Q & A Archive

Voting was so evenly split over Ecuador’s 10-question referendum last weekend that it remains too close to say which, if any, of the reforms pushed by the country’s 39-year-old president, Rafael Correa, will be drafted into law. According to reports yesterday, “yes” votes were within a half percentage point of “no” votes on the more controversial proposals calling for the dissolution and overhaul of the country’s judiciary and the creation of a government panel to police the news media. Some observers are saying the high number of “no” votes indicates a growing wariness in Ecuador toward Correa’s broader ambition to […]

May 1 marked the end of a transitional period for the European Union, after which all existing members were required to fully open their labor markets to eight countries that joined the union on May 1, 2004. In an email interview, Herbert Brücker, an expert in European integration at the Institute for Employment Research in Germany, discussed the opening of the EU labor market. WPR: What was the logic behind the labor market restrictions that were recently lifted? Herbert Brücker: According to the “2+3+2” formula, the European Union agreed to suspend free labor mobility for up to seven years for […]

The U.S.-China relationship may have reached its strongest footing of the Obama presidency, judging from high-level talks that came to a close in Washington yesterday. But some observers noted a palpable gap in focus between the two powers, with the U.S. addressing a broad agenda — ranging from concerns over the value of the yuan to human rights — and China more narrowly concentrated on issues pertaining to its sovereignty. The core of China’s agenda going into the Strategic and Economic Dialogue was a strategy of maintaining control “over their territory and their waters, and frankly their cyberspace,” says Patrick […]

In April, the leaders of Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Peru signed the Pacific Agreement, creating a new regional economic bloc. In an email interview, Augusto Varas, co-vice chair of the Advisory Board for the Latin American Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, consultant for the Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre and chairman of Fundación Equitas, discussed the Pacific Agreement. WPR: What was the driving force behind the Pacific Agreement? Augusto Varas: Latin American governments and the private sector have shown different levels of success in creating an enabling environment for business in the region, and, in some cases, […]

Myanmar was recently reported to have concluded its first set of international energy deals — with China, Singapore and South Korea — since the installation of a nominally civilian government late last year. In an email interview, Matthew Smith, a senior consultant for EarthRights International, discussed Myanmar’s trade and energy relations. WPR: What is the current state of Myanmar’s energy sector, and who are its major international partners? Matthew Smith: Myanmar — also referred to as Burma — is rich in natural gas, and its rivers have the region’s greatest potential for hydropower generation. Investment in the energy sector is […]

The clash between Coptic Christians and Salafi Muslims that left 12 people dead in Cairo over the weekend prompted a swift response from the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces that has run Egypt since February’s ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak. The violence represents a serious uptick in sectarian tensions within Egyptian society, and some are questioning the extent to which sinister elements from Mubarak’s fallen regime may be playing a role in it. “There is some concern, and there have been claims even that some of the things we’ve been seeing with regard to the sectarian clashes have […]

India and Pakistan recently renewed their dialogue over the countries’ moribund trade relations, with Pakistan indicating it is considering extending most favored nation status to India. In an email interview, Mohsin S. Khan, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a former director of the Middle East and Central Asia department at the International Monetary Fund, discussed India-Pakistan trade relations. WPR: What is the status quo of trade relations between India and Pakistan? Mohsin S. Khan: Trade between India and Pakistan is negligible, amounting to only $1 billion to $2 billion a year, reflecting very poor […]

Egypt’s military caretaker government played an important role in the new reconciliation deal between Hamas and Fatah, brokering secret talks that led to a breakthrough announced in Cairo. In an email interview, David Schenker, Aufzien Fellow and director of the Program on Arab Politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, as well as author of “Egypt’s Enduring Challenges: Shaping the Post-Mubarak Environment,” discussed relations between Egypt and Hamas and Fatah. WPR: What is the recent history of relations between Egypt and the Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah? David Schenker: Egypt has maintained strong ties with the Palestinian Authority […]

