The Korea Herald

[James Copeland] Democracy, the unending battle

Since its first conception, the idea of a liberal democracy has never been a settled one. Debate has raged. Churchill was cynical, “the best argument against democracy is a 5-minute conversation with the average voter,” while Plato was wary, “dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy.” And yet, in broad terms even democracy’s most dismissive critics who live behind her shield do not want to go back to the “bad old days” of kingdoms and dictatorships. In recent times we have seen how fragile

May 28, 2017

[Other view] Division over North Korea could have lethal results

Defiant North Korea challenged the international community again last Sunday when it tested yet another missile, and no one has yet discovered a clear way to stop tensions mounting on the peninsula. Two missile tests in as many weeks underscored Pyongyang’s resolve to ignore international warnings and concerns. It aims to achieve its stated objective at all costs -- the ability to strike back at any aggressors.The latest test -- the 11th this year -- likely involved a medium-range ballistic miss

May 28, 2017

[Noah Feldman] Lessons from Turkey’s slide toward dictatorship

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has dropped the final fig leaf of democracy, announcing this week that the state of emergency will continue until Turkey achieves “welfare and peace.” The state of emergency, introduced with some justification after the failed coup in July 2016, allows Erdogan to rule by decree, sidelining both the legislature and the constitutional court. By extending it indefinitely, Erdogan is making explicit what had been implicit for months: He’s now officially a dicta

May 26, 2017

[Noah Feldman] Lessons from Turkey’s slide toward dictatorship

[W. Raphael Lam, Alfred Schipke] Asian economy prepares for choppy seas

The outlook for Asia and the Pacific is the strongest in the world, but it is shrouded by challenges at home and abroad, according to the latest International Monetary Fund report for the region. The April 2017 report, Regional Economic Outlook for Asia and Pacific: Preparing for Choppy Seas, says policy stimulus continues to support strong domestic demand in China and Japan in the near term, which is good for other economies in Asia as well. Broader global conditions are also favorable. Growth

May 26, 2017

[Other view] When intel isn’t shared, criminals win

British police were justifiably furious when evidence from their investigation into the Manchester terrorist attack found its way into news reports. The leaks undermine the investigation and the confidence of victims and witnesses, whose cooperation is crucial.The immediate consequence is that Manchester police have stopped sharing information about their investigation with US officials, who are widely believed to the source of the leaks. That is bad enough. The more long-term danger is that the

May 26, 2017

[David Ignatius] Midterms as the ‘impeachment election’

President Nixon was heading for a big re-election victory in November that would confound his critics. He had just returned from a pathbreaking visit to China and had big transformative ideas for foreign policy. Yet he felt hounded by his enemies and a media elite that opposed him at every turn.　And there was that pesky FBI investigation into a “third-rate burglary” at the Watergate office building, about which the media were asking meddlesome questions. Nixon wrote in his diary after a later, r

May 25, 2017

[David Ignatius] Midterms as the ‘impeachment election’

[Leonid Bershidsky] Don’t let the original Trump-Russia question fade

The Trump-Russia scandal has changed. The latest leaks are all about President Donald Trump’s acute discomfort with the investigation into his 2016 campaign’s possible collusion with the Kremlin, not about the collusion itself. This is a dangerous bit of bait-and-switch: Soon, it may not even matter whether or not Trump or his associates accepted help from President Vladimir Putin or those working for him.　In 2002, a poll revealed that 65 percent of Americans didn’t remember enough about Waterga

May 25, 2017

[Leonid Bershidsky] Don’t let the original Trump-Russia question fade

[Gina Barreca] Manchester rises amid shattered innocence

Girls scream at concerts. Girls screamed for Frank Sinatra, for Elvis Presley, for The Beatles, for The Supremes, for Madonna, for Michael Jackson, for Prince, for Taylor Swift. Monday night, girls and their moms in Manchester, England, were screaming for Ariana Grande, a pop singer I’d never heard of until I saw the news alerts flashing on my computer.　Girls are not supposed to scream at concerts because a bomb has gone off at the back of the hall. Music fans, girls and boys, women and men, are

May 25, 2017

[Kim Kwi-gon] Korea should take the lead in 'fourth industrial revolution'

Korea used to be at the forefront of digital solutions, yet it has been reported that it is now far behind other countries in dealing with the "fourth industrial revolution," although it would be a golden opportunity to take advantage of the opportunities it offers. Fortunately, President Moon Jae-in has recognized the importance and value of the fourth industrial revolution, and promised to set up a Presidential Committee with a lot of expectations. It has been reported that the Committee aims

May 25, 2017

[Kim Kwi-gon] Korea should take the lead in 'fourth industrial revolution'

[Michael Mandelbaum] What NATO needs from Trump

As Donald Trump’s first foreign trip as president proceeds, the turmoil generated by his firing of FBI Director James Comey and the ongoing inquiry into his election campaign’s ties with Russia are following him. In none of the places he will visit will the events in Washington weigh more heavily than in Brussels, where he will meet with NATO leaders. Those American allies will be hoping for two things from Trump: reassurance that he is aware of the basic facts of European affairs, and signs tha

May 25, 2017

[Justin Fendos] What’s Russia’s angle with Pyongyang?

