Myanmar’s Uncertain Glasnost

Buddhist terrorists, military juntas, resource clashes, and pro-Western democracy movements? If China has lulled you into thinking that Southeast Asia is predictable and boring, join us for this week’s discussion of Myanmar, the former client state of China which has undergone a remarkable transformation in the past five years, launching itself into an uncertain Glasnost that has opened the country to democracy internally as well as set it on-course for a foreign policy that is more skeptical of China and sympathetic to the West.

Understanding China’s Domestic Agenda Can End U.N. Climate Gridlock

Li Shuo of Greenpeace China has recently argued on chinadialogue that U.N. climate talks can drive more ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions in China, the world’s largest emitter. This optimism goes against much of the conventional wisdom regarding the negotiations. Despite twenty years of global summits, global emissions are still increasing at an unsustainable rate, including in China.

American History, Through Chinese Eyes

White male privilege, genocide against Native Americans, slavery and subsequent racial oppression, exploitation of immigrants and laborers, repression of women and homosexuals, and environmental destruction—teaching American cultural history through a post-modern lens is hardly the most obvious way to promote positive feelings toward the United States. Yet that is precisely what Amy Werbel did during her Fulbright year in China.