Social Issues

Race and Ethnicity

  • Iraq
    Reappraising U.S. Withdrawal from Iraqi Cities
    Veteran reporter Jane Arraf says the massive truck bombings of August 19 in Baghdad have shaken the people and government. She says the United States may have to take a new look at the policy of leaving security under Iraqi control in urban centers.
    Interview with Jane Arraf and Bernard Gwertzman August 24, 2009
  • Race and Ethnicity
    How the Kashmir Dispute Affects Security in South Asia
    Five South Asia experts assess the importance of solving the Kashmir dispute in relation to U.S. security interests in the region and what policies the Obama administration should pursue.
    Expert Roundup by Jayshree Bajoria, Daniel S. Markey, C. Raja Mohan, Hasan-Askari Rizvi, Howard B. Schaffer and M. Farooq Kathwari July 13, 2009
  • Iraq
    Crisis Between Kurds and Iraqi Government Needs U.S. Mediation
    Daniel P. Serwer, who served as executive director of the Baker-Hamilton Commission on Iraq, says the "serious" crisis between Kurdistan and the central Iraqi government "needs to be resolved" to some degree before the U.S. troops leave."
    Interview with Daniel P. Serwer and Bernard Gwertzman July 13, 2009
  • Thailand
    The Muslim Insurgency in Southern Thailand
    Amid political uncertainty in Bangkok, a violent insurgency continues in the country’s majority Malay Muslim provinces in the south, with no possible settlement in sight.
    Backgrounder by Jayshree Bajoria and Carin Zissis September 10, 2008
  • China
    Friedman: Chinese Believe Tibetans, Other Ethnic Groups Should be Incorporated into One China
    Edward Friedman, an expert on Chinese nationalism, says China’s ethnic Han majority views minorities like Tibetans and Uighurs as "people who should be incorporated into the larger Chinese state."
    Interview with Edward Friedman and Bernard Gwertzman April 17, 2008
  • Diplomacy and International Institutions
    Wisner: Russian Opposition to Kosovo Independence ’Unbelievably Regrettable’
    Washington’s representative to talks on Kosovo, Frank G. Wisner, says Serbia will never recognize an independent Kosovo and that Russia’s role has been “unbelievably regrettable.”
    Interview with Frank G. Wisner and Bernard Gwertzman February 12, 2008
  • Race and Ethnicity
    Serbs Urged to Accept Kosovo Plan to Gain ‘European Future’
    A top U.S. State Department official on Balkan policy says Serbia must begin participating in final talks over the conditional independence of Kosovo or face increased isolation from Europe.
    Interview with Daniel Fried and Robert McMahon February 6, 2007
  • Iran
    Iran’s Ethnic Groups
    Iran is a predominantly Shiite Muslim state but contains sizeable ethnic and religious minorities that influence Iran’s foreign and regional policy.
    Backgrounder by Lionel Beehner November 29, 2006
  • Wars and Conflict
    Iraq’s Post-Saddam Insurgency
    With Saddam sentenced to death, experts say Sunni insurgents will fight on in an effort to rid Iraq of U.S. forces and avoid Shiite political dominance.
    Backgrounder by Lionel Beehner November 14, 2006
  • Turkey
    Cook: Friction in U.S.-Turkey Relations over Iraqi Kurdistan
    Steven A. Cook says relations between the United States and Turkey are strained due to conflicting interests in Iraqi Kurdistan. Washington does not want to upset the relative stability in northern Iraq, whereas Turkey seeks to remove the threat of Kurdish militants in the region.
    Interview with Steven A. Cook and Christopher W. Tatlock August 31, 2006
  • Lebanon
    Multiethnic Armies and National Unity
    Multiethnic armies like the Lebanese, Iraqi, and Afghan national forces face enormous challenges as they attempt to become viable forces. Historically, successes in unifying a military force often have a huge impact on a nation’s larger society.
    Backgrounder by Michael Moran August 22, 2006
  • Iran
    The Shia Revival
    An editors' choice pick in the New York Times, which calls the book "a fast-moving, engaging, and ultimately unnerving book." As nations around the world struggle with the threat of militant Islam, Vali Nasr, one of the leading scholars on the Middle East, provides us with the rare opportunity to understand the political and theological antagonisms within Islam itself. The Shia Revival is a penetrating historical account of sectarian conflicts in the Muslim world, showing that the future rests in finding a peaceful solution to the ancient rivalries between the Shias and the Sunnis. Nasr provides a unique and objective understanding of this 1,400-year bitter struggle between the two sects—tracing its roots from the succession of the Prophet Mohammad—forcing us to differentiate the religious and theological aspect of Islam from its political and military rivalries. Outlining the rich history of a people and a vibrant culture that has spanned not only the Middle East but also modern-day Pakistan and India, Nasr explains the traditional hostilities and scrutinizes their current embodiment in the power struggle between Iran and Saudi Arabia for political and spiritual leadership of the Muslim world. From the provocative rise of Ayatollah Khomeini to the Saudi pressure on the United States to keep Saddam Hussein in power in 1991; from the critical role of the Ayatollah Sistani and the religious establishment in Najaf (Iraq) to the consequences of the recent shift toward Shia power in Iraq through American intervention, Nasr's poignant and timely analysis of the Shia/Sunni schism brings clarity and insight to the complex, often bloody, events shaping the Muslim world and its relations with the West.
    Book by Vali R. Nasr August 1, 2006 Middle East Program