Scholars, advocates, and activists seeking to make the U.S. a more responsible global partner.
Human Rights

Exodus to North Korea Revisited

by | Jun 23, 2011

The emotions felt by those leaving Japan were varied and often complex. Many expressed joy and hope at the prospect of a new life in North Korea – even though the vast majority came originally from the southern half of the Korean Peninsula, and were going to a place they had never seen before. Some took a more somber view – traveling without high expectations, but at least in the belief that a future in North Korea would be more secure than their life in Japan, where they had been deprived of citizenship and had no assured residence rights, very limited access to welfare and (in most cases) few educational or employment opportunities.

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The Silver Lining in China’s Crackdown

The Silver Lining in China’s Crackdown

by | Jun 22, 2011

It has been more than two months since Chinese artist Ai Weiwei disappeared. The son of famous poet Ai Qing, Ai Weiwei is well known for his architecture, curating, photography, film, and social criticism. After his collaboration with the architects Herzog and de Meuron on Beijing’s Olympic stadium, his fame spread. Outspoken and liberal, Ai has long been an advocate for democracy. He stated that he had no interest in the 2008 Olympics and would not attend the opening ceremony: “an Olympics held without freedom and against the will of the people will be nonsense because no totalitarian regime can play at being democracy. It is a pretend harmony and happiness.”

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Peru: What’s Next for Humala?

Peru: What’s Next for Humala?

by , | Jun 17, 2011

Left-wing candidate Ollanta Humala emerged the victor in the most highly polarized and contested presidential elections in Peru’s recent history, in which polls showed the candidates in a statistical dead heat going into the June 5 vote. Humala won with 51.5 percent of the vote, while his opponent, Keiko Fujimori — daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori, now serving a 25-year sentence for human rights violations committed during his 10-year authoritarian regime — received 48.5 percent.

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Rubber Dollie

by | Jun 17, 2011

It’s a macabre charade,
one night in the secret

theater of Abu Ghraib.
The anklets are shackles.

In another, a leashed
dog — loud, black,

and snarling — takes
center stage.

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If She is Still There

by | Jun 13, 2011

One of the chief reasons for Western audiences to watch Up the Yangtze is its intimate portrayal of the aspirations and anguish of the Chinese citizens depicted in the film. With so much glib reductionism on offer by Western commentators, it is refreshing to hear Chinese voices expressing their own hopes and frustrations. 

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Refugee Crisis Deepens in Mexico

by | Jun 13, 2011

“It is undeniable that Mexico is going through a situation of violence in which groups of armed civilians (organized crime) sow terror and death, provoking the displacement of entire families so they are not murdered,” read a statement from three human rights groups.

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Bahrain: Beyond the U.S.-Iran Rivalry

Bahrain: Beyond the U.S.-Iran Rivalry

by | Jun 10, 2011

The popular uprising in Bahrain has put U.S. foreign policymakers in an awkward position. The U.S. government has largely lent its diplomatic weight to the Saudi regime in stifling popular uprising in Bahrain for fear that any democratic transformation in that country would work to Iran’s advantage, thus undermining U.S. interests in the Persian Gulf region.

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