[Robert B. Reich] Biggest threat to American sovereignty

“Without a border, we just don’t have a country,” Donald Trump says repeatedly. For him, the biggest threats to American sovereignty are three-dimensional items that cross our borders, such as unwanted imports and undocumented immigrants.He’s wrong. The biggest threats to American sovereignty are invisible digital dollars wired into U.S. election campaigns from abroad.Yet Trump seems to welcome foreign influence over our democracy.Sovereignty is mainly about a government’s capacity to govern. A

Aug. 15, 2016

[Andrew Sheng] Why do Chinese think differently?

We live in an age of science and technology, so strictly speaking science should be able to forecast the future and help us make decisions better.  But in this age of uncertainty, the best economic models did not predict the global financial crisis. How did the ancients attempt to make better decisions?   They relied on history, their own experience or oracles, astrology or mumbo jumbo.  In a situation of uncertainty, you make decisions on the basis of information that you have, and if don’t hav

Aug. 15, 2016

[Endy Bayuni] Asean has ‘One China policy’ in the South China Sea

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has survived its first serious test as a new community, one could even say with flying colours. Against all odds and predictions, the regional group this week came up with a common response to the ongoing maritime and territorial disputes that four of its members have with China in the South China Sea.The wording of a joint statement by their foreign ministers meeting in Vientiane on July 25 may not carry much weight to change the situation on t

Aug. 15, 2016

[Qasim Moini] Transnational terrorism and the IS brand

Many of the militias that were formed in Pakistan during this period, which drew recruits from Afghanistan itself as well as from Pakistan and across the Muslim world, spawned ‘jihadi’ successors after the Afghan campaign itself was over. Some of these were anti-India and Kashmir-centric, while others were virulently sectarian, taking aim at Pakistan’s sizeable Shia Muslim minority. The vast majority of the groups adhered to the Salafi/Wahhabi or Deobandi creeds.During the 1990s and beyond, thes

Aug. 15, 2016

[Mahfuz Anam] The challenge before Bangladesh

The Indian subcontinent was partitioned in 1947 into India and Pakistan on the basis of religion. Bangladesh was born 31 years later, in 1971, on the basis of nationalism, democracy and secularism. Democracy we lost first, in the mid-seventies and then in the early eighties, and are yet to recover fully. Secularism, which was on a gradual decline, now faces its most severe threat.As a freedom fighter, I remember, as I we sat glued to a one-band radio, on the evening of Dec 16, 1971, along with o

Aug. 15, 2016

[Peter Singer] U.S. Greens could benefit Trump

I’m a Green. I’ve twice been the Australian Greens’ candidate for a seat in Australia’s federal parliament. But on Nov. 8, all of the good that the Green political movement has done since it was founded could be outweighed by the Green Party in the United States if Jill Stein, its candidate for president, brings about the election of Donald Trump.We’ve been here before. In 2000, Al Gore would have become president if he had won Florida. George W. Bush won the state by 537 votes, while 97,241 Flo

Aug. 12, 2016

[Imanuddin Razak] Containing IS terrorist threat in Southeast Asia 　

It was indeed a big leap forward when the defense ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines reached an agreement on Aug. 2 to conduct coordinated patrols to combat piracy in their waters.The deal, which was made during the third trilateral defense ministers meeting in Bali, also includes a commitment by the three ASEAN neighbors to contain the spread of the Islamic State group’s movement in the region.The agreement is expected to immediately address the problem of abduction — mainly i

Aug. 11, 2016

[Richard Weitz] Better THAAD than dead

South Korea is moving forward with plans to deploy an advanced missile-defense system -- known as Terminal High Altitude Area Defense or THAAD -- in partnership with the United States Army. The decision by South Korean President Park Geun-hye has sparked controversy, with China and Russia objecting, and some commentators predicting the start of a “new Cold War.”But China and Russia should welcome THAAD, because it alleviates the need for South Korea or Japan to pursue other defense options, whic

Aug. 11, 2016

[Adam Minter] China just wants K-pop, soaps

South Korean soap stars are unlikely geopolitical pawns. But with the Chinese government furious over South Korea’s decision to host a U.S. anti-missile battery on its soil, that’s exactly what they’re becoming. In the past week, public appearances by Korean television and music stars have been postponed and even canceled in China, while shares in some of South Korea’s biggest entertainment companies have sunk over fears that the country’s cultural exports are now in the line of fire.The threat

Aug. 10, 2016

[Lee Jae-min] No more gifts and no more lunches

Come Sept. 28, Korea will see a drastic change (for the first time) in how people socialize and interact with government officials. Having survived the most recent challenge at the Constitutional Court, the controversial Kim Young-ran Law is set to enter into force on that day. This anti-corruption law is an ambitious legislation, ready to impose criminal punishment on government officials who respond to outside requests for favors or receive gifts or monetary equivalents from others. Unlike the

Aug. 9, 2016

[Kim Seong-kon] Time bombs ticking in our society

The world is not normal these days. Something has gone terribly wrong on planet Earth. Recently, the United Kingdom shocked the world by voting in favor of Brexit and the U.S. is displaying leanings that are a throwback to the isolationism of the 19th century.Even though this might only be the result of the vitriolic rhetoric of a presidential candidate and the die has not been cast yet, I have a hunch that there is a consensus among many Americans on this. American isolationism is disappointing

Aug. 9, 2016

[Joseph E. Stiglitz] Globalization and its new discontents

Fifteen years ago, I wrote a little book, entitled “Globalization and its Discontents,” describing growing opposition in the developing world to globalizing reforms. It seemed a mystery: People in developing countries had been told that globalization would increase overall well-being. So why had so many people become so hostile to it?Now, globalization’s opponents in the emerging markets and developing countries have been joined by tens of millions in the advanced countries. Opinion polls, inclu

Aug. 8, 2016