10:45 AM

Steve Tsang: China's Syrian Folly

In vetoing the UN Security Council's draft resolution on Syria, China claims that it has acted in the interests of the Syrian people.

In fact, the Chinese stance has effectively ensured that atrocities in Syria will continue and increase in intensity - and that China's soft power will diminish throughout the Middle East.

Steve Tsang is Director of the China Policy Institute and Professor of Contemporary Chinese Studies at the University of Nottingham.

11:22 AM

Joseph Nye: When Women Lead

Would the world be more peaceful if women were in charge?

It is an interesting question, but the key choices about war and peace in our future will depend not on gender, but on how leaders - men and women alike - combine hard- and soft-power skills to produce smart strategies.

Joseph Nye, a former US assistant secretary of defence, is a professor at Harvard and the author of The Future of Power.

10:33 AM

Kevin Rudd: Tomorrow's Pax Pacifica

Although the relationship between China and the United States is critical to Asia's future, the concept of a 'G-2' is never going to fly in the region.

The task today is to recognise the realities of US and Chinese power, without turning the rest of the region into collateral damage should the Sino-American relationship deteriorate.

Kevin Rudd is Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs.

10:24 AM

Zuma & Halonen: Seizing Sustainable Development

The world is on an unsustainable path, and must urgently chart a new course forward, one that brings equity and environmental concerns into the economic mainstream. To do so, we must put sustainable development into practice now, not in spite of the economic crisis, but because of it.

Jacob Zuma is President of the Republic of South Africa. Tarja Halonen is President of the Republic of Finland. They Co-Chair the UN Secretary-General's High-level Panel on Global Sustainability.

10:19 AM

Laura Tyson: America's Three Deficits

The US faces painful choices about how to close its long-run fiscal gap, and a credible plan should be decided now and implemented promptly - but only after the economy has recovered.

For the next few years, the priorities of fiscal policy should be jobs, investment, and growth.

Laura Tyson, a former chair of the US President's Council of Economic Advisors, is a professor at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.

10:05 AM

Shlomo Ben-Ami: The Decline of the West Revisited

Since the publication in 1918 of Oswald Spengler's The Decline of the West, prophecies about the inexorable doom of what he called the 'Faustian Civilisation' have been a recurrent topic for thinkers and public intellectuals.

But the debate's recurrence is itself proof that Spengler was wrong.

Shlomo Ben Ami is a former Israeli foreign minister who now serves as Vice President of the Toledo International Centre for Peace.

1:27 PM

Phelps & Ammous: Blaming Capitalism for Corporatism

The future of capitalism is again a question. Will it survive the ongoing crisis in its current form? If not, will it transform itself or will government take the lead.

Edmund Phelps is a Nobel laureate and Professor of Economics at Columbia University.

Saifedean Ammous is Assistant Professor of Economics in the Lebanese American University and Foreign Member at Columbia University's Center for Capitalism and Society.

11:10 AM

Michael Boskin: A Referendum on Obama

The 2012 US presidential election will be a referendum on Barack Obama's policies and performance.

A Republican presidential victory, together with Republican control of Congress, would most likely lead to substantial reduction, repeal, and replacement of many Obama initiatives, attempts to reform taxes and entitlements, and greater fiscal discipline.

Michael Boskin, currently Professor of Economics at Stanford University and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, was Chairman of President George H. W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers, 1989-1993.

10:22 AM

Yuriko Koike: China's Soft-Power Offensive in Taiwan

China has learned trade and other enticements, rather than threats and bullying, are more effective in swaying voters during Taiwanese elections.

But will China take the next step and learn that democracy Taiwan-style might also work in the mainland?

Yuriko Koike is Japan's former Minister of Defence and National Security Advisor.

11:31 AM

Stephen S. Roach: China's Connectivity Revolution

Long the most fragmented nation on earth, a new connectivity is bringing China together as never before.

Its Internet community is expanding at hyper speed, with profound implications for the Chinese economy, to say nothing of the country's social norms and politics.

Stephen S. Roach, a member of the faculty at Yale University, is Non-Executive Chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia and the author of The Next Asia.

