China and Taiwan seek to increase economic exchanges by allowing individuals to travel from Mainland China to Taiwan. Pakistani and Indian foreign secretaries are set to meet in Islamabad. Sudan and South Sudan reach Abeyi deal, and Syria’s Assad makes new promises to reform. All this in today’s s
A seething revolt across much of Syria is being met with ferocious repression by the Ba’athist government’s security forces. But so far, the two cities where close to half of Syria’s population lives - Damascus and Aleppo - are relatively calm. In this evolving situation, what are the prospects fo
Where is Cuba heading more than a half-century after the revolution, and how is Raúl Castro's political strategy balancing the forces around and imperatives of reform? The long-postponed sixth congress of the governing party makes the answers clearer, says Antoni Kapcia.
A protest in another of China’s ethnically mixed regions highlights both Inner Mongolia’s singular history and the Beijing government’s political neglect, says Kerry Brown.
Pakistan is too often portrayed in flawed and reductive ways that flatten its complexity and offer misleading guidance to policy-makers. This makes it all the more important to acknowledge some difficult truths about the country, says Anatol Lieven.
The third successive victory of Turkey’s ruling party confirms its domination of the country’s political landscape. But a close study of the AKP's evolving methods of rule reinforces grave doubts about the direction of Turkish democracy, says Gareth Jenkins.
Italy’s opposition has wounded Silvio Berlusconi. But it is still far from removing the prime minister - and even further from healing Italian democracy. Here, the case of Dominique Strauss-Kahn offers important lessons, says Geoff Andrews.
Barack Obama’s hopes of a second term are still bright. But twin policy crises and Republican stirrings are clouds on his re-election horizon, says Godfrey Hodgson.
The United States's narrative of progress against the Taliban faces uncomfortable realities on the ground - and unexpected resistance in Washington.
China's development of a space programme threatens to increase Sino-US tension as the latter's dominance of space, with all its military and commercial potential, is undermined.
From policy reports and academic studies, to computer games and television mini-series, Central Asia is routinely portrayed as overwhelmingly dangerous. Does it matter that serious analyses dovetail with fictional accounts? John Heathershaw and Nick Megoran argue that it does, because it indicates
