The world economy has seen globalization collapse once already. The gold standard era – with its free capital mobility and open trade – came to an abrupt end in 1914 and could not be resuscitated after World War I. Are we about to witness a similar global economic breakdown? The question is not fanciful. Although …
They say seeing is believing, but when it comes to the trial of Egypt’s Al-Dostour editor Ibrahim Eissa’s, seeing elicits everything from downright incredulity to utter disbelief. Known as the “president’s health case, a court in March upheld the prosecution’s claims that articles published in Al-Dostour in August 2007, which alleged that Egypt’s President Mubarak …
By all accounts, the Israeli-Syrian indirect negotiations through Turkish mediation are going well, and the fact that a fourth round of talks is scheduled for the end of July suggests that both sides expect to make further progress. The reports from Damascus and Ankara, however, indicating that Syria will not enter into direct negotiations with …
I was not yet born when, on June 21, 1963 US President John F. Kennedy spoke those immortal words: Ich bin ein Berliner from the balcony of West Berlin s city hall, the Rathaus Schönenberg. It was a notable moment in the Cold War, a great source of morale-boosting support for West Berliners and a …
As I stood withy publisher Ibrahim El Moallem and a current cabinet minister at a reception, a photographer rudely intruded asking us to pose and stare at the camera as he snapped a shot. But El Moallem and I were astonished when the photographer subsequently took us aside and asked to know the name of …
Who speaks for European Muslims? It is a pressing question as far as policy makers in Europe are concerned. Even prior to 9/11, they were interested. After the 7/7 London bombings, finding an answer to the question has become imperative. Before the attacks of 9/11, I had decided to map out the Muslim communities in …
Indonesia s religious life in the post-Soeharto era has been marked by the emergence of extreme religious radicalism. The conflict between Muslims and Christians in Poso, in the province of Sulawesi Tenggara, and in the Maluku province exemplifies this phenomenon, as do the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings. The rise of radical organizations such as …
The debate between the United States and Russia over US plans to deploy ballistic missile defenses in Europe is heating up again. Persistent differences with Poland over its conditions for accepting defensive interceptor missiles have led American officials to hint that they might consider Lithuania as an alternative deployment site. This shift appears aimed at …
It is tempting to compare NATO and the European Union to the French and Italian football teams in this year’s Euro 2008 competition. What unites them, above all, is a process of “competitive decadence. The EU and NATO may see themselves as potential rivals or complementary partners in the field of defense. But what their …
s concerns persist that Israel or the United States could attack Iran, the realistic outcomes of such an event must be considered. An American military attack, rather than making the world more secure, could instead provide Iran with greater incentive to harm US interests and allies throughout the region. Principled negotiation, an interest-based approach to …
The Hidelina blood bags case began in January 2007, when an Egyptian Ministry of Health employee, Sheer El-Sharkawi, claimed to have found 200,000 contaminated bags used to package donated blood in the ministry’s storage area. The bags, she alleged, were infected with bacteria and fungi likely to cause hepatitis or cancer. The company manufacturing the …
CAMBRIDGE: Following its recent free elections, Pakistan is rebounding politically. But the euphoria that came with the end of the Musharraf era is wearing off, as the new government faces stark choices. Unlike Iraq and Afghanistan, democracy is not new to this 60-year-old state, but ethnic cleavages, weak institutions, and religious extremism in the North …
The method by which the Muslim Brotherhood Guidance Office elections were held some weeks ago has raised many questions about the mechanisms for running the internal affairs of the group and whether or not there is a genuine democracy within the Muslim Brotherhood. I believe that there are four key elements through which we can …
On June 19, Israel and Hamas began an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire after months of dithering. The terms (not officially revealed) apparently provide that Hamas will cease launching rockets at Israel from Gaza, Israel will not attack Gaza, and Israel will increase the supplies allowed into the enclave. It is limited to Gaza, does not include the …
In the July/August 2008 issue of the bimonthly political magazine, Foreign Affairs, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice published a long essay titled “Rethinking our National Interest in which she reflected on the foreign policy of the Bush administration over the past eight years. She expounded on her claim that promoting the values of freedom, human …
