Democratic and political reforms in Burma have been uneven and halting.
Burma’s Promise: President Thein Sein’s 11 Commitments to Obama
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sanctions
Seeing Past “Death to America”: A Conversation with Hooman Majd
Iranian-American author Hooman Majd says that Americans are starting to see Iran as more than “just a bunch of crazy mullahs shouting ‘Death to America’ all the time.”
How We Got Here: A History of Missed Opportunities with Iran
Iran has been willing to deal for at least a decade. Why are there still calls for more sanctions?
Congress vs. Obama on Iran
Hardliners in Tehran are not happy with the recent rapprochement between the United States and Iran and the related progress in negotiations to address Western concerns about the Iranian nuclear program. But the bigger threat may come from hardliners in the...
Foreign Policy Thin-Sliced (10/9)
Sanctions Represent a Failure of Imagination Why pass new sanctions that will drain Iran’s moderates of domestic political capital, slam shut the window for what may be the last best chance to constrain Iran’s nuclear program through diplomacy, and risk shattering...
How Syria Brought the U.S. and Iran Together
This year's UN General Assembly may well be remembered as the beginning of the end for Washington's decades-long standoff with Tehran. And none of it would have been possible if the Obama administration had gone ahead with its plan to attack Syria. A few weeks ago,...
The Meaning of Rouhani
Although Hassan Rouhani’s victory in Iran’s presidential election was a major gain for the moderate and reformist political groups in Iran—and consequently a major loss for the conservative groups—its implications are far greater than a simple adjustment in the balance of power in Iran’s domestic politics.
What’s Not on the Ballot in Iran
As Iran’s presidential election approaches with the speed of an out-of-control train, its passengers are certainly curious about who’s going to be the next conductor. Yet as they take in the political infighting that so consumes the country’s ruling classes, ordinary Iranians understand that one of the most salient facts of life in Iran—the international sanctions regime—will not be on the ballot.
In Tehran, All Eyes on North Korea
North Korea’s nuclear weapons and Iran’s purported nuclear ambitions are the subject of constant speculation by Western pundits. However, the connection between the two is often overlooked. Although Northeast Asia and the Middle East are home to different geopolitical realities, the resolution of tensions on the Korean peninsula will almost certainly influence calculations made in Washington and Tehran regarding the Iranian nuclear program.
Infantalizing North Korea
Political Cartoonists love to portray North Korea as an irrational and infantile force. It’s either a baby with a nuclear rattle or a little truant in need of a timeout. The relative youth of the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, encourages such representations, but the practice predates his ascension to power. It’s time for us to grow up in our assessments of North Korea. Belittling North Korea, literally and figuratively, ultimately prevents us from developing our own mature alternatives.