World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

The British International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) publishes an annual review of global military spending, and this year’s edition shows a pronounced shift in spending from the NATO countries to Asian countries.  The US remains the largest spender by far, but China is quickly catching up to the US.  The US still spends more than the next 14 countries combined.

The United Kingdom Independence Party is a fringe party in Great Britain that staked out a strong anti-European Union position.  It has succeeded to win enough votes to have members in the British Parliament, and one of those Members has issued a special code of conduct for Muslims in Britain called the “charter of Muslim understanding.”  He wants all Muslims to sign the charter, which includes a demand that Muslims “sign a declaration rejecting violence and says parts of the Qur’an that promote ‘violent physical Jihad’ should be regarded as ‘inapplicable, invalid and non-Islamic’.”  The charter is another example of the anti-Muslim sentiment that continues to grow in many parts of the world.

Turmoil continues in the economies of the emerging markets, and the worries associated with that turmoil are definitely affecting the stock markets across the planet.   It is always difficult to tell when anxiety might turn to panic, and The Atlantic has a good essay on how to interpret the concerns on whether the emerging markets could initiate a broader economic crisis.