India And Europe In A Multipolar World

2012-05-11

The image of India as an emerging power is widely held, but there is equal reason to see the European Union as an emerging power, too, even at the risk of raising eyebrows. Like India, the EU seeks to become a global political player on top of being a great economic power. As the global power dynamic shifts, both are trying to define their roles in an emerging multipolar world. The question arises whether closer cooperation can help the EU and India to achieve their ambitions. Though they have committed to a strategic partnership, in its present state the EU-India relationship has been likened to a “loveless arranged marriage.” With each increasingly absorbed by domestic problems, the prospects for closer ties are fading, notwithstanding the opportunities that would be lost.

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Myanmar's Five Economic Priorities

2012-04-23

Myanmar's successful by-elections and Aung San Suu Kyi's landslide victory deservedly captured the international headlines a fortnight ago. But those headlines overshadowed an equally pathbreaking economic development. The day the preliminary election results were announced, the government held Myanmar's first foreign exchange auction at which the U.S. dollar was traded at 818 kyat. The official rate had been 8.5. The challenge now is to keep the reform momentum going without causing macroeconomic or political instability.

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Monetary Integration In ASEAN+3: The Next Steps

2012-05-15

The ASEAN+3 has taken a number of significant steps recently to further deepen monetary integration. The next steps should be to introduce a regional weighted currency basket and expand membership.

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Malaysia's Bersih 3.0: Sentiments, Perceptions And Politics

2012-05-10

The 28 April mass protest in Malaysia for clean and fair elections has taken a somewhat violent turn, the cause for which has become a matter of mutual recrimination between its organisers and the authorities. Realpolitik will eventually decide the outcome.

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The Death Of Inflation Targeting

2012-05-18

The New Times (Rwanda) May 18, 2012 Commentary by: Jeffrey Frankel, James W. Harpel Professor of Capital Formation and Growth Topic: Inflation targeting “It is with regret that we announce the death of inflation targeting. The monetary-policy regime, known as IT to friends, evidently passed away in September 2008. The lack of an official announcement until now attests to the esteem in which it was held, its usefulness as an ornament of credibility for central banks, and fears that there might be no good candidates to succeed it as the preferred anchor for monetary policy.”

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Urging Women To Be All That You Can't Be

2012-05-17

The Boston Globe May 17, 2012 Op-ed by: Juliette Kayyem, lecturer in public policy with the Belfer Center and member of the Belfer Center Board of Directors Topic: Women and combat “President Obama's commencement address to the graduating class at Barnard College on Monday had no throwaway lines. It was for and about women; choosing a women's college for a highly touted presidential graduation speech was a signal that Democrats will use every opportunity to make gender, and gender rights, a political issue this fall.”

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Douglas Paal
Vice President, Carnegie Endowment

Carnegie Is Grateful For The Bakrie Center Foundation's Commitment To Shaping International Knowledge-and Therefore Global Policy-on Southeast Asia And Its Geopolitical Importance. The Region Is Too Often Overlooked And We Thank The Foundation For Expanding Its Long-term Commitment To Increasing Global Understanding On Southeast Asia.