11:44 AM

Jaswant Singh: India's Year of Living Stagnantly

Last year, India's GDP growth decelerated, manufacturing plummeted, and corruption grew uncontrollably, while the government failed to enact even a single piece of legislation, much less undertake any economic reforms, control inflation, or address widespread civil disorder.

Will 2012 prove to be a year of renewal for India, or another annus horribilis?

Jaswant Singh, a former Indian finance minister, foreign minister, and defence minister, is the author of Jinnah: India - Partition - Independence.

10:48 AM

George Soros: New Year, Same Crisis

The measures introduced by the European Central Bank last December have relieved the liquidity problems of European banks, but have not cured the financing disadvantage of the highly indebted member states.

Since high-risk premiums on government bonds endanger the capital adequacy of banks, half a solution is not enough.

George Soros is Chairman of Soros Fund Management and of the Open Society Institute.

11:19 AM

Mohammed Musa Mahmodi: Afghanistan's Terrorised Women

Ten years after the end of Taliban leadership, Afghanistan's women live in an environment in which domestic violence, torture, and lack of freedom are the norm.

Will the authorities educate the public and prosecute the perpetrators, or will Afghanistan continue to be a world leader in human-rights abuses and oppression of women?

Mohammad Musa Mahmodi is Executive Director of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission.

11:18 AM

Christopher Hill: Iraq's Politics, Iraq's Problem

The notion that Iraq's ongoing political problems were caused by America's departure, or that they could be improved by its return, is something that only a solipsistic American could believe.

In fact, not everything that happens in Iraq reflects the presence - or absence - of US troops.

Christopher Hill, former US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia, was US Ambassador to Iraq, South Korea, Macedonia, and Poland, US special envoy for Kosovo, a negotiator of the Dayton Peace Accords, and chief US negotiator with North Korea from 2005-2009.

1:08 PM

Robert Shiller: Does Austerity Promote Economic Growth?

Policymakers cannot afford to wait decades for economists to figure out definitively how government austerity affects growth.

But, judging by the evidence that we have, austerity programs in Europe and elsewhere appear likely to yield disappointing results.

Robert Shiller, Professor of Economics at Yale University, is co-author, with George Akerlof, of Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy and Why It Matters for Global Capitalism.

1:17 PM

Sanjaya Baru: Asia's Energy, Asia's Security

As Asia's rising - and increasingly rival - powers seek to sustain growth and ensure stability, energy security has moved to the forefront of Asian geopolitics.

As a result, the time is ripe for fresh ideas and innovative initiatives aimed at addressing Asia's energy-security concerns in the Middle East.

Sanjaya Baru is Director for Geo-economics and Strategy, International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS), and the author of The Strategic Consequences of India's Economic Performance.

10:39 AM

Nouriel Roubini: The Straits of America

Macroeconomic indicators for the US have been better than expected for the last few months.

But, despite the favourable data, US economic growth will remain weak and below trend throughout 2012.

Nouriel Roubini is Chairman of Roubini Global Economics, Professor of Economics at the Stern School of Business, New York University, and co-author of the book Crisis Economics.

10:21 AM

Dani Rodrik: Leaderless Global Governance

Too much global political capital nowadays is wasted on harmonising policies that don't need it, and not enough is spent on harmonising those that do.

Over-ambitious and misdirected efforts at global governance will not serve us well at a time when global leadership and cooperation are bound to remain in limited supply.

Dani Rodrik, Professor of International Political Economy at Harvard University, is the author of The Globalization Paradox: Democracy and the Future of the World Economy.

11:58 AM

Justin Yifu Lin & Apurva Sanghi: The Economics of Disaster

Exactly two years ago, on January 12, 2010, Haiti was struck by a devastating earthquake that killed more than 220,000 people and shattered the country's prospects. The lesson of that catastrophe was clear: natural hazards are inevitable, but at every level we have the power to ensure that they do not become unnatural disasters.

Justin Yifu Lin is Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank. Apurva Sanghi is a World Bank senior economist and team leader of the report Natural Hazards, UnNatural Disasters: the Economics of Effective Prevention.

