Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Consumption of natural gas is growing rapidly and now accounts for nearly one-quarter of the world’s energy supply. While natural gas is relatively clean compared to crude oil and coal, its ability to assume a greater role in meeting the world’s growing energy demands will depend largely on price.
In 2009, Armenia and Turkey began a historic rapprochement and signed two protocols on normalizing their relations. Unfortunately, the process stalled in April 2010. In an updated policy brief, Thomas de Waal argues that the protocols—the most positive initiative in the South Caucasus for many years—must be kept alive as the process still has the potential to transform the region.
As Islamist movements in the Arab world become more politically active, they are struggling to pursue their moral and religious agenda while navigating daily political tussles.
The Arctic is emerging as the world’s next hot spot for oil and gas development. As the melting ice cap opens new shipping lanes and makes it easier to access strategic energy reserves, countries are racing to gain control over the Arctic’s abundant natural resources. In a report, Dmitri Trenin and Pavel Baev offer a view from Moscow on what the opening of the Arctic means.
With global trade talks stalled and lower demand from major economies, regional trade agreements are emerging as a way for middle-income countries to increase trade, spur growth, and lower unemployment rates. In a new report, Alejandro Foxley analyzes how three regions—Eastern Europe, Latin America, and East Asia—are increasing trade within their borders and building a broader free trade system.
Unable to sustain solid growth, Pakistan’s economy is teetering on the brink of collapse, with one-third of the population living below the poverty line. S. Akbar Zaidi writes that without tax reform, Pakistan will continue to run an unsustainable debt and be forced to rely on Western donors for bailouts.
The “reset” in U.S.–Russian relations has come with closer cooperation on arms control, Afghanistan, and Iran. But as long as Russia’s system of personalized power rests on anti-Western principles, a true reset is unattainable.
Carnegie Europe announced a series of new research and policy initiatives that will foster fresh thinking on the regional and global issues that will shape Europe’s role in the world.
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace announced a new leadership initiative to develop a non-partisan solution for financing a better transportation system in the United States.
Taiya Smith, who managed the U.S.–China Strategic Economic Dialogue for Treasury Secretary Paulson, draws on examples from her experience to analyze the recent history of strategic dialogues and recommends steps Washington and Beijing should take to improve the broader bilateral relationship.
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace announced that the Bakrie Center Foundation will generously support a new senior associate to work on Southeast Asian issues, based in Washington, D.C.
An international team of experts has been brought together to discuss the prospects and opportunities for Russia’s future along key vectors. Draft materials have been posted for discussion on a special Russia-2020 website launched by the Carnegie Moscow Center.
Concerns are growing about China’s potential sale of two nuclear reactors to Pakistan. The United States should oppose the transaction in its current form and pressure China to reverse course.
Pakistan’s police force has historically been constrained by the military and intelligence agencies and often politicized as an instrument of repression against opposition groups. Reforming civilian security forces will diminish Islamabad’s dependence on the military and increase the legitimacy of the regime.
An uncontrolled collapse of the housing market is unlikely if Beijing can effectively cool speculative demand for housing. Still, China should remain wary of the potentially destabilizing social consequences associated with unaffordable housing.
Beijing’s focus on domestically developed products and services—if executed correctly—is a positive development. Adopting market-friendly policies that foster innovation could move China beyond its current policies, which stifle rather than encourage innovation. This will lead to an increase in wages and living standards in China and help build technological progress worldwide.
The international community’s understandable admiration for Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and his efforts to rebuild the West Bank obscures a dangerous regression in democracy and human rights.
In a new series of commentaries, Carnegie experts from Moscow, Brussels, and Washington take stock of the relationship, assess the challenges and opportunities for both sides, and provide a clearer view of what is—and what is not—possible for EU–Russian relations.
Contemporary Russia is experiencing a transformation of the values related to parenthood and child-rearing. The contributors to this issue of Pro et Contra investigate the evolution of approaches to child-rearing in the post-Soviet period and evaluate contemporary tendencies in the development of relations within the family.
Alexander Pikayev, our colleague and friend of many years, has passed away. Pikayev was a member of the Carnegie Moscow Center Research Council for many years.