China
According to Cui Tiankai, the Chinese Ambassador to the United States, “There are actually two Chinese ambassadors in Washington: me and the panda cub at the National Zoo." Cui’s quote reflects the rise of Chinese soft power, both in the United States and across the world.
Asia
Turkmenistan is not just the land of horse enthusiast [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9QYu8LtH2E]President Gurbanguly Berdymukhavedov. It’s also a country with vast oil and gas wealth and an economy on the brink of collapse. Hit by the recent drop in oil and gas prices, the country’
Asia
With India’s move to repeal Article 370, the historic dispute over land in Jammu and Kashmir has risen to a tipping point. While most of the focus has been on the potential of military escalation in India and Pakistan, there has been little focus on the third actor that
Agriculture
Located centimeters above sea level is the agricultural epicenter of the world’s sixth largest producer of rice and fourth largest aquaculture economy, which faces a challenge of global proportions. The Mekong Delta, the southernmost region of Vietnam, is fighting one of the most severe effects of climate change in
Asia
Economic pressure certainly stymies Iran’s economy, but also proves the narrative of revolution that sustains the regime.
Asia
In July 2019, Japan resumed [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48592682] commercial whaling for the first time in more than three decades, coinciding with its withdrawal [https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/12/japan-considers-leaving-international-whaling-commission/] from the International Whaling Commission (IWC). This decision has stirred controversy because many whale species are
Asia
The US State Department recently approved the sale of Aegis Ashore to Japan. If deployed, Aegis Ashore could destabilize East Asia by undermining Chinese nuclear deterrence. What is Aegis Ashore, and why does (some of) Japan want it? Aegis Ashore is the land-based component of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense
Asia
Amid the noise of the United States' engagement with China, Japan and South Korea have recently engaged in their own trade war. On July 4 of this year, while Americans were celebrating their own independence and freedom, South Koreans were reminded of their own colonial history as their neighbor and
Asia
China’s rapid industrial development has been against all odds based on conventional economic wisdom. In just 35 years, an economy of nearly a billion people has developed from local, agrarian society to the world’s industrial powerhouse [https://www.stlouisfed.org/publications/regional-economist/april-2016/chinas-rapid-rise-from-backward-agrarian-society-to-industrial-powerhouse-in-just-35-years] . And yet, despite their
Asia
"After a careful and thorough analysis of available facts, it is clear that the situation in northern Rakhine state constitutes ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya,” said US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on November 22, 2017. His statement came months after the August outbreak of violence from the Myanmar military
Science & Technology
Ten years ago, if you asked somebody what the greatest threat to liberal democracy was, they would probably say North Korea. Now, it’s online trolls. Considering the growing number of online news readers, technology has fundamentally changed the way individuals consume media. From pro-Trump sites run [https://www.wired.
Energy & Environment
The Mekong river stretches for 2769 miles [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/09/cambodia-lifeline-threatened-mekong-recedes-historic-190920072518567.html] through Southeast Asia, snaking from China through Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, and finally into Cambodia. The river’s water is undoubtedly valuable to all of its users. Yet, in Cambodia, the water is almost priceless.