Have you ever worn a burqa before? asked the Amnesty International representative. One by one, the journalism students in the class I was teaching at American University of Paris took turns trying on a burqa, a piece of clothing that fully covers a woman s body, head and face. When it was my turn, I …
The world has not been kind to neo-liberalism, that grab-bag of ideas based on the fundamentalist notion that markets are self-correcting, allocate resources efficiently, and serve the public interest well. It was this market fundamentalism that underlay Thatcherism, Reaganomics, and the so-called “Washington Consensus in favor of privatization, liberalization, and independent central banks focusing single-mindedly …
One does not need to be a scientist or a philosopher to discover that the social conflict in Egypt has reached an unprecedented peak since the formation of the modern social order during the 19th century. Yet it may be noted that some aspects of this conflict generate effects that could be commensurate with the …
As I walked into the traditional living room of our Baalbek home in rural Lebanon, the television was on full blast. My family was gathered around and watching intently. I turned my gaze to find Eva Longoria acting in Desperate Housewives, the Emmy-award winning, prime time soap opera. My conventional family has never left the …
“The FARC are finished, no matter how many men and weapons they may still have. Former Salvadoran guerrilla leader JoaquĂn Villalobos’ lapidary conclusion about the Colombian narco-guerrilla movement is worthy of consideration, given his unmatched insight into Latin America’s armed, revolutionary left. So is the almost tearful acknowledgement by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez’s ideological guru, …
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have now been talking to each other for more than six months, since the peace process was re-launched at Annapolis in November 2007, with the stated aim of reaching agreement on a Palestinian state before this year is out. The final status issues of borders, Jerusalem and refugees are back on …
One presidential candidate once accused his rival of being a Jew. This infuriated the accused candidate so much, that he went to great lengths to emphasize that he was the furthest thing from being Jewish, adding that this sort of accusation was a cheap attempt at ruining his reputation before the electorate. But supporters of …
African American Muslims have a role to play when it comes to the widespread Islamophobia (an irrational fear of Islam) that is prevalent in the West. The unfortunate fact is that some Americans see Muslims as a disease to be rooted out. However, as is the case with immunization, the disease can sometimes also be …
Not since the collapse of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks during President Bill Clinton’s last days in the White House has the Middle East seen such a frenetic pace of peace diplomacy as it is seeing today. A ceasefire has been brokered between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Israel and Syria have started peace …
Between Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa’s stroke which left him semi-comatose, and international uproar against the “re-election of Zimbawean President Robert Mugabe, the African Union summit held in Sharm El Sheikh earlier this week was certainly full of sound, but sadly not enough fury. The world was expecting the AU to collectively and unequivocally condemn 84-year-old …
Last week, the United States Supreme Court ruled that detainees at Guantánamo Bay have the right to habeas corpus – the right to challenge the factual and legal basis of their detention in a court of law. I was elated by the decision, having spent four years working on ensuring the rule of law in …
Last month we celebrated the 60th anniversary of the birth of the state of Israel. We paid tribute to its numerous spectacular achievements. We congratulated those responsible. Yet the fact that Israel still lives in an area of strife and has failed to build a lasting peace in the region casts a long shadow over …
Hezbollah’s armed insurrection in May, which overran Beirut and other parts of Lebanon, has dealt a further blow to hopes of true state sovereignty in the country, strengthening Hezbollah and weakening the Western-backed government. But it also brought about a new political accord, negotiated in Doha, Qatar, providing for election of a president after a …
A close look at the writings of Egyptian intellectuals shows that most of them are so immensely consumed by contemporary problems that they lose sight of the challenges of tomorrow s Egypt. The current transgressions of Mubarak s authoritarian regime are, indeed, onerous and hard to escape. However, Mubarak s phase in Egyptian politics is …
