Global Socio-Politics

The fundamental question is not whether we should support Israel or Palestine. It is whether we should support human rights for all, or for a few.

Boycotting the Olympics is actually counterproductive; it will strengthen the very forces that human rights activists are railing against. Let's not lend credence to the case that the West or the world cannot be trusted; let's engage China with an eye to changing their policies, rather than treating them as a geopolitical pariah.

The parallels between Suharto-era Indonesia and modern Malaysia are striking. If we are to condemn the errors of Suharto's regime, how can we escape acknowledging our own mistakes?

If a state has been historically non-Western in its values, rejecting human rights and the rule of law, will it always stay that way, even if democracy comes along?

It is a mistake to simply assume that democracy is equivalent to the will of the majority, since this could easily mean that every government in the world is democratic. The fundamental aspect of democracy is that it permits peaceful change, as opposed to the stagnation of more authoritarian forms of government.

The only way we can explain the differences between groups of people — the different crime rates, different poverty rates, and so forth — has to involve some discussion of culture. The resulting conclusion would demand government action, if we expect governments to fight crime and reduce poverty. But can governments shape culture? Whether or not that is so, the fact is that we certainly can, and should, because culture matters.

Because of the internet, we are slowly moving to a time when for many, the concerns of someone halfway across the world will matter more than the concerns of someone across the street.

Is democracy the cause of development, or a result of it?

Sanctions work only when the people of the target country know what they're missing out on.

Despite holding reasonable views on issues such as civil rights and trade, the former Mayor of New York has much more questionable positions on questions of foreign policy.

We know there must be compromise on the subject of Israel and Palestine, but how can we reach it as long as we continue stereotyping and labelling the other side?

Unfree trade agreements propagated by the United States run counter to economics.

A nation should not be defined on an accident of birth such as race. A nation ought to be a grouping of people with shared, common experiences.

The United States may not be a pure democracy, but relative to other nation states, it is one of the most democratic.

Is the United States economy on the verge of collapse? Conspiracy nuts say yes; logic says no.