North Korea has responded quite negatively to the sanctions imposed on the regime after its third nuclear test. The sanctions are quite severe, but unlikely to change North Korean behavior. In response, the North Koreans said that it would scrap the armistice with South Korea and was prepared to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the United States. The rhetoric was unusually strong, but probably does not signal any clear intention by North Korea to actually initiate armed conflict. As always, we will have to see how the Chinese react to this rhetoric.
Professor Stephen Walt, one of the most perceptive analysts of world politics alive today, has written a very good short essay on the 10 year anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq. His analysis is firmly rooted in a realist framework, and is testimony to the continued relevance of that framework to contemporary politics.
James Fallows has posted some environmental readings from China, pointing out how dangerous the pollution levels in China actually are. One should view these data from a global perspective: the problems that the Chinese people face from environmental degradation will be faced eventually by everyone in the world–the pollution will not remain in China. It is in everyone’s interest to help China reduce its pollution.
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