http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/rss/16 This feed contains all new The World Today articles on the Chatham House website. http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1925/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1925/ The euro is weathering its first global crisis. Some see threats to its very existence, to its banks and from inflation. A policy of wait and see will not do, action is needed now. Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:09:18 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1924/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1924/ On the verge of crucial mid-term elections, President Felipe Calderon's struggling government is facing the fallout from the swine flu epidemic, unabated drug violence and the country's third economic crisis in as many decades, the worst in the western hemisphere. Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:08:17 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1923/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1923/ Smaller states selling to the highest bidder; not a distant Cold War memory, rather a new reality in Central Asia. And for good measure, as he shakes hands on a new deal with Russia the president of Kyrgyzstan gives his people the chance to renew his power. Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:07:00 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1922/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1922/ Preparing for the first visit by United States President Barack Obama, Moscow sees the global recession not only in economic terms, but also as a sign that the political and ideological predominance of the west is withering. Despite itself being severely affected by the meltdown, Russian leaders sense the right moment to launch ambitious new policy proposals on pan-European security and energy. While the Kremlin might be right in assuming that, stricken by crisis, Europe is open to new ideas, its schemes are not a real alternative. It is also unclear, whether Russia is prepared to play by the rules it so actively promotes. Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:05:17 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1921/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1921/ This year was meant to herald the end to the carbon-intensive global energy system. Instead of sending unmistakable signals to the global markets that change is imminent and inevitable, the climate negotiators gathering in Bonn last month did just the opposite. Two weeks of talks resulted in several hundred pages of negotiating texts. The already complex politics of climate negotiations is now burdened with the kind of technical and beggar-thy-neighbour haggling that has stalled many trade talks. Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:04:13 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1920/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1920/ Is the election promised for next year the best opportunity for change in Burma, or a cynical attempt by the military to hold onto power? Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:02:58 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1919/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1919/ Next year, Burmese will vote in their first national elections for twenty years. The process is deeply flawed, but it will represent the most important political shift for a generation. The international community must seize this rare opportunity to induce the government to move towards greater openness and reform. Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:02:01 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1918/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1918/ Once presidential elections are out of the way in Iran, there may be a window of opportunity for a new policy to end the thirty-year standoff with the United States. Europe negotiated with Tehran for some two years until 2005, during the longest freeze in its nuclear activities. There are important lessons for Washington in any new initiative. Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:00:34 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1917/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1917/ Time will tell if President Barack Obama's speech in Cairo on June 4 is remembered as a landmark in relations between America, the Middle East and Muslims around the world. One thing it should achieve in the short term is to reassure those who think he is opposed to democracy promotion. Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:58:57 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1916/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1916/ President Barack Obama's Cairo speech has been hailed around the world. It struck just the positive tone needed to embark on a 'new beginning'. And against the predictions of many commentators he did not duck the 'democracy' issue. Of course, the president said little about how the United States will endeavour to support democratic reform in the Middle East. Having raised expectations, he will be conscious that failure to deliver will engender huge disappointment in the region. Nevertheless, the speech has put the issue of international democracy back on the agenda. Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:57:52 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1915/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1915/ The battle of wills played out on the streets of Tehran since the presidential election is a contest for the soul of the Islamic Republic. Hard-liners may have overreached in their wish for democratic approval; public protest at the failure to protect their votes is all too evident. It is a monumental miscalculation resulting from intoxication with power. Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:56:35 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1914/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1914/ In these difficult economic times job vacancies, particularly some paying up to $350,000, are welcome. So which male politicians - there are no women candidates so far - are being lined-up for the various presidencies ofEurope? Tue, 19 May 2009 14:13:38 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1913/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1913/ If the United States, China and the European Union do not commit to a programme in which their overall carbon dioxide emissions fall rapidly soon after 2020, continue falling for the rest of the century and then stay low forever, we are probably not going to avoid dangerous climate change. But China in particular can probably only make that commitment if it is able to keep on using coal for as long as necessary, while at the same time making the required big cuts in carbon dioxide emissions. The only way to do this is carbon capture and storage: geosequestration. Tue, 19 May 2009 14:11:42 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1912/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1912/ In April, British Energy Secretary Ed Miliband announced that new coal-fired power plants would be required to capture and store carbon dioxide. The speech was more nuanced than that, of course, and important details are yet to be worked out. But that is the practical consequence. It was an extraordinary announcement - the first industrialised country to make such a commitment. Why now? And what are the implications for the future of coal and the future of renewable electricity, in Britain and across Europe? Tue, 19 May 2009 14:10:22 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1911/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1911/ What image would China like the world to remember as it takes a more prominent place? Would it be Beijing's smiling leaders at the G20 summit, last year's Olympic Games, investment in Africa, its navy back on the high seas, or trouble in Tibet? And what of those disturbing moments when tanks faced pro-democracy protesters? How does China see its rise in international influence? Tue, 19 May 2009 14:07:32 