India is turning away from its long preoccupation with declining Pakistan as rising Chinese power sets alarm bells ringing in Delhi.  That at least is the message of this important Reuters review of India’s changing defense posture.In Reuters’ words: Defence chiefs are hurrying to modernise ageing weaponry as China reinforces a 3,500-km (2,200-mile) shared but […]

We received the following letter from the State Secretary for Government Communication, Dr. Zoltán Kovács, on February 2nd, responding to Francis Fukuyama’s post of January 23, “Do Institutions Really Matter?“The text of the letter follows:Budapest, 2 February 2012.Dear Sir,Last week you published an article by Francis Fukuyama on your website (“Do Institutions Really Matter?” January 23, […]

“In Indian politics”, writes Dan Morrison in the NYT‘s Latitude blog, “crime pays.” In Uttar Pradesh at least, that seems to be the case. Politics there is permeated by crime; 139 of 404 legislators in the current state government face criminal charges, including murder.Thirteen of the ruling party’s legislators are accused of murder. Others have […]

As we’ve reported, Hamas is on the move, ditching its beleaguered Shi’a friends (Iran, Syria and Hezbollah) and getting courted by Sunni powers. But if the sun is rising on Hamas, it is setting on Fatah.Fatah’s struggles stem from decades of failure. It hasn’t built the institutions necessary for Palestinian statehood, hasn’t won concessions from […]

Predictions of imminent American decline are looking shakier by the day. A new report cited in the Wall Street Journal finds that manufacturing has expanded dramatically over the past month and looks set to continue. Fears that the U.S. could never compete with low-cost competition in Asia or the high-end products of Europe are overblown. […]

After the Castros, what comes next? Under President Dilma Rousseff, Brazil is taking a special interest in that question, as evidenced by her decision to invest $680 million of Brazil’s money in the rehabilitation of the Cuban port at Mariel. Besides its interest in shoring up its leadership in Latin America and having a friendly, […]

War appears imminent. At least that’s the impression gleaned from this week’s press blitz on Iran.  In the State of the Union address, Obama said he would “take no options off the table to achieve” the goal of halting Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons program. A congressional testimony on Tuesday concluded that Iran has “crossed a […]

ed egli alquanto in pena chiamerà, chiamerà: ‘Piccina mogliettina, olezzo di verbena’ i nomi che mi dava al suo venireIn 1946, Camilla Williams sang those words of longing and woe. It was her debut at the New York City Opera, and she delivered the lead in Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” with what the New York Times […]

The announcement by the US defense secretary that US troops will no longer take a lead role in Afghan combat before the end of 2013 stunned the Afghan government in Kabul but will probably please voters in the US.  It largely cuts the ground out from under the feet of negotiators; the Taliban cannot have […]

A former EU parliamentarian and Spanish foreign minister sums up Europe's woes.