Essays

Despite the grim obstacles and prospects, Palestine refugees refuse to give up. Giving them justice is essential for Middle East peace.

Engaging the Haitian Diaspora

By Tatiana Wah

Some 70 percent of Haiti’s skilled workers live outside the country. Tapping this important resource for economic development requires a better understanding of why they left and how they can effectively contribute to their homeland.

The Sinai Connection

By Lina Attalah

Thousands of African migrants have fallen prey to human traffickers in Egypt. Their tragic stories unfold a tale of a desert border region’s isolation and neglect, and a resulting descent into lawlessness.

Guests and Hosts

By Dawn Chatty

Iraqis have confounded Western expectations of refugee behavior. They did not leave their country en masse during the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Later when they fled sectarian violence, they refused to huddle in refugee camps. Arab traditions underpin a humane approach to asylum policy in the Middle East.

Congo Stories

By Sarah Kenyon Lischer

Conflict and population displacement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is portrayed as impossibly complex. There are four competing accounts, depending on which side is telling the story. Interpretation of history will always be contested. A more inclusive narrative can clear the way to constructive solutions.

Driven Out By Drought

By Vikram Kolmannskog

Millions of people are being forcibly displaced by sudden and slow onset disasters related to climate change. The problem: there is no international legislation providing a clear and secure basis for their rights and protection. A look at what this means for refugees in Kenya and Egypt.

Our Vietnamese Hearts

By Andrew Lam

Those who fled the Fall of Saigon in 1975 were refugees traumatized by wars and bound by old ways of life. In the United States, they built new lives in a country known for its fabulous fantasies, high-tech wizardry, and individualistic ambition. For many, the homeland is a destination, but no longer their destiny.

Rule of the Princelings

By Cheng Li

Xi Jinping received a strong mandate to govern during the 18th Party Congress of the Communist Party of China in November. Accelerating economic reform is clearly on his agenda. But how far will he move the country from authoritarianism to democracy?

Live, from Beijing!

By Ying Zhu

Gone are the days when China Central Television broadcast nothing but party propaganda. It is a modern media empire, operationally autonomous and fending off competition from a rising number of rival domestic channels. Now, like Qatar’s Al Jazeera, it is taking on the world. CCTV is a channel to watch.

A Long March into Space

By Joan Johnson-Freese

When Liu Yang became China’s first female taikonaut with the launch of Shenzhou 9 in 2012, it was yet another sign that the country is catching up with the United States in the conquest of outer space. Concerning the military motives behind China’s ambitious program, however, it’s time to separate wild speculation from valid conclusions.

Unhappy Neighbors

By Ngo Vinh Long

China is aggressively enforcing a self-declared zone of sovereignty in wide areas of the South China Sea. Its takeover of disputed islands and arrests of fisherman have triggered growing diplomatic and legal challenges to Beijing. Without a Code of Conduct for the contested waters, the region may become a new global flashpoint.

Tibet’s Voice of Realism

By Pico Iyer

The 14th Dalai Lama may be a Buddhist spiritual figure, but pragmatism is all that truly matters for him. He is a doctor of the mind, determined to locate the source of suffering and come up with a practical cure. As the author observed while traveling with him in Japan, it is a message that resonates far beyond Tibet and China.

Toward a New American Policy

By Daniel C. Kurtzer

The United States should develop a new, comprehensive policy and a sustained strategy for advancing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Amid growing skepticism about and opposition to Washington’s policy in the Middle East, a serious effort can have a transformative effect on U.S. standing and credibility.

Dealing with Iran

By Reza Marashi

President Barack Obama entered office in 2009 calling for a new approach to diplomacy with Iran. Yet, as he begins his second term, the U.S. and Iran are on the brink of a conflict that could engulf the world. A Memo to the President on how America can avoid war.

Lost in the Middle East

By Amaney A. Jamal

Washington’s response to the Arab Spring is to bolster secularists as a bulwark against the rise of Islamists. But the policy undermines the struggle for democracy. For a sounder approach, America should develop policies that address the sentiments and grievances of the man on the street.

Islamophobes

By Moustafa Bayoumi

For much of the U.S., the September 11 attacks transformed Muslim Americans from an invisible minority to a shadowy people to be feared. During the Obama presidency, civil rights conditions for the community have gone from bad to worse. The popular climate has become uglier. Something has changed in America.

A Deep, Deep Sleep

By Tom Kutsch

In the film The Dark Knight Rises, Batman once again saves Gotham City from ruin but at the ostensible cost of the superhero’s own life. It is a parable that explores fear and anxiety in the Age of Terror and forces Americans to confront truths about the violence in their land.

Outlook for Obamacare

By Katie Keith and Tanya Baytor

The Affordable Care Act of 2010 was a milestone in the long fight for health care reform in the U.S. But despite President Obama’s reelection, it is far from clear whether it will deliver on its promise. A close examination of the question of implementation.

Still Mightier Than the Sword

By Jonathan Guyer