The World Today South Africa: Fundamental Failures Power cuts have become almost routine, attacks on refugees from Zimbabwe and elsewhere have left dozens dead and hundreds injured, and the man most likely to become president faces corruption charges. These dramatic upheavals are symptoms of South Africa’s failure to confront its long-term problems.
The World Today Europe and the Mediterranean: Eyeing Other Shores Ahead of the French holiday rush for relaxation in warm waters, President Nicolas Sarkozy has flung himself into the Mediterranean policy pool. Not content with existing arrangements, plans and processes for dealing with those on the other shore, the President has built his very own scheme, now adopted by the European Union. But the tides have not been altogether kind.
The World Today Book Review: Good for Government The African Peer Review Mechanism: Lessons from the Pioneers, by Ross Herbert and Steven Gruzd, The South African Institute of International Affairs, Johannesburg, 2008.
The World Today The Gulf in the G8 Agenda: Top Table Time? Where is the G8 invitation for the Gulf? There was a moment when Russia had to fight for a place at the table with leading industrial nations, especially in the crisis-ridden 1990s.
The World Today Saudi Arabia's Foreign Policy: Discreet Persuasion Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy rests on contradictory pillars. It asserts Islamic and Arab credentials, while standing beside the United States; backing regional compromise, but conceding little to Iranian interests. The recent ebb and flow of forces in Lebanon underlines the complexities.
The World Today Energy for Asia: Chasing Pipe Dreams Oil people call them pipe dreams: plans to transport energy across vast distances to places where it is needed most. That need is clear in Pakistan and India, but can the obstacles be overcome at this time of high prices, to turn the recurring dreams into reality?
The World Today Burma After the Cyclone: Making a Disaster out of a Cyclone The death and destruction in Burma as a result of Cyclone Nargis may yet come close to the Asian Tsunami in impact: some 120,000 dead and 2.5 million needing help now, compared to 190,000 deaths and three million displaced in 2004. The level of devastation might have been less in Burma, but for the government’s decision to control the international response. The impact of this on the global policy community, and the country’s fractured opposition, has been extensive.
The World Today Analysing North Korea: Big Wheel Turning More than a year has passed since North Korea promised to end its nuclear activities as part of the three- stage process. The cycle of missed deadlines and disagreements – the latest in a failure to detail these activities by the end of last year – sounds familiar. But how are we to understand this secretive land and make sense of the predictions about it?
The World Today Profile - Sir Richard Dearlove: Overestimating Al Qaeda? The prim quadrangles of Cambridge seem a world away from Britain’s battle against Al Qaeda on Iraqi streets and Afghan hills.
