A government's legitimacy and sovereignty are not sacrosanct if it abuses its own citizens. Norms and values are even more important than international law to justify intervention to protect human rights.

Read full answer

Sheila A. Smith and Research Associate Charles T. McClean argue that U.S. interests are affected by all three of Japan's territorial disputes with its neighbors. While the United States cannot resolve these disputes, it can and should do all that it can to promote peaceful dispute resolution and a lessening of military tensions.

The East China Sea is a source of vital resources, especially fisheries and natural resources like gas and oil. Regional cooperation on fisheries conservation as well as joint energy development projects could go a long way to offsetting tensions over territorial disputes.

Read full answer

The National Assembly of Pakistan passed the resolution on April 12, 2012 and revised it on December 2012. The guidelines include policy on Pakistani airspace and territory and unmanned aerial vehicle (drones).

CFR's James M. Lindsay remembers the ratification of the Articles of Confederation and discusses the difficulty inherent in writing a workable constitution.

Following full UNESCO membership, Palestinians have increased efforts for statehood recognition, but the United States is continuing its push to bring them back to the negotiating table for direct talks, says CFR Mideast expert Robert Danin.

Steven Cook, Hasib J. Sabbagh Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations discusses the prospects and implications of the Palestinian bid for UN recognition of statehood. Cook cautions that "an American veto or American opposition to this declaration of statehood is likely to roil already intense and uncertain and unstable political environments throughout the region."

Mahmoud Abbas explains the significance of the UN Assembly Vote on Palestinian Independence.

Leslie H. Gelb discusses the potential consequences of an upcoming UN vote on Palestinian statehood.

Afghan security forces will start taking over some areas from NATO in July, but questions persist about the competence of those forces. Analysts say an effective transition requires emphasis on political reforms and anti-corruption measures.

Though the turmoil in the Arab world has "excited" most Palestinians, expert Rashid Khalidi says U.S.-led negotiations for a two-state solution has foundered and the U.S. block of a UN resolution on settlements could mean the negotiation process is "seeing its last days."

The International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty produced this December 2001 report, which aims to develop "global political consensus about how and when the international community should respond to emerging crises involving the potential for large-scale loss of life and other widespread crimes against humanity." This report forms the basis for the Responsibility to Protect principles.

The Sudan referendum now underway will likely result in the south's independence, but unresolved disputes and population shifts require the Obama administration's continued intense diplomatic and humanitarian engagement, says CFR's John Campbell.

The January 9 referendum on southern Sudan's secession is expected to go smoothly, but some experts caution that disputes over oil and land, and the south's volatility, could mean a violent transition.

Depending on how locals and outsiders react to events in Sudan, the secession referendum scheduled for January could trigger either the country's partition or a new explosion of violence.

Jerome A. Cohen and Jon M. Van Dyke argue that China must clarify the ambiguities over military activities in its seas.

New tensions in the South China Sea are a growing test to China's relations with the United States and China's Southeast Asian neighbors, writes CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick.

Foreign Policy's Barney Jopson reports on the current status of southern Sudan as it gears up for a referendum on southern self-determination due next January, in which the majority of southerners are expected to vote for secession.

John Prendergast explains why increased U.S. leadership is needed for an independence referendum in southern Sudan to succeed.

Hugh Pope reports on how Turkey and Armenia's promise to establish diplomatic relations on August 31 could restore Turkey's "prestige" as a regional peace-maker and place the nation one step closer to European Union membership.