11:30 AM

Brahma Chellaney: Asia's New Tripartite Entente

The launch of trilateral strategic consultations among the US, India, and Japan, and their decision to hold joint naval exercises this year, signals efforts to form an entente among the Asia-Pacific region's three leading democracies. But the aim is not to establish a formal military alliance, or to 'contain China'.

Brahma Chellaney, Professor of Strategic Studies at the New Delhi-based Center for Policy Research, is the author of Asian Juggernaut and the newly released Water: Asia's New Battleground.

10:31 AM

Harold James: Schadenfreude Capitalism

The protracted financial and economic crisis discredited first the American model of capitalism, then the European version, and now could undermine the Asian approach, too.

Coming after the failure of state socialism, does this mean that there is no correct way of organising an economy?

Harold James is Professor of History and International Affairs at Princeton University and Professor of History at the European University Institute, Florence. He is the author of The Creation and Destruction of Value: The Globalization Cycle.

9:35 AM

Ian Buruma: North Korea's Tears

Images of North Koreans howling with grief over Kim Jong-Il's death suggest mass hysteria.

Can a whole country go mad, or is life in a totalitarian dictatorship such a daily misery that its people end up crying for their oppressors?

Ian Buruma is Professor of Democracy and Human Rights at Bard College, and the author, most recently, of Taming the Gods: Religion and Democracy on Three Continents.

10:58 AM

Javier Solana: Peril or Promise in North Korea?

The ongoing opening in Myanmar (Burma) shows that potentially significant political change need not be accompanied by regional instability.

In the case of North Korea, where nuclear arms are in play, it cannot afford to be.

Javier Solana, a distinguished senior fellow in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution is President of ESADEgeo. Previously he served as the European Union's High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, and as Secretary General of Nato.

9:51 AM

Kenneth Rogoff: Rethinking the Growth Imperative

Modern macroeconomics often seems to treat rapid and stable economic growth as the be-all and end-all of policy.

But, while that is the message from graduate classrooms to central-bank boardrooms to newspapers' front pages, is it true?

Kenneth Rogoff is Professor of Economics and Public Policy at Harvard University, and was formerly chief economist at the IMF.

12:31 PM

Nouriel Roubini: Fragile and Unbalanced in 2012

The outlook for the global economy in 2012 is clear, but it isn't pretty: recession in Europe, anemic growth at best in the US, and a sharp slowdown in China and in most emerging-market economies.

Restoring robust growth is difficult enough without the ever-present specter of deleveraging and a severe shortage of policy ammunition.

Nouriel Roubini is Chairman of Roubini Global Economics, Professor of Economics at the Stern School of Business, New York University, and co-author of the book Crisis Economics.

12:48 PM

Ivan Krastev: When China Rules

While America's allure is partly its ability to transform others into Americans, the Chinese have tried not to change the world, but to adjust to it.

If China becomes a superpower, the Chinese will not seek to remake the global order, but rather to extract the greatest possible benefit from existing rules.

Ivan Krastev is Chairman of the Center for Liberal Strategies in Sofia.

10:47 AM

Yuriko Koike: North Korea's Samurai Rules

Although Kim Jong-Il received his reign from his own father, North Korea's founder, Kim Il-sung, history suggests that a clean transfer from father to son is the exception rather than the rule.

Indeed, it is difficult to imagine North Korea's aging, battle-hardened generals, kowtowing to the callow and inexperienced Kim Jong-Un

Yuriko Koike is Japan's former Minister of Defence and National Security Adviser.

10:53 AM

Christopher Hill: After Kim Jong-Il

Even more than in the past, we must expect the unexpected in North Korea, following the death of the country's 'Dear Leader,' Kim Jong-Il.

Above all, the West must work closely with China - and, in that sense, nothing has changed.

Christopher Hill, former US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia, was US Ambassador to Iraq, South Korea, Macedonia, and Poland, US special envoy for Kosovo, a negotiator of the Dayton Peace Accords, and chief US negotiator with North Korea from 2005-2009.

10:58 AM

Michael Spence: The Exchange-Rate Delusion

The emerging economies would like nothing more than the restoration of sustainable patterns of growth in the advanced economies, and are prepared to be cooperative players in that process.

But focusing on these countries' exchange rates is not the right way to go about it.

