It would be a stretch to think that ASEM can foster any kind of benign diplomatic triangle between the EU, Russia, and Asian powers. However, ASEM may survive as an interesting mix of debating club, retreat and venue for bilateral meetings.
The wide-reaching consensus around the normative and instrumental value of accountability, transparency, participation, and inclusion remains less solid than enthusiasts of these concepts might wish.
If Ukraine is allowed to become a failed state, the consequences for Europe will be serious, even dire. Making sure that Ukraine keeps itself warm this winter is an absolutely necessary step.
The main players in the Ukrainian crisis must take urgent steps to avoid the danger of a big war.
The failed unipolar world is being replaced with a polycentric world order based on several major centers of power. Russia can become a full-fledged global center of power only if it moves to a high-tech economy and implements democratic reforms.
The IMF, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization are now in rapid and unmistakable decline, which can only be reversed by a major shift in approach by their political masters.
Globalization has integrated the global economy and lifted billions of people out of poverty. However, it has also dispersed global political power and has strained the existing world order.
No issue in international development is as important, or vexing, as the relationship between governance and development.
In Asia, leaders are gathering at a number of multilateral meetings. India has joined some of these groups and can make meaningful contributions if it focuses on shared interests and capabilities.
Putin is a distraction with which NATO is ill-prepared to deal.