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November 23, 2024
 

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Ramesh Thakur

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Ramesh Thakur
Ramesh Thakur is Professor in the Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University; adjunct professor, Institute for Ethics, Governance and Law, Griffith University, and editor-in-chief of Global Governance from Jan. 1, 2013. He began writing for The Japan Times in 1998 as Vice Rector of the United Nations University.
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2001
The hallucinogenic security of nuclear mushroom clouds
When former U.S. President Bill Clinton was recently in India, the story goes, he was walking along the beach one evening in a contemplative mood. Spying an object sticking out of the ground, he pulled it out, gave it a rub to see what it was and found it was a brass lamp. True to form, a genie appeared...
COMMENTARY / World
May 6, 2001
The politics of land and race
The Western consensus about Zimbabwe holds that having inherited a country that was as beautiful as it was prosperous, and with the goodwill of the world behind him, President Robert Mugabe has outstayed his welcome at home, outlived his usefulness to his country and exhausted the patience and goodwill...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 26, 2001
Parliamentary democracy isn't perfect but it's the best form of government we have
The persistent weakness of prime ministerial leadership in India begs the question of whether it would be better off with presidential government. Does the latter offer a better solution to the chaotic spectrum of splinter parties, the debilitating hold of caste politics and the cancer of corruption?...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 21, 2001
Dissenting from globalism
In discussions with frontline humanitarian agencies, it becomes clear that they are experiencing a mild backlash against global human-rights instruments. Some countries have become apprehensive of signing agreements for fear of later intervention by outside powers on grounds of noncompliance.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 17, 2001
Sadly, conflicts make sense
Conflict is sometimes said to be the normal condition of human society; peace is the exception that requires explanation. Many of today's conflicts are peculiarly resistant to efforts at resolution because a set of contradictory logics tilts the balance toward their perpetuation. For example, while most...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 11, 2001
Trade NMD for the CTBT
The new administration in Washington has taken office firmly committed to the concept of a national missile defense system, arguing that future U.S. security needs take precedence over arms-control agreements rooted in Cold War history. Its views on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, an agreement signed...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 29, 2001
Banks untouched by evolution
After three years here, I believe the essence of the difference between Japan and India can be summed up thus: In India, nothing works, but everything can be arranged (for a consideration, of course); in Japan, everything works, but nothing can be arranged. One of the surprising aspects of life in Japan...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 22, 2001
Partnerships for humanitarian crises
The number of refugees, displaced people and others of concern to the UNHCR jumped from under 15 million in 1990 to over 22 million in 2000: a 50 percent increase over the decade. Refugees are a symptom of a deeper malaise in the polities from which they have fled. The failure to establish satisfactory...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 15, 2001
Overseas Indians: Use them or lose them
Delivering the keynote address at the inaugural convention of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin in New Delhi on Jan. 6, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee called for "a partnership among all children of Mother India so that our country can emerge as a major global player." Noting the...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 31, 2000
Solving the Kashmir dispute
Three of the world's most protracted conflicts are in Asia: the Palestinian-Israeli crisis in West Asia, Kashmir in South Asia and Korea in East Asia. The world's interest is engaged in South Asia because of the fate of over 1 billion people, the importance of India as the world's most populous democracy...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 25, 2000
Sanctions target the innocent
The use of sanctions as a tool of foreign and international policy increased dramatically in the 20th century. Yet as the crumbling sanctions on Iraq show, their track record in ensuring compliance is pitiful. They inflict pain on ordinary citizens while imposing questionable costs on leaders who are...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 25, 2000
Western peacekeepers' flight from Africa
The prospect of disasters in Africa concentrates the world's mind wonderfully on the problems and failures of international peacekeeping. We should focus also on the parallel danger of creeping apartheid. Sensitivity to body bags has made Western powers increasingly averse to the perils of peacekeeping....
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 20, 2000
Dusting off Russo-Indian ties
Indians share with Americans a fondness for litigation and with Russians a sense of black humor. India is the world's most populous democracy, the United States is the most powerful and one of the oldest, and Russia is one of the newest. A joke making the rounds in India is that the services of the Russian...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 11, 2000
The special mandate of peace research
This is the eleventh month of the year, on the eleventh day of which, at the eleventh hour, the world pays homage to those who died in the first great war in the century of wars.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 15, 2000
India shooting itself in the foot
During a recent trip to India, the heretical thought took hold that ardent nationalists can be de facto anti-nationals.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 24, 2000
U.N. deaths are no surprise
The recent death of U.N. aid workers in Timor was a tragedy. The reprehensible action has rightly drawn international condemnation. The perpetrators will hopefully be caught, tried and punished.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 10, 2000
Multiculturalism and meritocracy are key
We live in a world of at least 2,000 nationalities, 200 states and 20 nation-states (where the populations are more or less homogeneous). The doctrine of self-determination was one of the most powerful ideologies of the 20th century. The drive to self-determination by disaffected communities created...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2000
Suffer the stolen children
Mahatma Gandhi, asked what he thought of European civilization, replied, "I think it's a very good idea."
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 6, 2000
It's Delhi's move in Kashmir
India recently celebrated the first anniversary of victory over Pakistan-backed incursion into the Kargil sector of Kashmir. Some victory: The two had faced off in the most dangerous nuclear confrontation since the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. They have gone to full-scale war three times already and...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 24, 2000
G8 nations vs. the rest of the planet
On July 17, the United Nations University hosted a symposium on "The Kyushu-Okinawa Summit: The Challenges and Opportunities for the Developing World in the 21st Century." The conference was jointly organized by the Tokyo-based Foundation for Advanced Studies on International Development, the Toronto-based...
Japan approves ¥21.9 trillion stimulus plan
The policy chiefs of the Democratic Party for the People, Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito — Makoto Hamaguchi (left), Itsunori Onodera (center) and Mitsunari Okamoto — shake hands after reaching an agreement on an economic stimulus package on Wednesday.
Tokyo Metro’s overseas efforts begin in earnest with London deal
Tokyo Metro will soon have a role in the running of London's Elizabeth Line, a major train route serving the U.K.’s capital city and environs.
Saitama court bans demonstrations over anti-Kurd hate speech
Kurdish people in Japan in 2015. A court injunction has banned acts that defame the Japan Kurdish Cultural Association and are disrespectful, such as putting up banner flags or handing out fliers with hate speech like “Refugees should go back to their home countries.”
China reinstates visa-free travel for Japanese nationals
Beijing Daxing International Airport
U.S. aircraft carrier returns to Japan carrying navy’s ‘most capable fighter’
U.S. 7th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Fred Kacher speaks to reporters shortly after the arrival of aircraft carrier USS George Washington at Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Friday.
Shohei Ohtani wins National League MVP award
Shohei Ohtani celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Padres during the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles last month.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
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By Kathryn Wortley

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