Responding to Islamic extremism with violence is reminiscent of the sorcerer’s apprentice in Fantasia creating more brooms by whacking them with an axe.
Bombing the Islamic State Is Like Watering Its Roots
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Economic Reform
Branding Japan
Shinzo Abe is back as prime minister, along with his special brand of Abenomics and a whole new politics of hype.
Is Cuba Lightening Up on Dissenters?
This commentary is a joint publication of the Washington Office on Latin America and Foreign Policy In Focus. Cubans have long been careful about what they say and where they say it. However, recent events suggest that Cubans might feel freer to speak out than they...
Cuba: New Corporate Utopia?
On the list of America’s most-hated leaders, Fidel Castro gets the award for longevity. Outlasting ten U.S. presidents, from Eisenhower through George W. Bush, Castro has managed to maintain his high ranking for over five decades. Though the 84-year-old ex-president of Cuba is unlikely to drop off the list during his lifetime, the persistent image of Cuba as communist dystopia may be on the verge of changing–that is, if the dreams of American big business come true.
Laos: Power Trumps Reform
There is broad agreement today that a market economy works well within a Western democratic system, but there is much less consensus over whether it can function effectively in an authoritarian state. The contemporary political economy of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) provides an excellent case in point. The Lao experience since the Communist takeover in 1975 suggests real limits to a development model that combines single party rule with market economics.