The Rise of State Capitalism
When Ian Bremmer predicts “the end of the free market,” he really only has China in mind as an alternative.
IMF Gaining in Power
Given the current economic problems of both Europe and the United States — well, the whole world really — the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is becoming more and more involved and gaining in power almost daily. As Rahm Emmanuel says, never let a crisis go to waste. It’s time we paid attention to organizations such […]
Russian Foreign Arms Purchases Are Good for Regional Stability
A great deal of ink has been spilled recently about how terrible it is that a number of European NATO members are considering selling arms and military equipment to Russia. Many commentators vehemently argue against such arms sales. The reasons for the opposition are rarely stated openly, but when they are they tend to focus […]
The Great Experiment
With David Cameron installed as prime minister on Tuesday evening, for the first time in almost seventy years the United Kingdom has a coalition government again. Will it hold? Elections in early May produced a hung parliament with the Conservatives just twenty seats short of a majority. Negotiations between Labour and the minority Liberal Democrats […]
Conservative Cameron Becomes British Prime Minister
Conservative Party leader David Cameron forms a coalition with the liberal party.
Saving the Euro
Bending the rules of euro management, European leaders and finance ministers agreed to an unprecedented effort to guarantee the stability of the eurozone with loans adding up to nearly $1 trillion (or €750 billion) this weekend. In spite of the multibillion euro rescue package previously pledged to Greece, investors continued to worry about the unsound […]
Sinophobia on the High Seas
Commander James Kraska fears that China is set for naval hegemony.
Merkel Loses Upper House Majority
Right-wing voters vent their anger at the chancellor’s support for a Greek bailout.
The Libertarian Mob
Commentators and intellectuals on the left continue to grapple while trying to figure out the Tea Party phenomenon. For some time they could be dismissed as racist or just plain dumb but such criticism is harder to sustain no with research showing that the 18 percent or so of Americans who identify as supporters of […]
Are the Taliban Getting Stronger?
The Pentagon recently reported to Congress (PDF) that violence in Afghanistan between October 2009 and March of this year has risen sharply, with so much as 87 percent in fact compared to the same period last year. Insurgent attacks increased throughout 2009 to peak in August just before the country’s presidential election. Most activity has […]
Russian Arms Sales to China Drying Up
Richard Weitz of the conservative Hudson Institute reports that increasingly China is relying on home industries to provide high tech weaponry rather than buying arms from Russia. Since 2001, Russia has sold over $16 billion worth of arms to China, accounting for nearly 40 percent of all major Russian arms sales. In recent years, however, […]
European “Elitism” or American Chagrin
Americans seem to forget Europe is not a federation like the United States.
After Election, Britain Wonders: What Now?
Neither of the three largest parties have a majority of seats in the House of Commons.
Conservatives Expected to Win UK Elections
David Cameron’s Conservative Party will fall just seventeen seats short of a parliamentary majority, according to a joint poll conducted by major British broadcasters. The Conservatives are set to win almost a hundred more seats than they gained in 2005, possibly up to 305. Labour would have 255 while the Liberal Democrats, in spite of […]
Biden Addresses European Parliament
The vice president talks about climate change, data-sharing, Iran and missile defense.