For those who have not noticed, Russia has steadily been increasing its cooperation with North Korea. The first major event happened in 2014, when Moscow moved to forgive about $11 billion worth of Soviet-era debt. Trade between the two nations has been on the rise and this month, a new ferry service began from Vladivostok, providing a cargo capacity of 6,000 tons each month. In April, it was even reported that Russian military equipment was being transported into North Korea. No matter how one

May 24, 2017

[Other view] Congo chaos: Another ‘president for life’ in this African nation?

Three recent disastrous events in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire, indicate that it may be approaching another meltdown point, not at all the first in its history. The highly contagious disease Ebola, the outbreak of which in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in West Africa in 2014 became a global concern, has reappeared, not for the first time, in northeast DRC, in the region of Kisangani, formerly known as Stanleyville. The second event, potentially catastrophic in its impl

May 24, 2017

[Kim Myong-sik] Moon’s discreet steps for post-election stability

Gallup Korea has assessed an 87 percent approval rate for President Moon Jae-in (saying he “will do well for the next 5 years”) in the second week after he took office on May 10. This high rate of endorsement for Moon, who was elected with 41.4 percent of votes cast in the May 9 election, is surprising. 　Pollsters and analysts attribute the figure to a number of image factors that portrayed a “real person” who breathes and works in the middle of the people, in contrast to his reclusive predecess

May 24, 2017

[Kim Myong-sik] Moon’s discreet steps for post-election stability

[Pankaj Mishra] Modi’s idea of India

Three years after he was elected, Prime Minister Narendra Modi looms over India’s political scene like no other leader in the country’s recent history. And his critics must explain why his mass appeal seems unimpaired, despite his increasingly authoritarian ways and growing failures.Modi is far from realizing his promises of economic and military security. Pakistan-backed militants continue to strike inside Indian territory. The anti-Indian insurgency in Kashmir has acquired a mass base; Maoist

May 24, 2017

[Other view] Two words for Trump haters: President Pence

Please stop trying to find ways to impeach President Trump, pleads Bob Hamilton of the Toronto Star, “As bad as Trump is, the United States could actually be in worse shape in the future if Mike Pence, his seemingly benign vice president, replaces him in the Oval Office. Indeed, Pence could well turn out to be a complete disaster as president for liberal-minded Americans. In sharp contrast to Trump, the former Indiana governor is a serious politician with extremist policy views that liberals ser

May 24, 2017

[Kim Ji-hyun] Moon’s off to a good start

Red, white and blue. Those were the colors I was taught to consider as most important when I was a kid living in the US back in the 80s. They are the colors of the American flag, the flag that symbolizes love and trust for the country. When I came back to Korea, it was odd to me how Koreans seemed to hold our national flag -- the Taegeukki -- in less regard. The sentiment seemed even more negative when it came to the presidents. It wasn’t until a long time afterward, after I had learned the hist

May 24, 2017

[Kim Ji-hyun] Moon’s off to a good start

[Mac Margolis] Brazil’s president should resign

You’d think Brazilians would be inured to scandal. After seeing one president ousted, the worst recession in a century, and the nation’s top moguls and political bosses tarred in a historic corruption probe, what more could go wrong?Silly question. Consider President Michel Temer, who was allegedly caught on tape blessing the payment of hush money to a political crony jailed in the giant “Car Wash” probe into political graft, and whose own job is now on the line.　Yes, Temer isn’t bending. With r

May 23, 2017

[Kim Seong-kon] How to read Harper Lee’s “Go Set a Watchman”

“Go Set a Watchman,” Harper Lee’s sequel to her seminal novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” received mixed reviews. While a few wrote favorable reviews, most reviewers expressed disappointment, especially when compared to “To Kill a Mockingbird.” It may not be undeniable that “Go Set a Watchman” lacks the exquisite quality of the first book. Nevertheless, it has its own strength and charm, especially in its theme. In “Go Set a Watchman,” Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, now 26, returns from New York City t

May 23, 2017

[Kim Seong-kon] How to read Harper Lee’s “Go Set a Watchman”

[Jonathan Bernstein] Only the Senate can unravel the Russia story

The obvious thing about the new special counsel named to investigate the Trump-Russia scandal is that US President Donald Trump entirely brought this upon himself -- first, by firing FBI Director James Comey, then by claiming it was all the Justice Department’s idea, and then by going on TV and linking it to the scandal.Of course, if press reports are correct and Trump had previously interfered with the investigation, then it’s even more a case of a self-inflicted wound. At the very least, Comey

May 23, 2017

[Zahid Hussain] China’s new world order

China recently hosted 29 heads of state and government at the Belt and Road Forum, reinforcing the country’s claim to leadership of an emerging geopolitical and economic world order. The summit conference that also attracted representatives of more than 40 other countries and multilateral financial agencies was the clearest expression yet of China breaking out of its old foreign policy mold that had restrained it from attempting a global role.China’s multibillion-dollar One Belt, One Road infras

May 23, 2017