Why the Violence Will Go On

Earlier this week, Jennifer Welsh addressed the role of Kofi Annan and his effort to end the violence in Syria. While his efforts are impressive and his past performance has been remarkable, we cannot hold out much hope that this ceasefire will stick. I am not an expert on Syria, but everything I know about the international relations of civil wars screams at me that this civil war will go on. For one thing, it is a civil war by conventional definitions. All it takes to have a civil war is two sides with the ability and will to harm each other. ...More

Connecting the Americas For Prosperity

[adrotate banner="1"] In the global economic turmoil since the last Summit of the Americas in 2008, Europe has navigated upheavals that threatened its hard-won economic union and the U.S. has faced tumult that meted out social and economic adjustment. Canada has fared reasonably well, but Latin America appeared to exhibit particular resilience in the face of global economic disorder. The Economist lauded the region a few months ago for weathering the storms relatively unscathed, and for producing relatively strong growth trajectories of about 5 ...More