal
public goods has been woeful. India has partially sought to compensate
this with attempts to build a welfare state. Social safety nets have
become a key part of these efforts.
By: Nadine Marroushi | Briefing
In the space of a few months, Egypt’s balance of power has
shifted firmly from the Islamists to the army. The current political
environment resembles that of the military’s 1 1/2-year interim rule
after Mubarak stepped down—a period marked by gross human rights abuses
that are already being repeated—with the difference that most liberals
now support the army. The question is: Where is Egypt headed from here?
By: The Editors | Trend Lines
In an email interview, Elisenda Paluzie, a professor of
economic theory at the University of Barcelona, explained the state of
the Catalan independence movement.
By: Richard Weitz | Column
Earlier this month, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
held one of its most important summits in years. The SCO faces a host of
urgent regional challenges. In addition, the organization has the
potential to substantially shape the broader China-Russia relationship.
Yet besides its traditional joint declarations and bilateral leadership
meetings, the summit was noteworthy mainly for its limited achievements.
By: Mark W. Frazier | Feature
By most measures, the income gap between urban and rural
households in China is one of the largest in the world. Not
surprisingly, then, improving rural incomes has become the main target
of social welfare policies in China today. The new social policies have
also been introduced in the context of two long-term demographic trends:
China's high-speed urbanization and the rapid aging of its population.
Regardless of their future effects, China’s new social policies carry a
political significance that is not well understood.
By: Steven Metz | Column
As the U.S. military struggles with severe budget cuts
driven by political posturing rather than a strategic vision, the Army
is facing a deep identity crisis. As defense expert Nadia Schadlow
explained, "After 10 years of fighting two major wars and suffering the
brunt of America’s military casualties, the most experienced and
powerful ground force in the world now has to justify its value and
relevance."
By: Matteo Tacconi | Briefing
Since 2002, Turkey has been reorienting its foreign policy
toward increasing its weight within the borders of the former Ottoman
Empire, with the Balkans a key laboratory for the policy, dubbed
neo-Ottomanism. Turkey now plays a bigger role in the Balkans than in
recent memory, and its image in the region has improved remarkably. But
economic and political difficulties at home pose obstacles to further
success.
By: Matt Peterson | Trend Lines
Addressing the U.N. General Assembly yesterday,
Madagascar's unelected transitional president, Andry Rajoelina, told
world leaders that he had decided not to run in his country's upcoming
presidential election, slated for Oct. 25.
By: Brian Katulis | Briefing
The relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia has been
particularly challenged in the past few months. Ongoing political
changes in Egypt, Syria’s civil war and the new diplomatic engagement
with Iran have all brought to the surface divisions between the U.S. and
Saudi Arabia. How the two countries navigate the complicated forces
reshaping the Middle East will help define their future state of
relations.
By: Frida Ghitis | Column
When heads of state attending the U.N. General Assembly
arrived in New York two years ago, they shared the spotlight with the
Occupy Wall Street movement, a manifestation of the wave of people power
that was then sweeping the globe. Today, the agenda is not driven by
activists on the streets posting their views on Twitter and Facebook.
Once again, the diplomats and statesmen are making deals in hushed
tones.
By: Catherine Cheney | Trend Lines
Al-Shabab, the Islamic extremist group behind the recent
siege on an upscale mall in Nairobi, Kenya, has since carried out
attacks on Kenyan towns near the Somalia border. The group has
threatened to continue the violence until Kenyan troops withdraw from
Somalia.
By: Nikolas Gvosdev | Column
This week, speaking before the U.N. General Assembly,
President Barack Obama laid out a U.S. foreign policy agenda for the
remainder of his term, with emphasis on the Iranian nuclear program and
the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. However, the overall focus of the
address, with its emphasis on the Middle East, is seemingly at odds with
the direction articulated earlier in his administration: the pivot to
Asia.
By: Matthew C. DuPee | Briefing
The Afghan government and its international supporters have
long viewed the country’s estimated $1 trillion to $3 trillion worth of
natural resources as one of the country’s best prospects for economic
independence. But hopes of developing Afghanistan’s vast natural
resources are in serious jeopardy due to wavering international
investors, political and legal uncertainty, and the coming NATO
drawdown.
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