You’re astride a donkey, and it’s not going anywhere. You’ve got carrots in your pocket and a stick in your hand. Which to use? In the ideal world, the donkey would take a few steps forward to get the carrot that you dangle in front of its nose. If it slows down or gets distracted… Continue reading Bait and Switch
On Oct. 3, with the fall semester in full swing, the dining hall at Georgetown Law School was packed with students slumped over bookbags and laptops. Squeezed among their plates and papers were tabletop displays announcing that the day’s meal was part of an “Eat Local Challenge” that required the school’s chef to create a… Continue reading The Challenge Facing Local Food
The risk of war on the Korean peninsula remains high, and the U.S. government is raising it higher by opening an economic front. In September 2005, one day after regional negotiations produced an agreement with the potential to defuse North Korean-U.S. tensions, the U.S. government charged North Korea with counterfeiting $100 bills. Calling this alleged… Continue reading Sanctions and the Road to War on the Korean Peninsula
The movie Good Night, and Good Luck depicts how journalist Edward R. Murrow took down the most dangerous U.S. demagogue of his era with a simple, yet elegant, act of annotation. Murrow played excerpts on his CBS news show of Senator Joseph McCarthy’s speeches about the “Communist menace” and then refuted the charges. The lies… Continue reading Don’t Mourn, Annotate
Thousands of young people with long hair and studded tongues pay good money several dozen times a year to listen to lectures about genocide. Well, “lecture” is perhaps not the best way to describe Serj Tankian’s delivery. The tall lanky Tankian, who has cascades of curly hair and looks like the long-lost offspring of Frank… Continue reading Headbangers against Genocide
The headlines this week will be all Iraq, all the time. President Bush will unveil his not-so-secret plan of a military “surge” to rescue Iraq from all its other disastrous surges—in civilian deaths, pervasive violence, and unemployment. FPIF analyst Dan Smith, in Bush to Iraq: More War, argues instead that “Congress needs to act as… Continue reading Nuking Iran
Capitalism and democracy go together like … like what? Peanut butter and jelly? Or a fish and a bicycle? The leaders in Beijing are happy to eat their peanut butter sandwiches without jelly. Since launching economic reforms in the late 1970s, the Chinese government has promoted rapid economic growth but without much in the way… Continue reading Iron Fist Economics
“Covering the Mekong,” Foreign Policy In Focus, December 29, 2006 “All Talk,” World Beat, December 18, 2006 “China’s Multilateralism or U.S. Bilateralism,” Inter Press Service, December 14, 2006 “China and the Uses of Uncertainty,” Foreign Policy In Focus, December 13, 2006 “Political Football,” World Beat, December 11, 2006 “China: What’s the Big Mystery?” Foreign Policy In Focus, December 4,… Continue reading 2006 Archives
Korean Quarterly, Fall 2006
Washington vs. Pyongyang: War or diplomacy? In this analysis of US policy, John Feffer shows how Bush’s combination of uncompromising negotiating positions, strong rhetoric and firm containment measures has served to accelerate North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme instead of ushering in the de-nuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. Unfortunately, Republican reverses in the recent US… Continue reading Washington vs. Pyongyang: War or Diplomacy?
