International Political Will

Almost a full eight years into the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, there are still three institutional sources of violence in the country: the Taliban, the warlords, and the foreign occupation. Each of these institutions feed off each other, generating a vicious cycle that Afghanistan appears unable to break.
The only winning strategy in Afghanistan is reconstruction. [...]

Japanese society is, as so many have put it, a contradiction. Its conformity seems at times to clash with its penchant for outlandish individuality.  Its social welfare system that has virtually eliminated poverty doesn’t jive with the (uber)-polite homeless people in some big cities. The top-notch education system doesn’t explain the country’s protective isolationism, nor [...]

Everyday in Mumbai, 10 people are killed on the local trains.
But no one is demanding seat belts or railroad crossing guards.
In India, diarrhea and water-born illness accounts for 20% of all child deaths under the age of 5 (double the rate in Zimbabwe), and only 50% of urban areas have proper sanitation.
Yet no businesses and [...]

Foolishly, for years I assumed “globalization” meant the spread of ideas, commerce, communication, and interaction between people around the world. I thought the shared experience of movies, fashion, and eventually language could overcome cultural and religious differences. I believed that it signaled a new era for mankind – that people would have friends in different [...]