By Anna Kawar, staff editor The Celtic Tiger has fallen and can’t get up. Unfortunately this one can’t be chalked up to overdoing it on the Guinness – the Irish government has formally applied for a financial rescue package upwards of $100 billion. This comes after months of insisting that it can handle its own finances, going so far as to prepare a four-year plan to reduce its deficit to 3% of GDP, down from 32%.
“You do not curse away the darkness of the night; you illuminate your area by holding up a light.” -Terry Sanford
All in International Policy
By Agustina Laurito, staff editor Today is International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, an opportunity to reflect on the efforts, accomplishments and obstacles toward ending violence against women. As part of those efforts, the international community and national governments have adopted legal standards against gender violence. Despite the different instruments, lack of adequate enforcement and implementation has often resulted in tragic failures to protect women from violence.
By Maureena Thompson, staff editor Combating increasing terrorism is of utmost concern in Pakistan. Yet the country’s neglected and suffering educational system is of equal threat to its long-term stability. As reported this month by the New York Times, many public schools purposefully bombed by the Taliban have yet to be rebuilt by the Pakistani government. Replaced by large tents with no air conditioning or running water, classrooms in these poorest of affected regions are lacking in supplies and rife with student frustration.
By Mike Burrows, staff editor President Obama’s announcement last week of US support for a permanent Indian seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has reignited some debate over the future of the UNSC, both in terms of its membership and its role in international affairs. A more representative UNSC is a good idea, and probably inevitable as rising powers like India assert themselves on the world stage. But the issue of Kashmir requires resolution before India should be allowed into an elite club designed to promote peace, security, and other such friendly notions.
By Ying Shi, staff editor Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said the U.S. is intent on strengthening American leadership in Asia and the Pacific and called for greater cooperation with China on regional challenges. Clinton outlined a plan of “forward-deployed” diplomacy throughout Asia, involving work on economic issues, bolstering regional security and promoting democracy. If the U.S. is seeking to promote democracy in China, a mutual understanding of the historical roots of democracy is necessary in resolving the problems of today.
By Patricia J. Liever, staff editor Following last month’s UN Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), there has been increasing coverage of the impending failure of developed countries to reach their lofty goals by 2015. Critics have suggested amending the goals, replacing them with something a bit more realistically achievable. By suggesting this, critics disregard one of the central purposes of the MDGs: uniting those passionate about development under the banner of ending global poverty.
By Jamie Attard, staff editor Africans must often bear the painful consequences of war wounds, injuries, cancer, AIDS, and childbirth without any relief. In an article titled “A lot of pain,” the Economist reported on September 30, 2010 that Africans today have limited access to morphine and other painkillers. A number of existing organizations could take the lead in providing these desperately needed medicines.
By Jenny Orgill, staff editor Cram schools known as buxibans are contributing to the widening education gap between the wealthy and the poor in Taiwan. The richer the family, the better the buxiban they can afford. Thus, a rich child attending the same public school as a poor child will have a much better chance to obtain a good university education because of the quantity and quality of "buxi" that his or her parents can afford.
By Jade Lamb, staff editor Unions thought that President Zuma’s inauguration last year would bring them a renewed power in government negotiations, and found instead that little changed. The rejection of the government’s offer indicates that the unions are not interested in compromise, which will probably result in the government either meeting demands or making some other kinds of concessions. As a power play, striking may be pretty effective in demonstrating strength in the short-term, though as a tactic for improving education and healthcare in South Africa, it leaves a lot to be desired.
Nina Hachigian and Mona Sutphen met while colleagues at the National Security Council under the Clinton Administration. Hachigian is currently a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress specializing in U.S. foreign policy, U.S.-China relations, and international institutions. She received her B.S. from Yale University and her J.D. from Stanford University. Sutphen, a former U.S. diplomat, is now serving in the Obama Administration as Deputy Chief of Staff. She earned a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College and her M.Sc. from the London School of Economics. With such diverse experience in and exposure to foreign affairs, these authors are especially qualified to recommend policies for the U.S. to thrive in the 21st century.
By Daniel B. Kobayashi Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) carried the 2008 election by using wireless telecommunications and an elaborate system of poll monitoring to establish an alternative political narrative. Zimbabwe’s ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party, whose complacence allowed MDC to establish this narrative, responded by violently rigging the presidential runoff. While Zimbabweans had challenged ZANU-PF’s electoral authoritarian regime largely without external assistance, ZANU-PF’s monopoly on force and willingness to use violence against the population kept President Robert Mugabe in office. One year into a power sharing agreement that saw ZANU-PF retain control of state security organs, new elections are under discussion, and ZANU-PF will likely rig them violently. In order for Zimbabweans’ votes to have any chance to trump ZANU-PF’s guns, the international community—especially the African community—and regional civil society must back free elections through a combination of targeted sanctions, African-led condemnation, and perhaps international criminal charges against the regime.