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1910/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1910/ Over the last six months with the global financial crisis at a peak, the G20 summits in Washington and London have eclipsed the Group of Eight (G8) - an elite club of industrialised countries often accused of being a talking shop. This year Italy presides over the G8, but the signs are that nothing much of substance will come from its summit in July and we may have to wait for Canada's presidency next year to assess the relevance of this international grouping. Tue, 19 May 2009 14:03:58 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1909/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1909/ The campaigns have begun with the approach of the Italian G8 summit in July. Africa focussed charities such as Oxfam, Save the Children and One are kicking into gear with press releases and advocacy drives. News articles are starting to appear lifting and downplaying expectations by turns. Aid targets pop up in novel places - sports coverage and art exhibitions - to get the message out. Given the experience ahead of the recentG 20 summit in London, these campaigns promise to be eve nmore professional than usual. But is this the right approach? Africa may now be able to help itself quite differently. Tue, 19 May 2009 14:02:03 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1908/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1908/ Keeping almost a quarter of the world's population healthy through a global economic crisis is no easy task, but the governments of China and Russia are supported by new reform schemes. Their success matters to us all, not least because of the ease with which infections spread internationally. Tue, 19 May 2009 13:59:48 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1907/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1907/ The world has been preparing for over half a century to deal with possible pandemics. The latest flu virus burst on the public conscience after a host of cases - and some deaths - in Mexico. International spread was rapid and levels of anxiety higher. Plans laid now will decide whether generations to come fare so well. Tue, 19 May 2009 13:58:03 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1906/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1906/ Elections are divisive, pitting parties against each other in the pursuit of power. In Afghanistan the presidential poll could increase conflict too, with the Taliban exploiting easy targets and the risk of fraud high and rising. If things do go wrong, the shockwaves could cross the border into Pakistan where the Taliban toxin has been spreading. Tue, 19 May 2009 13:52:35 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1905/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1905/ No American President has ever enjoyed global good will in the way that Barack Obama does. He is not only young, deeply liberal, and idealistic, but everything he has said and done so far promises to bring back order, and a measure of sanity, to a world that is now in total disarray. The world cannot, therefore, afford to have him fail. But failure may be staring him in the face in Afghanistan because, despite a substantial change in approach, the 'new' strategy he unveiled on March 27 continues, in some of its essentials, to bear a striking resemblance to that of his predecessor. It therefore risks meeting the same fate. Tue, 19 May 2009 13:49:54 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1904/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1904/ Lebanon is about to elect its fourteenth parliament since independence sixty-six years ago. But practice is notmaking perfect as the country's only militia, Hezbollah, has succeeded in undermining the political system and turning the state into an irrelevant and hollow institution. Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:12:40 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1903/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1903/ Iranian politicians are dusting off their résumés for the presidential election. And, in at least one case, there has been plenty of time to accumulate dust, as yet another political comeback beckons. Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:11:18 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1902/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1902/ Hardly had the world got used to the idea of a modern-day rush for Africa by resource-hungry, newly developing countries,when the global crisis called the process into question. So where does this leave growth on the continent? Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:09:21 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1901/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1901/ The Council of Europe has become the conscience of the continent. When the ten founding states signed the Treaty of London sixty years ago, each agreed to 'accept the principles of the rule of law and the enjoyment by all persons within its jurisdiction of human rights and fundamental freedoms'. Since then the Council has developed into a pan- European organisation encompassing forty-seven states, all subscribing to the founders' high ideals. But practice does not always live up to principle in an organisation that reflects deep continental rifts. Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:07:48 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1900/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1900/ Moscow has tried to lure them back into its sphere of influence, now the European Union is to launch a partnership programme for six post-communist countries. The best result would be for them to become a bridge between the two. In any event, energy is the issue. Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:06:31 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1899/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1899/ Europeans have been able to vote for their own parliament for thirty years. The June election is the seventh, yet at the end of last year,more than two thirds of potential voters could not name the date for their next trip to the ballot box. In Britain the don't knows were even higher, reflecting a view that such elections matter little and change less. Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:05:00 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1898/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1898/ Three governments have fallen, the middle classes are feeling the pain, there is even fear of the emergence of dark forces. Is Eastern Europe in for a torrid time as the economic crisis bites? Can the once magnetic attraction of the European Union counteract the other factors at work? Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:03:39 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1897/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1897/ To most of Europe, the Republic of Moldova has been a zone of unhappiness rather than interest. Since the election of communist President Vladimir Voronin in 2001, the dominance of governing clans has further corroded the country's political and economic life, but not in away to make Europe question the government's democratic credentials. And so it was after the parliamentary elections ofApril 5, when the qualified endorsement of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europewas read without amurmur by almost everyone except the political opposition in Moldova itself. It worries about an authoritarian outcome and stormclouds on the international horizon. Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:01:50 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1896/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1896/ Fewer burning forests,more biofuels, new oil wells, Brazil could position itself for a key role in this year's crucial climate change talks. A good move some would say - even if long delayed - for a country that played host to theEarth Summit seventeen years ago, which set off the whole environmental process. Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:00:04 +0100