The World Today

Russia’s presence in the G8 is one of those historical accidents that defy conventional logic. It is not one of the world’s leading economic powers – the original and still most important criterion for membership. Its influence on global affairs has declined to near- insignificance. And its standing as a democracy, never convincing, is at its lowest since the fall of the Soviet Union fourteen years ago. Judged by any objective standard, Russia is the least ‘deserving’ member of the group, with a number of outsiders – China, India, Brazil – having far stronger claims for inclusion.

Should western leaders be rooting in the public purse to find more money to aid Africa, or should they concentrate on setting exemplary standards to prevent beneficiaries on the continent and beyond, putting their hands in the till or the ballot box? With good news stories of African renaissance hard to justify, the scale of the problem may still be hidden.

For the first time since the Iranian revolution of 1979, the United States Congress, in tandem with President George Bush’s White House, plans to openly spend government funds in Iran to promote democratic ideals. Tehran has indicated that it will take Washington to the International Court of Justice for a breach of international law and norms. But can limited US funding have a greater impact than open confrontation on the political alignment of the Islamic Republic?

Syrian Troops have ended their presence in Lebanon in what must be one of the most rapid policy reversals in the Middle East. There is talk of domestic reform at the Ba’ath party conference this month, but could it be enough to satisfy the clamour from Washington for regime change?

International Governance of War-Torn Territories: Rule and Reconstructionby Richard Caplan. Published by Oxford University Press, 2005, £50

Information disclosure, judicial activism and citizen’s organisations are shocking the traditional ways of doing things in Japan. Cosy relationships between gangsters, big business and government are changing as the country fights to recover its economic drive.