The controversial musical Yodok Story played for three nights in the Washington, DC area. I saw a performance only a couple days before Pyongyang announced its nuclear test. It might seem that these two events occupy the opposite ends of the North Korean experience. The North Korean government has defied the international community and tried… Continue reading Yodok Story and the Bomb
The Mekong River–which translates to the “mother of all rivers”–starts in the mountains of Tibet, flows through China’s Yunnan province and then into Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. It’s an extraordinary region, home to 250 million people and some of the most dynamic and troubling developments in the world. In the vivid new… Continue reading Covering the Mekong
The regional status quo in Northeast Asia appears to have self-destructed over the last few years. North Korea has announced that it possesses nuclear weapons and, with its most recent test, may have kicked down the door to the nuclear club. Japan has already stepped out from under its “peace constitution,” and it is no… Continue reading China and the Uses of Uncertainty
North Korea’s decision to return to the negotiating table is a win-win-win situation, at least temporarily. The United States, China, and even North Korea gain from the announcement. However, the boost given to each country—a modest “October surprise” for the Bush administration, a diplomatic achievement for China, and a stronger negotiating position for North Korea—will… Continue reading North Korea Returns to the Negotiating Table
The United States and the Republic of Korea (ROK) have enjoyed a close alliance for more than a half century. When South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun met with George W. Bush in November 2005, an official White House statement summed up the relationship between the two countries: “The two leaders agreed that the alliance not… Continue reading American Apples, Korean Oranges
According to a popular joke in Cuba, recounted in Jon Lee Anderson’s recent New Yorker article, the elderly Fidel Castro receives the gift of a baby Galapagos tortoise. He turns it down on learning that the animals sometimes live for over 100 years. “That’s the problem with pets,” Castro says. “You get attached to them, and then… Continue reading The Dictator’s Dilemma
China has embarked on a vigorous policy of engagement with regional institutions in Asia. From the steppes of Central Asia to the resource-rich waters of Southeast Asia, Beijing has implemented its own version of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “good neighbor policy.” But this playing-well-with-others approach has presented China watchers with an intriguing riddle. Is China’s new… Continue reading Chinese Multilateralism or U.S. Bilateralism
Many foreign policy challenges lie ahead for Japan’s new prime minister, Shinzo Abe, but his most pressing concern is much closer at hand: North Korea, especially in the wake of its declaration of a nuclear test on Oct.9. Since then, Japan has been lobbying for strong United Nations-backed sanctions and implemented even stronger unilateral measures.… Continue reading North Korea Tops Abe’s Agenda
As the world’s most populous country and the fourth largest economy, China has undeniable global influence. Chinese President Hu Jintao’s meeting this week in Washington with U.S. President George W. Bush, their fifth in little over a year, further underscores Beijing’s central role on the global stage. China’s growing influence is felt perhaps most strongly… Continue reading China Turns Charm Offensive on Southeast Asia
Japan Focus, September 18, 2006 Introduction Access to food is a basic human right. For several decades, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) prided itself on meeting the food needs of its population, although it has little arable land. Like many socialist countries, North Korea emphasized this success—along with high literacy rates, an equitable… Continue reading North Korea and the International Politics of Famine
Racism versus Sexism in Japan John Feffer All the business journals are talking about the revival of the Japanese economy. For the last four years, the economy has been steadily growing. Toyota is hiring, consumers are spending, and the government of Junichiro Koizumi is consequently enjoying high approval ratings. Japan’s economic renaissance is… Continue reading Racism vs Sexism in Japan
The Contradictions of Kaesong John Feffer I admit that the issue of North Korea has scrambled my political compass. Ordinarily, I oppose nuclear power as an expensive, even dangerous source of energy. But I support civilian nuclear power plants in North Korea as part of a deal to end the current standoff. Usually I… Continue reading The Contradictions of Kaesong
Sovereignty Matters John Feffer It is a relatively poor country, but the people who live there are proud of their long history and rich culture. Aside from mining, there are few profitable enterprises, though recently casinos have begun to attract outsiders. Nevertheless, the country’s government values its independence and uniqueness. Even more important than… Continue reading Sovereignty Matters
Immigration Nation? John Feffer The fifteen Cubans thought they had made it to the United States. In early January, they sailed in a homemade boat from Cuba and reached an old bridge on the southern tip of Florida. According to the U.S. immigration policy known as “wet foot, dry foot,” Cubans who reach U.S.… Continue reading Immigration Nation
Cartoon Fundamentalists John Feffer The recent brouhaha over the Mohammed cartoons seems, on the surface, to pit liberals against fundamentalists. On the one side are the defenders of such liberal values as free speech and freedom of the press. On the other side are an intolerant bunch of extremists who refuse to budge an… Continue reading Cartoon Fundamentalists
FPIF, November 13, 2006
FPIF, September 15, 2006
Inter Press Service, November 8, 2006
Munhwa Ilbo, November 21, 2006
FPIF, October 10, 2006