It's week 27 on our editorial calendar, Photo: Leo Reynolds/flickr
This week the ISN takes a closer look at the following topics:
On Monday, ISN Insights examines the potentially dark shadow of government overreach in its efforts to regulate the cyber sphere, courtesy of the University of Lucerne’s Jonas Rey.
We introduce a new information platform on Tuesday – thebook syllabus – to point you in the direction of cutting-edge literature on the topic of energy and security.
On Wednesday, CEPR co-director Dean Baker opines about central banks and budget deficits in ISN Insights.
Read-up on Yemen in our country profile on Thursday.
And our Friday podcast with the Graduate Institute’s Thomas Biersteker tackles the topic of public-private partnerships.
Last weekend Fareed Zakaria devoted a short segment of his program, Global Public Square, to some startling news: in the Pacific island nation of Samoa, there will be no 30th of December this year. Samoans will go to sleep on Thursday the 29th and awake on Saturday the 31st. The country is set to hop the International Date Line, moving from 11 hours behind Greenwich to 13 hours ahead of it.
Samoa’s Prime Minister noted in May that the move would be good for tourism—as, since neighboring American Samoa will remain on the other side of the line, “people wanting two birthdays or two wedding anniversaries can travel to Samoa and have them.”
More significant benefits are associated with the underlying shift that the move reflects. As Zakaria tells us, while the east side of the date line was originally preferred for its closeness to the Americas, Samoa now conducts most of its trade with Australia and New Zealand, which at present are almost a full day ahead—an inconvenience indeed. Hopping the date-line is an attempt to adjust to this new economic reality.
But ever since the need for a Line was demonstrated on a Thursday afternoon in 1522 – when Magellan’s Victoria sailed into Cape Verde with a ship’s log showing Wednesday – many countries have seen the benefits of toying with the Line.
It’s been almost a month since the 9th International Security Forum (ISF) came to a close. In case you need further political inspiration and don’t want to wait until the next ISF, here’s a brief list of upcoming international events for your calendar.
Since 1999, the Cannes Water Symposium has become a key International Forum on various issues related to water, the sea and sustainable development. The 13th annual conference will take place in the Palais des Festivals in Cannes and will gather professionals, scientists and political decision-makers — all specialists on Water and the Environment. The conference will comprise scientific and technological workshops on 1) developing innovative and clean harbors and waterways, 2) sanitation, and 3) water quality and health.
“The EU as a Global Actor” is an international conference held by the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy in cooperation with other leading organizations. The conference aims to consider the political, economic, and cultural development of the European Union, both as a regional organization and as a key player in global affairs. It aims to explore the challenges and opportunities facing the EU with respect to internal reform and growth, while also reflecting on the roles and responsibilities the organization faces on the global stage.
The 7th International Internet Law & Politics Conference (IDP, Internet, Derecho y Política), will focus on the current Net Neutrality debate and its consequences for the development of the Internet from both legal and political standpoints.
This illustration highlights the disparity between China’s per-capita income and its aggregate income in comparison with other countries.
China is not a superpower, said Major General Pan Zhenqiang, deconstructing one of the “myths” about his country. A retired officer from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and deputy chairman of the China Foundation for International Studies, Pan Zhenqiang talked at the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at ETH Zurich last week. He was also a guest of Vivian Fritschi of ISN Podcasts. In his talk Pan said that China is a poor developing country. Is he right? Or is China a superpower, after all? The answer to this question depends on whom you ask.
Chinese leaders themselves perceive their country as a developing one with a number of paramount domestic challenges. The largest share of China’s population lives in rural, underdeveloped areas and there is a large urban-rural income gap. And although China’s per capita income has been increasing at a remarkable pace – it grew more than threefold over the last decade – it is still comparatively low. To anyone familiar with rural China, it is obvious that this is in fact a developing country. But that’s only one side of the coin: even though China is a poor country in per-capita terms, it is a rich country in aggregate terms, due to its immense population.
From a Western perspective, China’s development is usually seen at the macro level: China is the second largest economy in the world today and might surpass the US within the next decade.
On Monday, US space policy is under the microscope in an article from Washington, DC-based independent journalist Peter Buxbaum.
Professor Bob Ash of SOAS analyzes China’s changing consumption patterns on Tuesday to help determine who’s gained and lost during the country’s economic boom.
On Wednesday, Sofia University’s Professor Plamen Pantev examines Turkey’s foreign policy and geopolitical priorities in the wake of the 12 June elections.
And the Foreign Policy Association’s chief health blogger Cynthia Schweer investigates the changing logistical and political landscape of humanitarian aid on Thursday.
And in case you missed our special coverage of Chinese foreign relations all last week, you can catch up here with articles on: evolving China-Pakistan relations; shifting power dynamics in the relationship between China and Taiwan; dual-track EU-China relations; and China’s machinations within the BRICS grouping.
