United Nations

John Ikenberry and Anne-Marie Slaughter recently proposed that the U.S. create an organization made up of the world's liberal democracies, "Concert of Democracies," that would serve as a souce of legitimacy for the use of force outside of the United Nations. In a recent TPM Cafe piece, New America's Michael Lind argues this would serve only to allow a hawkish U.S. President to get weak states to rubber-stamp an unpopular was such as in Iran.

Book TV (4/21) interviews Steve Coll about his new book, The Bin Ladens.
The Washington Post (4/20) asks Flynt Leverett's opinion of UN Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad.
The Moderate Voice (4/19) quotes Daniel Levy on Israeli roadblocks as an obstacle to peace.
The Telegraph (4/19) reviews Parag Khanna's new book, The Second World.
The New Republic (4/18) follows Stephen Clemmons debate on the US response to the Beijing Olympics.
The Daily Yomiuri (04/17) features Steve Clemons analyzing Hillary’s Beijing boycott call.
PBS (4/17) speaks with Afshin Molavi about Iran's contemporary politics and culture.

This Saturday, the Taiwanese go to the polls. Among the items on the ballot is a referendum on whether the country should join the United Nations under the name Taiwan. (Its membership as China ended in 1971).

China opposes the referendum, arguing that Taiwan should be part of China. Countries all over the world, including the United States, are siding with the Chinese. The Wall Street Journal, that supposed champion of "free people and free markets", writes admiringly of how China's "quiet" campaign to line up a coalition of countries opposing the vote. It is one thing to argue for a no vote on the referendum -- but quite another for democratic countries to argue that the people of another democracy should not be able to vote on a key national question.