As demonstrations across Iran subside under an unprecedented security crackdown, opposition leaders are hoping to turn protests into strikes and other acts of civil disobedience. Carnegie hosted leading Iran experts Ambassador Nicholas Burns, Abbas Milani, and Karim Sadjadpour to discuss the aftermath of the election and its implications for U.S. foreign policy in the region.
Though global economic activity is beginning to stabilize, it is too early to say that a sustained recovery has begun. Considerable risks remain that the healing process could be interrupted by new shocks. To mitigate these risks, policies must remain proactive.
China’s economic growth remains high in spite of the global recession. The Chinese government has already spent a great deal of stimulus money, but should strengthen its social safety net to protect manufacturing workers who lose their jobs as exports collapse.
Russia remains hobbled by an unfulfilled need to diversify its economy and to strengthen the independence of its economic and judicial systems. A global turnaround will not solve these problems.
The financial crisis has had a disproportionate impact on migrants, who are among the most economically and politically vulnerable of the world. Host country governments should resist calls to expel foreign workers and instead extend them the protection of social programs.
As the most immediate and serious threat to the arctic region, minimizing the environmental impact of climate change and resource development must be a top priority, according to a report from the Carnegie Endowment, the University of the Arctic, and Dartmouth College.
Much of what President Obama promised in his historic speech in Cairo will take a long time to fulfill. Henri Barkey identifies one issue where Obama's influence could be used for immediate and important results: resolving the Kurdish question in Turkey and northern Iraq.
Kuwait must enact further electoral and constitutional reform to break the country’s longstanding political paralysis, explains Nathan J. Brown. Continued gridlock could lead the emir to override the constitution and dissolve the parliament, dealing a major setback to democracy in Kuwait and the region.
Grigol Vashadze, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, speaking at Carnegie, discussed the United States–Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership, which affirms cooperation between the two nations on democratic reform, security, energy, and trade.
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