Latin America is poised to assume a starring role in the governance of international trade, with a Brazilian having been selected to lead the World Trade Organization and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) set to enter its 17th round of talks in Peru later this month. Many hope an agreement on...

Over the past decade the Philippines' sovereign credit rating oscillated between "negative" and "stable", reflecting concern about the ability of the government to collect sufficient tax revenue, manage its budget, and sustain a high rate of GDP growth. Three years ago, President Aquino embarked on a long overdue path to...

Over the past decade the Philippines' sovereign credit rating oscillated between "negative" and "stable," reflecting concern about the ability of the government to collect sufficient tax revenue, manage its budget, and sustain a high rate of GDP growth. Three years ago, President Aquino embarked on a long overdue path to...

For the first time since 1957, the outcome of the national elections was not a foregone conclusion in Malaysia. Yesterday's electoral win for Prime Minister Najib Razak and his ruling coalition (Barisan Nasional, or National Front) was confirmation that the majority of Malaysians fear change and prefer the devil that...

Cyprus was all the indication the markets needed that 'bailout frenzy' is far from over in Europe. Slovenia appears to be next. The country has long been hailed as a success story of the EU enlargement process, entering the Union in 2004 in robust fiscal health. Rising productivity and industrial...

Mexico's President Nieto was handed a poor set of cards when he assumed power last December. His predecessor, Felipe Calderon, was brought down by a bloody war against the drug cartels that led to more civilian deaths than the total number of U.S. troops killed in the wars in Afghanistan...

The Kremlin has certainly not been subtle in opining on what is at stake on the Korean Peninsula, stating earlier this month that a military conflict there could make Chernobyl "seem like a child's fairy tale." The characterization serves to highlight what is at stake for Pyongyang and Seoul, but...

As a failed state, the Central African Republic (CAR) is today more a plot of territory than a functional nation. Last month's coup served to reemphasize its history of instability and political violence, and has ushered in a new era of uncertainty. The country's impoverished people are victims of geography,...

Although the restoration of ties between Israel and Turkey is welcome news for both countries, it is premature to gauge how close Jerusalem and Ankara will become given their continued conflicts of interest. The 'thaw' in bilateral relations is likely to be slow, with the two countries' divergent objectives in...

Co-written by Sam Lucas

It has become common to refer to the fragmentation and destruction of a state into smaller, often hostile regions, as "Balkanization," having occurred with enough frequency in recent history in countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq that the term has become localized. Indeed, "Afghanistanization" and "Iraqization"...

Although all of Syria's neighbors have been negatively impacted by the country's crisis, Iraq's sectarian tensions and the religious, historical and cultural bonds between Syrians and Iraqis connect the two states' political fates. While many of Iraq's Sunnis support the Syrian opposition, Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki continues to lend considerable...

News of the 10-billion-euro bailout for Cyprus should not be cause for celebration. An ambiguous plan has been put forward to restructure the country's banking system and the effective expropriation of depositor funds will continue. Yet global stock markets have, as usual, risen on the news that the ECB has...

Uhuru Kenyatta's disputed election to the presidency of Kenya earlier this month raises a host of questions regarding its legality, Kenyatta's indictment at the International Criminal Court (ICC), and whether Kenya will become isolated as a result. As Kenya becomes increasingly important in the regional fight against militant groups such...

Forget everything you've ever heard from the European Union policy elite about the sanctity of the Euro and forget ECB President Mario Draghi's statement last July about doing "whatever it takes" to save the Euro. This week's actions by the "Euro Elite" have clearly demonstrated that neither is true. The...

The announcement last week by Defense Secretary Hagel that the U.S. will, over the coming months, deploy additional anti-ballistic missile interceptors in Alaska and on America's west coast is not really what it is being portrayed as -- to counter the perceived missile threat from North Korea. North Korea has...

Tens of thousands of Bulgarians have held protests across their country over the past month. Their grievances range from a poverty rate above 22 percent, skyrocketing utility costs and rising unemployment, to cronyism and corruption. The self-immolation of four demonstrators and violent clashes between protestors and police underscore the rising...

Although Afghanistan's president would like the world to perceive him otherwise, Hamid Karzai finds himself in an untenable position. As the U.S. prepares to withdraw the majority of its remaining troops, the country's security forces remain woefully unprepared to assume responsibility for the country's security, corruption remains endemic, and many...

While income inequality has been falling globally since the 1980s, it has been rising in most of Europe. The Gini Coefficient, a widely used measure of income inequality, has risen since that time not only in Eastern Europe, but among Europe's wealthiest societies. Austria, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway and Sweden...

For more than a year now the focus of U.S. foreign policy toward Syria has been on how to arm the Syrian rebel movement, with an orientation on the short term. This has contributed to a stalemate in the conflict, with neither side having sufficient power to overwhelm the other....

With Hugo Chavez having now passed, the question of who will inherit his legacy as the vanguard of 21st century socialism in Latin America is foremost in the minds of many. With Chavez now out of the picture, and the Castro brothers in Cuba not far behind him, Ecuador's Rafael...