BERLIN — “Europe whole and free” owes a great debt to the decision by a courageous Hungarian government to open its frontiers to Austria in the summer of 1989, allowing thousands of East German refugees to escape. Twenty-one years later, and just as it takes over the rotating European presidency, Hungary is a frontrunner once [...]

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MINSK—Peace and quiet reign on Independence Square — Christmas trees sparkle in the snow, the traffic is flowing, people are heading home to prepare for the holidays. Yet on Sunday, this square in the center of the Belarusian capital witnessed the largest protests against dictatorial rule in a decade, when thousands of President Alexander Lukashenko’s riot [...]

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CANCUN — It is hardly news anymore when international talks on climate change fail to produce a breakthrough agreement. But the real story of the annual UN climate conference, which concludes Friday in Cancun, Mexico, is what was happening on the sidelines of the conference. Last year’s summit on climate change in Copenhagen was ruined [...]

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WASHINGTON — Next Monday, climate diplomats will gather in Cancun, Mexico, for the 16th annual installment of global climate negotiations. Expectations are low following the partial collapse of last December’s session in Copenhagen, Denmark. A global treaty to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012, seems years away and may never meet expectations. At [...]

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AUSTIN, Texas — By most objective measures, the Obama administration has experienced a rough few weeks.  The substantial Democratic losses in the midterm elections were followed by an Asia trip of mixed reviews, with its final days dominated by a visible setback on the U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement and G-20 discord on global economic [...]

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WASHINGTON — The International Monetary Fund and the annual G8 gathering of major industrial nations have become increasingly anachronistic in today’s world. Their legitimacy has been in question because of the lack of influence and representation of the world’s poor at their decision-making tables. But an unprecedented shift in power in the post-World War II [...]

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WASHINGTON – In preparing to host the November 11-12 G20 Summit in Seoul, the South Korean government has worked to win support for a “global financial safety net,” a rapid response to future global economic crises. Part of Seoul’s vision is greater cooperation in the face of crises between the International Monetary Fund, regional pools [...]

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