Governance

Barren Ground for Democracy

What we are witnessing in Iraq is a legacy of history and geography catching up with America.

U.S. Slows Bid to Advance Democracy in Arab World

When Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and other senior American officials arrive at a summit meeting in Morocco next week that is intended to promote democracy across the Arab world, they have no plans to introduce any political initiatives to encourage democratic change.

9/11 Panel Members to Lobby for a Restructured Congress

Members of the commission are turning their attention to changing what they described as lawmakers' "dysfunctional" oversight of spy agencies.

The Turks Accede

Opening official membership negotiations for Turkey to join the European Union represents a victory for human rights over the politics of ethnicity and religion.

Zhao's Death Puts China in Quandary

The country's Communist leadership convened a series of emergency meetings to manage the consequences of the death of Zhao Ziyang and to confront the legacy of the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square. (By Philip P. Pan, The Washington Post)

House Passes Tightening of Laws on Immigration

The main provisions of the bill block states from issuing standard drivers' licenses to illegal immigrants and make it easier for judges to expel asylum seekers.

When the Right Is Right

The Democrats should roll up their sleeves and get to work on some of the issues the Christian right is tackling.

All Justice, Too, Is Local

Why international courts are about politics, not law.

Saudi Arabia: For women, votes are keys to the kingdom

Mona Eltahawy writes in the International Herald Tribune that Saudi leaders facing pressure from religious conservatives to keep women from voting should stop "sacrificing women at the altar of hard-line Wahhabi clerics" and ensure voting rights for women by 2009. Eltahawy adds that while many Gulf countries afford such rights, three U.S. allies in the region -- United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait -- are the only Arab countries in the region "without suffrage for women." International Herald Tribune (12/5)

Nepal's King Ousts the Government and Declares an Emergency

King Gyanendra also suspended the constitutional freedoms of press, speech and expression and the right to privacy.

A Trip Through China's Twilight Zone

One Woman's Quest for Truth In the Authoritarian Maze

Riot Police Called In to Calm Anti-Japanese Protests in China

Mass demonstrations against Japan turned unruly late Saturday afternoon, with scattered vandalism and confrontations with the riot police intensifying.

On Guard, America

The House's Real ID bill represents a setback for one of the nation's bedrock principles: sanctuary for the persecuted.

World 'ignoring' war torn Darfur

Despite this week's historic peace agreement between the Sudanese government and southern rebels, ethnic fighting in the western Darfur region continues, a tragedy Human Rights Watch says in a new report undermines the international commitment to prevent genocide. The report particularly condemns United Nations Security Council members China and Russia for blocking action against Sudan in the interest of oil, and calls for punishment for those involved in committing atrocities in the International Criminal Court. BBC (1/14)

Class-Action Lawsuits

The real objective of the Republicans' tort reform is to dilute the state laws that protect consumers and the environment.

Developing countries must prepare for participation in market economies, UN says

When the new Commission for Africa -- which was created by U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair and aims to identify ways to help the continent -- meets next week in London, senior United Nations officials on the panel plan to push for more aid in line with the Millennium Development Goals. The MDGs aim to battle a range of global problems, including famine, poverty and gender inequality in education, with significant progress by 2015. Click here for a UN press release in which Deputy Secretary General Louise Frechette says one way poor countries can advance is to better enable their people to participate in market economies.

A Morsel of Goat Meat

Many black Zimbabweans say they would prefer the oppressive white rule of the 1970's to Robert Mugabe's government.

An Immigration Experiment Worth Watching in Spain

If Spain's new naturalization system works, it could become a model for other countries struggling with the demands of labor and the need to have secure borders.

Group Criticizes China for Rights Abuses in 2004

The 15th annual world report from Human Rights Watch is highly critical of human rights violations in China, which it calls a repressive state that seeks to control the spread of information and remains engaged in "widespread official corruption, party interference in the justice system and a culture of impunity for officials and their families." Chinese officials perennially dismiss such reports as biased and political. The Boston Globe (1/14)

A Requiem for Reform

The demise of Social Security reform exemplifies what's wrong with contemporary politics.

World Bank: Good governance key to growth

Poor countries can significantly boost their people's income by upholding the law and cracking down on corruption, the World Bank says in a new report. The World Bank, which looked at social and economic trends in more than 200 countries, pointed to six factors for good governance: voice and accountability, political instability and violence, government effectiveness, regulatory burden, rule of law and control of corruption. The Washington Times/United Press International (5/9)

Nation's Inmate Population Increased 2.3 Percent Last Year

While the crime rate has fallen over the past decade, the number of people going to prison and jail is outpacing the number of inmates released.

An Assertive Scientific Advisory Group Challenges Federal Policies

The National Academy of Sciences has recently shown a welcome independence streak by criticizing some policies of federal agencies and the White House.

Get Real

In America's foreign policy, pragmatists have replaced fantasists.

Issue in China: Many in Jails Without Trial

Locked inside more than 300 special prisons are an estimated 300,000 inmates who have been stripped of any legal rights.

Why Corporate Governance Doesn't Work Like it Should

The late-1990s stock-market bubble and subsequent wave of corporate scandals show corporate governance does not work as advertised.

Over Before It Started

The demise of Arthur Anderson serves as a stern reminder to corporate America that prosecutors can bring down corporations simply by indicting them on serious charges.

The Cleanup Continues

The settlement between regulators and the insurance giant American International Group should not obscure the higher goal of an honest corporate environment.

Truth Telling on Zimbabwe

A New York Times editorial commends the candid special report of UN-HABITAT Executive Director Anna Tibaijuka on recent forced evictions and demolitions in Zimbabwe that have left more than half a million people homeless in the dead of the southern African winter. As many African leaders remain silent on the issue, Tibaijuka, the top-ranking African woman at the United Nations, has shamed their lack of condemnation with her "unflinching honesty," the Times writes. The New York Times (free registration) (7/26)

Waiting for a Leader

George W. Bush gave one of the worst speeches of his life Wednesday, especially given the level of national distress and the need for words of consolation and wisdom.

Disclosure in the Information Age

Republicans and Democrats have trouble agreeing on anything these days. But leading thinkers in both parties have one simple notion in common: Citizens should be able to find out easily who's lobbying their elected representatives.

United States of Shame

W. drove his budget-cutting Chevy to the levee, and it wasn't dry. Bye, bye, American lives.

Enron Happens

Can Enron happen again? Yes. Does this mean our corporate governance system isn't doing enough to deter fraud? Not necessarily.

Groundswell of Protests Back Illegal Immigrants

Rallies supporting immigrants have brought crowds that have astonished even their organizers, including more than a half-million demonstrators marching in Los Angeles.

One Step Forward

"BREAKTHROUGH" is a word that should always be used with extreme care, at least when discussing immigration reform. Nevertheless, it may be warranted: The Senate Judiciary Committee, which had been bogged down for several weeks trying to produce an immigration bill, appears to have reached a... (The Washington Post)

Follow the Chopsticks

China is to be commended for using regulatory levers and economic incentives to curb its appetites.

Bush Is Facing a Difficult Path on Immigration

Many Republicans object to the president's call for a guest-worker system, insisting that the focus be on stopping illegal immigration.

Senate Republicans Agree on Immigration Bill

Wide Bipartisan Support Would Break Logjam.