5 Jul, 2022
China’s surveillance state and its meaning for us
China’s surveillance state and its meaning for us by Mel Gurtov 962 words The Tools of Surveillance In a recent...
5 Jul, 2022
4 Jun, 2022
The arsenal, but not of democracy
America is awash with weapons, and the tragic consequences are before us every day...
28 May, 2022
Biden, Taiwan, and strategic ambiguity
At a stopover in Tokyo during his Asia trip, President Biden was asked whether the US would “defend Taiwan” if it were attacked. He said yes, because “that’s the commitment we made.” Actually, there is no formal “commitment,”...
25 May, 2022
Omicron Catches Up with North Korea
After having proclaimed for more than two years that the country was untouched by the coronavirus, North Korea now faces a potential health catastrophe...
9 May, 2022
Imperial nostalgia and its perils
Although great empires rank among the most powerful engines of world history, they are also among the most dangerous, especially as they brood over their decline.
1 May, 2022
The coming Old New Order
A principal lesson of the war in Ukraine is that the Cold War never ended. German reunification, the Soviet Union’s collapse, new entries in NATO, democratic springs in Poland and Hungary, Ukraine’s independence, the removal of nuclear weapons from eastern Europe, including Ukraine—all these events once augured a new era in Europe.
14 Apr, 2022
Crimes of war
Crimes of war by Mel Gurtov 1351 words Mass Violence in Our Times In just the past few years, we...
20 Mar, 2022
An engagement moment for the US and China
One of the more interesting developments in Putin’s war on Ukraine is the retreat of China from full-fledged support of Russia.
7 Feb, 2022
China’s Careful Dance Around the Ukraine Crisis
Reports out of Washington suggest worry over a Russia-China partnership that would facilitate Vladimir Putin’s presumed ambition to absorb Ukraine and undermine the NATO-based European security system. So let’s examine that relationship to assess the US concern.
28 Jan, 2022
Let’s not allow the great powers to destroy the world
The vast destruction wrought by the atomic bombing of Japan in August 1945 should have been enough to convince national governments that the game of war was over...
14 Jan, 2022
Destroying Democracy: China in Hong Kong
On July 1, 1997 the United Kingdom formally handed Hong Kong over to China under an agreement that was supposed to give Hong Kong 50 years of autonomy: “one country, two systems,” Deng Xiaoping promised.
20 Dec, 2021
Downhill from the Summit for Democracy
The just-concluded Summit for Democracy was intended to be a rallying point for democratic and nearly-democratic states, with pep talks on confronting rising authoritarianism and building democratic institutions...
28 Nov, 2021
Ways you or your gamer kids can help battle censorship in China
Ways you or your gamer kids can help battle censorship in China by Sebastian Santos 811 words Freedom of speech...
18 Nov, 2021
Finding Common Ground with China
“It seems clear to me we need to establish some common-sense guardrails,” President Biden told President Xi Jinping in their November 16 virtual summit. Xi reportedly replied to his “old friend”...
11 Oct, 2021
Imagine a World with U.S.-China Cooperation
China, Biden, Xi Jinping, cooperation, confrontation, militarization, Taiwan, South China Sea, nuclear weapons...