New York Times – A Fearless Activist in a Land of Thugs

C.J Chivers remembers a fearless human rights investigator in Chechnya, Natalie Estemirova.

Esquire – Obama’s New Map of the World

Thomas P.M. Barnett writes that as he assumes leadership of this freaked-out world, the success of our new president’s foreign policy — and presidency — will depend on the thinking he does inside the box.

US Naval Institute Proceedings – Arctic Melt: Reopening a Naval Frontier

Changes in the Arctic environment – no matter the cause – are a great national security concern.

Foreign Policy – The Revenge of Geography

Robert D. Kaplan writes that people and ideas influence events, but geography largely determines them, now more than ever. To understand the coming struggles, it’s time to dust off the Victorian thinkers who knew the physical world best. A journalist who has covered the ends of the Earth offers a guide to the relief map—and a primer on the next phase of conflict.

The Atlantic – Pakistan’s Fatal Shore

Robert D. Kaplan writes that with its “Islamic” nuclear bomb, Taliban- and al-Qaeda-infested borderlands, dysfunctional cities, and feuding ethnic groups, Pakistan may well be the world’s most dangerous country, a nuclear Yugoslavia-in-the-making. One key to its fate is the future of Gwadar, a strategic port whose development will either unlock the riches of Central Asia, or plunge Pakistan into a savage, and potentially terminal, civil war.

Esquire – Despite Rhetoric, Obama Still Following Cheney’s Lead in Dictatorial Justice

Thomas P.M. Barnett writes it seems like the former vice-president is the one piggybacking on the new president’s detainee policy spotlight, but a top foreign-policy analyst argues that, when it comes to tribunals, it’s the other way around: the Obama administration is maintaining the practice of inventing justice as America sees fit.

Daily Telegraph – The trillion dollar question: China or America?

Who is going to come out of the economic crisis stronger and with the whip hand – China or America, asks Niall Ferguson.

New York Review of Books – Pakistan on the Brink

Ahmed Rashid (again) on Pakistan’s current state…

Esquire – China at the Wheel of the World: Sissy or Superpower?

Thomas P.M. Barnett writes that the Chinese may be helping the States, but can they help themselves? The view from Beijing is a tea party hell-bent on global leadership, but if the government can’t give up its moribund socialist movement, America might be riding solo well after Obama.

The Times – China’s accidental empire is a growing danger

As the world’s newest superpower expands trade and flexes its military muscle, a perilous regional arms race looms.

The Economist – Seabed mining: The unplumbed riches of the deep

And why they’ll wait a while longer before being disturbed.

The Economist – The scramble for the seabed: Suddenly, a wider world below the waterline

Coastal states have now made their bids for vast new areas of continental shelf.

The Economist – An awkward absence

America is missing out by being stand-offish towards the law of the sea. So is the sea.

Foreign Affairs – The Ways of Syria

As Washington considers a rapprochement with Bashar al-Assad’s Syria, Itamar Rabinovich’s commanding new book makes clear that change will not come quickly or easily — and, if the past is any indication, it may not come at all.

BBC – China asserts sea border claims

A UN commission hoping to agree new maritime boundaries looks set to pit China against some of its neighbours.

The Times – Russia warns of war within a decade over Arctic oil and gas riches

Russia raised the prospect of war in the Arctic yesterday as nations struggle for control of the world’s dwindling energy reserves.

Foreign Affairs – A Tale of Two Wars

Richard Haass’ perceptive insider’s account of the policymaking leading up to both Iraq wars — one a “war of choice,” the other a “war of necessity” — holds key lessons for future U.S. leadership in the Middle East and beyond.

Esquire – Why Iran Won’t Stop Loving the Bomb

Thomas P.M. Barnett writes that even if voters walk out on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June’s election like delegates did at yesterday’s U.N. conference on racism, don’t expect the new government to forgo nuclear pursuits — not at this crossroads. A preview of Tehran’s battle ahead.

Washington Post – Pakistan’s Critical Hour

Ahmed Rashid on the current state of affairs in Pakistan.

Foreign Affairs – The Great Game Moves North

As the Arctic melts, countries vie for control.

Armed Forces Journal – Missing the boat

Failure to join the Law of the Sea Convention harms U.S. interests.

Foreign Affairs – Center Stage for the Twenty-first Century: Power Plays in the Indian Ocean

Robert D. Kaplan writes that already the world’s preeminent energy and trade interstate seaway, the Indian Ocean will matter even more as India and China enter into a dynamic great-power rivalry in these waters.

The Atlantic – India’s New Face

Robert D. Kaplan introduces us to Narendra Modi, chief minister of Gujarat and the brightest star in the Hindu-chauvinist Bharatiya Janata Party. Under Modi, Gujarat has become an economic dynamo. But he also presided over India’s worst communal riots in decades, a 2002 slaughter that left almost 2,000 Muslims dead. Exploiting the insecurities and tensions stoked by India’s opening to the world, Modi has turned his state into a stronghold of Hindu extremism, shredding Gandhi’s vision of secular coexistence in the process. One day, he could be governing the world’s largest democracy.

Foreign Affairs – The Geoengineering Option: A Last Resort Against Global Warming?

As climate change accelerates, policymakers may have to consider “geoengineering” as an emergency strategy to cool the planet. Engineering the climate strikes most as a bad idea, but it is time to start taking it seriously.

New Yorker – Can Iran Change?

The high stakes in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s reelection campaign.