Afghanistan: dynamic and risk , Paul Rogers
The war in Afghanistan - the opening shots in the war on terror declared after the attacks of 11 September 2001 on the United States - was launched on 7 October 2001. Seven years on, there is no end in sight (see the two-part retrospective published on 25 September and 2 October 2008). The realisation that this is the case is causing anguish and intense debate in western capitals. Three different views are now circulating in Washington and London in particular about the best way forward in... more »
Iranians' interrupted freedom, Nasrin Alavi
Fariba and her daughter Ava have travelled from Sari (near the Caspian coast) to Maydon Shoosh in working-class south Tehran to buy a dinner-service for Ava's wedding trousseau. They are determined to pick up a bargain today as a lot of the Shoosh shopkeepers personally import the china that is distributed and inevitably sold on at a higher price in the provinces.
Nasrin Alavi is the author of We Are Iran: The Persian Blogs (Portobello Books, 2005). She spent her formative years in... more »
China's last long march, Jeffrey N Wasserstrom
When commentators contrast the current situation of the People's Republic of China (PRC) with that of earlier periods in its history, they typically use a straightforward "then and now" schema that takes the Mao Zedong era (1949-76) as the key reference-point. They note, for example, that:
* Mao denounced capitalists and consumerism, but the Communist Party he led now lets entrepreneurs join and China's cities have mega-malls
* Mao reviled Confucian thought, but... more »
Loot: a New Orleans crime story, Jim Gabour
"We've an emergency. Call me back as soon as you get this."
There was a serious-sounding message on my cellphone's voice mail as I left the university late Wednesday afternoon. My partner's voice had used the word "emergency". Even though I am not adept at the combination of driving and phoning, that word required that I call back from the car as I sped cross-town toward home. Faun answered. "The house has been robbed. I walked in while... more »
Washington and Latin America: farewell, Monroe doctrine, Juan Gabriel Tokatlian
There is a major paradox in current United States-Latin American relations. In the very decade which many saw as the apex of Washington's latest and unrivalled "imperial moment", the Monroe doctrine - the notion, outlined by the US president in 1823, that the US regards any attempt by other powers to exercise influence in the region to its south as "dangerous to our peace and safety" - has collapsed.
Juan Gabriel Tokatlian is at the Universidad de San Andrés in... more »
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