http://risingpowers.foreignpolicyblogs.com BRIC and Beyond: The world's emergent and resurgent powers. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:13:08 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en [caption id="attachment_2311" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Brazil's crown jewel, Rio, will get the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016. Hope the lights work! Source: The Economist"][/caption] The Economist this week (Nov. 14-20) featured a mediocre special report on Brazil.  Its message:  Brazil is a good investment.  So, you finally noticed!  ... http://risingpowers.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2009/11/20/brazil-so-you-finally-noticed/ [caption id="attachment_2305" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Presidents Hu and Obama in Beijing Tuesday. Source: www.lepoint.fr"][/caption] Presidents Hu and Obama finished their summit in Beijing and issued a joint statement.  Below, Christiaan Tuntono of CSFB notes that President Obama didn't get a commitment from China to revalue the RMB against the U.S. dollar, which ... http://risingpowers.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2009/11/19/chinas-history-lessons/ [caption id="attachment_2291" align="aligncenter" width="399" caption="Presidents Obama and Hu (cartoon). Source: Google Images"][/caption] President Obama did a good job this week in China.  Goodwill is a valuable intangible in politics, and he engendered some on his Asian trip.  Still, the gloss is off the family car -- the superpower with hat in ... http://risingpowers.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2009/11/17/obama-in-china-whos-the-superpower/ [caption id="attachment_2273" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Russian President Medvedev and his mentor, Vladimir Putin. Note: this is not a photo from Medvedev's speech this week. Source: www.russiablog.org "][/caption] Not so fast.  President Medvedev has resounded the main themes of reform for some time now, without his government (or, rather, Putin's) following through.  See a ... http://risingpowers.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2009/11/13/medvedev-glasnost-and-perestroika-all-over-again/   [caption id="attachment_2263" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Colombian President Uribe and Venezuelan President Chavez hug, as Latin American Independence hero, Simon Bolivar, looks on. Source: Google Images"][/caption] Latin America is not usually high on the list of hotspots for geopolitical analysts.  Yet Hugo Chavez is threatening war against neighboring Colombia.  (See the note below from ... http://risingpowers.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2009/11/10/colombiavenezuela-what-would-simon-bolivar-say/ [caption id="attachment_2250" align="aligncenter" width="350" caption="Source: Google Images"][/caption] Much news and commentary you hear about the State of Israel has to do with geopolitics and the Arab-Israeli conflict (see my colleague Ben Moscovitch's blog on this site for a nice selection.)  Settlements, will Abbas run or not, Iran's plans to wipe Israel off ... http://risingpowers.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2009/11/10/israels-economy-weathering-the-storm/ [caption id="attachment_2239" align="aligncenter" width="370" caption="Presidents Hu and Obama Source: Google Images"][/caption] Looks like Mr. Hu and Mr. Obama and company may have stepped back from the brink of a trade war.  See CSFB report below on the recent G-2 meeting on trade and commerce.  Not that it's all about individuals, but ... http://risingpowers.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2009/10/30/back-from-the-brink-uschina-trade-relations/ [caption id="attachment_2231" align="aligncenter" width="237" caption="Emerging Europe: Fiscal woes Source: www.d-orland.com"][/caption]   Fitch Ratings published a report this week analyzing the fiscal deterioration taking place in 21 countries in what it calls "Emerging Europe," which includes three sizable economies -- "rising" power Russia's nearly $1.7 trillion economy, struggling Turkey's $745 billion economy, and Poland's nothing-to-sneeze-at $525 ... http://risingpowers.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2009/10/29/emerging-europe-has-fiscal-problems-says-fitch/ “The race to become the first president of the European Union intensified on Tuesday, when Jean-Claude Juncker, Luxembourg’s veteran prime minister, put himself forward as a potential rival to Tony Blair, the former British premier,” begins an article in the Financial Times. The race to be the first president of ... http://risingpowers.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2009/10/28/new-odds-%e2%80%93-the-face-of-europe/ Steve Yetiv writes in the Christian Science Monitor that “bolstering America makes far more sense for world security in the 21st century than hoping for its decline or undermining it.” From the Middle East to Asia and from terrorism to nuclear proliferation to international economics, the United States helps keep ... http://risingpowers.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2009/10/28/the-importance-of-the-united-states/