There’s an emerging consensus that, after a promising start, Turkey has had a bad Arab Spring. Anthony Shadid suggested yesterday in the New York Times that the unrest threatens Turkey’s newfound regional influence, while Steven Cook argued in Foreign Policy that the Arab uprisings represent a kind of “emperor has no clothes” moment for Ankara, exposing the hollowness underlying Turkey’s much-vaunted rise. I’d like to weigh in on this, especially since I recently flagged the Turkish Model as a promising foreign policy approach for Egypt, the Palestinians and the region in general. Clearly, Turkey miscalculated on Libya, as Cook makes […]

A new regional cooperation bloc to include every country in the Americas except Canada and the United Sates has received almost no coverage in the English-language media. Some observers, however, believe the Community of Latin American and Carribean States — CELAC for its Spanish acronym — represents the first step in a historic geopolitical shift away from an era dominated by pro-U.S. policies. “It’s a regional grouping for a new era really, which is no longer about free trade and neoliberalism,” says Alexander Main at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington. Foreign ministers from several of CELAC’s […]

India and Kazakhstan recently signed a series of energy deals during a visit to the Central Asian country by India’s prime minister. In an email interview, Emilian Kavalski, a lecturer at the University of Western Sydney, discussed relations between India and Central Asia. WPR: What is the recent history of India’s relations with Central Asia? Emilian Kavalski: In a nutshell, India’s recent relations with Central Asia have been motivated by a search for influence in what New Delhi considers to be its strategic neighborhood. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, India has pursued strategic depth not only to secure […]

With the debate raging over whether the Obama administration should release Osama bin Laden’s long-form death certificate, it seems like a good moment to point out that from an intelligence standpoint, we already know way too much about the operation that led to bin Laden’s death. The administration, which so successfully managed to maintain operational secrecy leading up to the mission, seems to have given no thought to the value of secrecy in its aftermath. The most obvious example is the revelation that, in addition to killing bin Laden, U.S. forces also made off with loads of valuable hard drives […]

The brief flare-up of fighting between Thai and Cambodian troops that killed 10 people last month was largely portrayed as a dispute over which country rightfully controls a Hindu-Buddhist temple that has stood along the border between the two for nearly a millennium. Close observers of the region, however, explain that the recent troop buildups and violence are actually the product of a primarily manufactured conflict driven by nationalists scrambling to maintain a hold on power in both countries. “Basically what you have here is a war of convenience between two governments that would both benefit from a skirmish that […]

Thailand intends to close camps housing 140,000 refugees from neighboring Myanmar, in a decision announced shortly after Myanmar installed a new nominally civilian government following recent elections. In an email interview, Renaud Egreteau, a research assistant professor at the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences, discussed the regional implications of Myanmar’s new government. WPR: Has the change in government affected domestic or foreign policies? Renaud Egreteau: If a new civilian structure has replaced the former junta — an army-controlled “State Council” as it has been known since 1988 — changes in modes of governance, political practices and […]

The U.S. Export-Import Bank recently approved a nearly $3 billion loan guarantee to a Colombian oil refinery, one of many recent moves by the bank. In an email interview, Gary Hufbauer, Reginald Jones Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, discussed the operations of the U.S. Export-Import Bank. WPR: What is the core mission of the U.S. Export-Import Bank and what are its principal activities? Gary Hufbauer: The core mission of the U.S. Export-Import Bank should be to promote U.S. exports of goods and services in circumstances where financing conditions make a difference. The bank carries out its […]

With arguably the most notorious manhunt of all time now over, many are reflecting on the emotional significance Osama bin Laden’s death carries for a generation that has come of age since Sept. 11. With the gravity of the development sinking in this morning, World Politics Review contributor Luke Hunt reminded Trend Lines that what bin Laden did “has dominated and dictated our lives professionally for more than a decade.” Another WPR contributor, J. Edward Conway had this to say: “When I found my way into the U.S. Defense Department after Sept. 11, I was met by a sea of […]

After digesting the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed by a U.S. Navy Seals team, my first thought was about how his death, and the manner in which it happened, highlights the tension between the visible and the invisible in terms of terrorism and counterterrorism. Terrorism must be tactically invisible in order to effectively plan and carry out attacks, but it depends on the high visibility of those attacks for any strategic impact. In almost a perfect inversion, counterterrorism employs highly visible tactical measures — the kind of “security theater” best-illustrated at airports — to reassure the public, […]