Democracy & Governance Archives - Page 171 of 362

Dumb and Dumber: Obama’s “Smart Power” Foreign Policy

by John Feffer | Sep 6, 2012

Barack Obama is a smart guy. So why has he spent the last four years executing such a dumb foreign policy? True, his reliance on “smart power” — a euphemism for giving the Pentagon a stake in all things global — has been a smart move politically at home. It has largely prevented the Republicans from playing the national security card in this election year. But “smart power” has been a disaster for the world at large and, ultimately, for the United States itself.

Can We Abolish Nuclear Weapons Before We Abolish War?

by Tad Daley | Aug 28, 2012

Abolishing both nuclear weapons and war may not be possible without world government.

Bleeding Syria

by Adil E. Shamoo | Aug 9, 2012

Syrian rebels have been fighting Bashar al-Assad’s forces for nearly a year and a half in a conflict that has caused 20,000 deaths. As the world watches in horror, much confusion remains about the nature of the rebel troops, the identity of the regime’s supporters, and what actions — if any — should be taken by the rest of the world.

Understanding the Standoff in Mali

by Giorgio Cafiero | Aug 3, 2012

The standoff between Mali’s government and the armed Islamists who control two-thirds of the country is unlikely to resolve peacefully, and the prospects for a new war in the Sahel appear increasingly probable.

Destroying the Commons

by Noam Chomsky | Jul 31, 2012

Down the road only a few generations, the millennium of Magna Carta, one of the great events in the establishment of civil and human rights, will arrive. Whether it will be celebrated, mourned, or ignored is not at all clear.