Too Much Global?

• By pairing the global and the local with the national and the personal, we introduce a more perfect union of inquiry into a world caught in the throes of globalization and confronting a loss of communal meaning and values

Global Village Versus Faith Tensions

• In the two-plus years since September 11th self-examination within home countries is leading us toward a keener understanding of cross-societal discord and cultural and religious tensions within the global village

Big Democracies at the Crossroads

In just five years, has Indonesia emerged with a more mature political environment than has Russia in the 15 years since the end of the Cold War? Both are large new democracies facing massive decentralization projects and challenges from an old guard. Yet while President Vladimir Putin continues to harden his grip, Indonesian voters saw fit to expunge General Wiranto (pegged as the “Musharraf of Indonesia”) in his hungry but failed third-place bid for the presidency this September. In a balloting year filled with surprises from India and Venezuela, and with Americans battered by the Bush-Kerry race, what do Russia and Indonesia tell us about the future character of democracy as a globally expanding project?

Commentary ‘Potemkin’ democracy? Not so Republic of Indonesia By Theodore Friend, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Research Institute Conference Bali meeting targets world troubles personally Roundtable Russia’s democratic potential seen to wane Letter to the Editor Born in Canada, flagged in Canada?	Pen over fist: Visiting Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in 2003 to sign a friendship treaty. AP Photo/ Yuri Kochetkov, Pool