July 27, 2016
CubaThe motto of the American Bar Association (or ABA) is "Defending Liberty, Pursuing Justice." It should perhaps be revised to "Defending Liberty, Pursuing Justice, and Travel to Cuba." Right now t…
January 16, 2018
Southeast AsiaAs I noted late last year, 2017 was a disastrous year for democracy in Southeast Asia. Democratic rights and freedoms already have been in decline in Southeast Asia for more than a decade, but 2017 w…
June 27, 2013
CybersecuritySharone Tobias is a Research Associate for Asia Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. Earlier this month, Taiwanese Internet advocacy groups succeeded in shutting down an anti-piracy bill sim…
October 18, 2019
United StatesQuestions of legitimacy have long plagued the G7. The Trump administration's announcement of the Trump National Doral resort as the venue for next year's summit marks a new low.
October 18, 2019
U.S. Foreign PolicyTuesday night’s debate allotted just twenty-two minutes to foreign policy. It’s doubtful the audience came away from that brief conversation with a deeper understanding of what the candidates hope to…
October 18, 2019
ChinaA decision to remove environmental impact assessment requirements for some Shanghai construction projects embodies a trend of sliding environmental standards as China's economy slows. It also draws q…
January 31, 2012
NigeriaThis is a guest post by Asch Harwood, CFR Africa program research associate. Follow him on Twitter at @aschlfod. The National Endowment for Democracy’s Center for International Media Assistance (CIM…
October 17, 2019
NigeriaIn August, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered closed Nigeria’s land border with Benin, preventing the import of goods. The move significantly affected trade in foodstuffs. It is part of an effort to tackle smuggling and associated corruption, but also, apparently, to spur the domestic agricultural industry. On October 14, Nigeria ordered closed all of Nigeria’s borders with Benin, as well as those with all other countries, for the same reasons.
October 15, 2019
South AfricaThe Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S Treasury has formally sanctioned on October 10 members of the Gupta family and associates, who are members of a “significant corruption network in South Africa.” Under the sanction, all Gupta property in the United States is blocked and must be reported to OFAC.
October 17, 2019
TaiwanThe Fall 2019 Treasury Foreign Exchange Report should send a strong warning to Thailand, Taiwan, and Singapore that their current pattern of intervention in the market would put them at risk of futur…
