It's hard to be an optimist these days...

This week we have seen several reports of extreme violence in Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan. While this is sadly not far from the ordinary, the latest explosion in Iraq that left 700 wounded and over 130 dead is a sobering reminder that peace is still a ways off. It also casts doubt on whether the US will be able to withdraw as early as they had hoped.

I bring up Afghanistan largely because of the latest story from the New York Times which alleges that President Karzai's brother is being paid off by the CIA. In response, Joanna Nathan of Foreign Policy argues in an online article that this is really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to US intervention and encouragment of corruption.

Iraq's Worrisome Political Process - CFR.org

No End in Sight - The Economist

An Election Under Siege - The Economist

Afghanistan in Crisis - A series of articles from The Nation

Data speaks louder than words

In my International Political Economy class the other day we watched this video off of TED. It is of Hans Rosling, a researcher in Sweden, who has created this fabulous website: gapminder.org. This presentation was so interesting because of the way he uses graphics and data to change our conception of the developing world vs. the developed world. While there are several of his talks on TED, this one was a good starting point. If you want to see more, skip to about the middle of his 2009 presentation to see some new stats on aids, child mortality and his assessments of the "bottom billion."

At right you see a graph I made on gapminder.org comparing life expectancy and CO2 emissions. Click on it to go watch the video progress from the early 1800s onwards.

General Research Links

As registration gets under way in the next few weeks, many of you will likely have already decided on which committee you wish to join and are now merely waiting for a country assignment. Luckily, there is lots of non-country-specific research that can be done right now! I thought you might find it useful to see some of the sites I regularly look to when preparing these blog posts or looking for further information on topics we discuss in class, etc. These are all sites that you can access freely, although in the future we may see if we can distribute papers accessible only through the University. Please feel free to add any sites you find useful in the comments!

Wikipedia - Obvious, but if you know nothing about a topic it often points you in the right direction and has useful links

UN.org - Another obvious one. You can find information on committees, topics and sessions as well as links to key UN documents. Also check out the UN News Service.

World Fact Book - Basic Country Briefings from the CIA. Similarly, the US Department of State also has country reports plus topic briefings.

Economist.com - Covers a broad range of topics in an engaging manner (plus they have their own specially designed typeface for maximum readability!)

The BBC - I like the BBC because they create lots of additional features like interactive timelines that can bring you up to speed on a situation quickly

Reuters, CBC, Al-Jazeera, New York Times, Washington Post, Globe and Mail, MSNBC, CNN, etc. - Choose at least one news outlet (or newspaper) and regularly check it. These sites all have search features so you can find related articles.

Google News - Or, if you're lazy and aren't picky about your sources, there is Google News which is useful for getting a wide range of opinions or takes on current events.

Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy - Two big American magazines which include the work of scholars, politicians and journalists to cover any number of subjects. Foreign Affairs contains much lengthier articles whereas FP tends to be shorter and their website is much more interactive.

International Crisis Group - Excellent reports on crisis regions

World Politics Review - Offers daily commentary on international affairs, national security and foreign policy (particularly US)

Global Policy Forum - GPF is a website that "monitors the work of the United Nations and scrutinizes global policymaking." Its wide range of articles provides thoughtful analysis and will help you to situate topics within global debate.

openDemocracy - Free articles on world issues, politics, etc.

Frontline - PBS hosts tonnes of 1 hour documentaries on a myriad of topics including the financial crisis, the war in Afghanistan, and Hugo Chavez

Think tanks such as Brookings also have interesting articles covering American foreign policy in particular, although each has their own ideological slant. As do hybrid news sources like The Huffington Post.

Hopefully you find some of these links useful as you begin to research your topics. Read critically, with an eye towards which countries or viewpoints are being favored and you will be rewarded in debate!

Violence in Pakistan

As Pakistan heats up it will be interesting to watch how this changes relations in the region. The US and its NATO allies have long been pushing Pakistan to deal with the insurrgents along the Afghanistan/Pakistan border. Finally, Pakistan has made a strong commitment and we are now seeing people flee the region ahead of fighting as well as increasing violence against security forces already in place.
Many feel that bringing the Taliban under control in Pakistan is essential to 'winning' the war in Afghanistan. I say 'winning' because by this point it has been openly acknowledged that victory will likely turn out to be substantially different than what NATO leaders first hoped. As citizens in NATO countries continue to demand that their troops be brought home, bringing the situation in Pakistan under control could go a long ways to boosting confidence in the region and back here at home.

Ireland Ratifies the Lisbon Treaty - What Does it Mean to the EU?

Ireland held a referendum for the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, which will change the foreign policy and presidency structures of the European Union. Some people fear that it will put too much power into the hands of a single individual (the permanent president) while others believe the treaty will allow the enlarged EU to operate effectively.

Information on the EU and the Lisbon Treaty:
EU in Slides
Treaty of Lisbon (text)