Scholars, advocates, and activists seeking to make the U.S. a more responsible global partner.
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Revolution in Japan

by | Aug 28, 2009

Japan has been a one-party oligarchy for a very long time. This may not be a polite thing to say about a democracy and a U.S. ally. But Japan has been ruled by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) for the last 54 years, except for a few nanoseconds after the Cold War when the ruling party temporarily lost its grip on power. Because of this stifling consensus among a small political elite, “Japanese democracy” has an oxymoronic connotation and Japanese politics has been one of the most boring topics in the world.

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The Iranian Opposition

The Iranian Opposition

by , | Aug 27, 2009

On July 22, a week into Iran’s foreign media reporting ban, a group of Iranian protesters gathered on a grassy hill to speak out against Supreme Leader Khamenei’s continued support for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Some wore black T-shirts with a blood-spattered slogan: “Where Is My VOTE?” By midday, the protest had attracted several hundred attendees. One woman arrived wearing little more than a thong swimsuit and a pair of purple angel wings.

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Elections Unlikely Barometer for Change in Afghanistan

by | Aug 25, 2009

While the outcome of the Afghan elections won’t be known for a few days at best, (raw polling data collected by media outlets suggests Hamid Karzai winning 72% of the vote, with his closest rival, Abdullah Abdullah, at 23%, although the Afghan Electoral Complaints Commission has received 225 complaints about voting irregularities since August 20) senior members of the Obama administration deemed the August 20 presidential and provincial council elections in Afghanistan the “most important event of the year.” But Malalai Joya, a member of the Afghan Parliament, thinks otherwise. “This election will change nothing and it is only part of a show of democracy put on by and for the West.” Whoever emerges victorious, she has a point, and the Obama administration should listen.

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Clinton Tone-Deaf During Africa Trip

by , | Aug 21, 2009

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 11-day trip to Africa, which came less than a month after President Barack Obama’s visit to Egypt and Ghana in July, was an attempt to emphasize Africa’s importance to the United States. Clinton was supposed to reassure African leaders that the Obama administration intends to engage with the continent, despite wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and perennial problems in Israel and the Korean peninsula.

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After the Sunshine Generation

by | Aug 21, 2009

The “sunshine generation” is coming to an end. In South Korea, Kim Dae-Jung’s death comes hard on the heels of Roh Moo-Hyun’s suicide. In North Korea, meanwhile, Kim Jong-Il has been planning for his own succession. These three men were responsible for two inter-Korean summits and a host of agreements, exchanges, and political breakthroughs. As the “sunshine generation” — named after the “sunshine policy” of Kim Dae Jung — they worked together to show Koreans a glimpse of the light at the end of the long tunnel of the Cold War. The recent progress in North-South relations — a released South Korean detainee, an agreement to reenergize several key projects — suggests that the policies of this generation are still bearing fruit.

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Iran Gas Ban: Step toward War with Iran?

by , | Aug 20, 2009

As the Obama administration struggles to devise a strategy for dealing with Iran’s intransigence on the uranium enrichment issue, it appears to be gravitating toward the imposition of an international embargo on gasoline sales to that country. Such a ban would be enacted if Iranian officials fail to come up with an acceptable negotiating plan by the time the UN General Assembly meets in late September — the deadline given by the White House for a constructive Iranian move.

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