Asia

This article is adapted from Parag Khanna's book The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order.

The term "second world" has fallen out of use. It used to mean countries of the socialist world; today I use the phrase to refer to those countries in eastern Europe and central Asia, Latin America, the middle east and southeast Asia which are both rich and poor, developed and underdeveloped, postmodern and pre-modern, cosmopolitan and tribal -- all at… more

For two centuries Asians have largely been bystanders in world history, reacting to surges of Western commerce, thought, and power.

Now former United Nations Ambassador Kishore Mahbubani -- whom Foreign Policy magazine ranked as one of the top 100 public intellectuals in the world -- declares that era is over and the West must embrace rather than resist this structural shift.

Video of this April 28 event is available at right. For more on Mahbubani, his book and the arguments he… more

Is America’s policy toward South Asia likely to change during the next U.S. administration? Whether the Republican John McCain or the Democratic contender, be that contender Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, wins the White House in November, U.S. policy toward South Asia is more likely to be shaped by the continuation of present trends than by radical new departures.

Unlike Europe, East Asia and the Middle East, South Asia has never been treated as a region of vital interest to the… more

Interview on The Second World (WTOP Radio, DC)

Author Parag Khanna discusses foreign affairs and his new book, "The Second World," with WTOP Radio in Washington, DC. Please find the transcript below, and audio of the interview linked as an attachment at the bottom of the page. Visit WTOP.com for more news.

WTOP: A lot of people call the United States the last remaining superpower. But what if there are others, all fighting for the… more

Jakarta wants weapons. Lots of them.

Right after Valentine’s Day, Indonesian Air Force officials met with their U.S. counterparts to discuss “bilateral defense cooperation.” On their wish list were Lockheed Martin’s F-16 fighters and C-130 Hercules tactical transport planes. There will be more defense talks in April between the two countries as they step up military cooperation.

The United States and Indonesia “normalized” military relations in 2005, ending a 10-year period during which Jakarta was essentially barred from receiving most… more

Anyone who reads the serious press about the condition of the US might be excused for believing that the country is headed towards a series of deep crises. This impression is exacerbated by economic slowdown and by the presidential primaries, in which candidates announce bold plans to rescue the country from disaster. But even in more normal times there are three ubiquitous myths about America that make the country seem weaker and more chaotic than it really is. The first… more

Turn on the TV today, and you could be forgiven for thinking it's 1999. Democrats and Republicans are bickering about where and how to intervene, whether to do it alone or with allies and what kind of world America should lead. Democrats believe they can hit a reset button, and Republicans believe muscular moralism is the way to go. It's as if the first decade of the 21st century didn't happen -- and almost as if history itself doesn't happen.… more

The view that sometime during this century a “changing of the guard” will occur, when China will displace the United States in much the same way as America did Britain, is widely held. It unites liberals and conservatives, optimists and pessimists, most of whom accept the proposition that “the East is back”, with China leading the pack. The debate is over when the shift will happen and what a world that currently bears an American stamp will look like after… more

Social investment policies – policies that pursue both economic and social development – are increasingly shaping strategies for growth in both developed and developing nations. In January 2007, the Republic of Korea implemented a series of innovative policies, with a particular emphasis on investments in children. Informed by similar policies in the UK, the US and Canada, the Korean Minister of Health and Welfare, His Excellency Simin Rhyu, has now established a Child Development Accounts (CDAs) policy. These… more

The United States is bogged down in what appears to be an unwinnable war in Iraq; it is facing very unpleasant options in regard to neighboring Iran’s nuclear program; senior NATO officers say that the situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating fast; in the former Soviet Union, Georgia and Russia are moving toward military confrontation, with the U.S. seemingly unable to restrain either; in large swaths of Latin America, new nationalist and populist movements are challenging U.S. interests.

And now the totalitarian… more