A Book review, Two Paths to Prosperity: Culture and Institutions in Europe and China, 1000-2000 by Avner Greif, Guido Tabellini, Joel Mokyr The book offers a truly convincing answer to an enigma that has troubled me for at least 30 years. That is, China is not deaf or blind; it’s not that it hadn’t heard or seen the Western […]
What is the US goal, and what is the narrative of the current war in Iran? This might be the key to the war at this stage. Is the goal to control the Strait of Hormuz? If so, that’s really hard because the strait is controlled by land on both sides. To take control of […]
China and Iran are short-circuiting the American agenda. US President Donald Trump said he might delay his summit in Beijing with President Xi Jinping because of the ongoing war in Iran. Dennis Wilder, a former White House expert on China, reportedly said it would be bad optics if Trump met with Xi while the US […]
Iraq and Iran, barely separated by a consonant’s ending, are close even in alphabetical order, bringing back many memories. China may require a major political shift. It was impossible in the past 50 years because power was dispersed. It might now be possible since President Xi Jinping has concentrated all the power. However, they could […]
In this article, Francesco Sisci “heretically” compares two organizational models that seem to be opposites: the Catholic Church and the Chinese Communist Party. Why is this comparison important for the Church, both as an institution and as a community of faith? The Catholic Church is incapable of viewing itself from an outside perspective and never […]
The rise of multipolarity and the US demands for Iran’s unconditional surrender could spiral events out of control. (We are experiencing technical difficulties, and the web doesn’t ‘like’ something about the date, but the article was actually published on March 8. Apologies) Iran might have little incentive to concede to US demands until after the […]
Russia, Venezuela, and Iran are warnings to Beijing, but the US doesn’t have an easy game with China. A ghost will haunt China’s NPC annual plenary session, which opens on March 5 – the ghost of US military lightning successes against top leaders in Venezuela and Iran, and of Russia’s war failures. Russian President Vladimir […]