Michael Spence, a Nobel laureate in economics, is Professor of Economics at New York University's Stern School of Business, Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University.

1:00 PM

Peter Singer: A Death of One's Own

Last month, an expert panel of the Royal Society of Canada released a report on decision-making at the end of life.

The report provides a strong argument for allowing doctors to help their patients to die, provided that the patients are competent and freely request such assistance.

Peter Singer is a professor of bioethics at Princeton University and Laureate Professor at the University of Melbourne. His books include Animal Liberation, Practical Ethics, and The Life You Can Save.

4:23 PM

David William Haslam: Free to Be Fat

Today, when fat people outnumber the lean by two to one in many countries, obesity has become the last acceptable target of public discrimination.

When it comes to the obese, Western societies tend to blame the victim.

David Haslam is a researcher at the UK's National Obesity Forum.

1:08 PM

Philippe Legrain: The ECB Fear Factor

Exceptional times demand exceptional measures, and the ECB will inevitably feel obliged to act if the euro zone is pushed to the brink.

But the longer it delays, the greater the hit to people's jobs and savings, and the deeper the damage to investors' confidence in the euro zone financial system.

Philippe Legrain is an independent economic adviser to the European Commission.

12:02 PM

Barry Eichengreen: Disaster Can Wait

The coming year will not be one of crisis; neither will it bring an end to our current economic troubles.

Rather, for Europe, the US, and China, 2012 will be a year of muddling through.

Barry Eichengreen is Professor of Economics and Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley.

10:42 AM

Ian Buruma: Is the European Dream Over?

On the surface, Europe's current crisis, which some people predict will tear apart the EU, is financial.

But the deeper crisis is political: there is no 'European people' to express the solidarity needed to see the EU through hard times.

Ian Buruma is Professor of Democracy and Human Rights at Bard College, and the author of Taming the Gods: Religion and Democracy on Three Continents.

1:47 PM

Joseph S. Nye: Obama's Pacific Pivot

The US has declared that its foreign policy will 'pivot' towards the Asia-Pacific region.

But, while China is anxious about a supposed US effort to 'contain' it strategically, the last thing America wants is a Cold War II in Asia.

Joseph S. Nye, a former US assistant secretary of defence, is a professor at Harvard and the author of The Future of Power.

5:07 PM

Kenneth Rogoff: Is Modern Capitalism Sustainable?

Will modern capitalism be a victim of its own success in producing massive wealth?

As pollution, financial instability, health-care problems, and inequality continue to grow, and as political systems remain paralyzed, capitalism's future might not seem so secure in a few decades as it seems now.

Kenneth Rogoff is Professor of Economics and Public Policy at Harvard University, and was formerly chief economist at the IMF.

10:27 AM

Malcolm Fraser: Toward a Peaceful Pacific

Across the Asia-Pacific region, China's influence is rising, while the US continues to dominate militarily.

It is difficult to predict how America's role in the region will evolve, but both sides should pursue diplomatic efforts to minimise Sino-American rivalry and avoid embarking on a new cold war.

Malcolm Fraser is a former prime minister of Australia.

1:05 PM

J. Bradford DeLong: The 70% Solution

Today's super rich command and control over resources that they are effectively satiated.

So, when we calculate what their tax rate should be, we should not consider the effect on their happiness, but rather on the well-being of everyone else.

J. Bradford DeLong, a former assistant secretary of the US Treasury, is Professor of Economics at the University of California at Berkeley and a research associate at the National Bureau for Economic Research.

10:51 AM

Karl P. Sauvant: China Inc. Goes Global

China's economy is now taking its next great leap forward: with labour costs rising and the renminbi appreciating, parts of its manufacturing sector are now moving up the value-added chain and out of the country.

The China challenge is now a global one.

Karl P. Sauvant is Executive Director of the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment at Columbia University.

3:03 PM

Martin Feldstein: Europe is Not the United States

A key argument made by European officials and other defenders of the euro has been that, because a single currency works well in the US, it should work well in Europe as well.

But, while both are large, continental, and diverse economies, the similarities end there.

Martin Feldstein, Professor of Economics at Harvard, was Chairman of President Ronald Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers and is former President of the National Bureau for Economic Research.

10:42 AM

Kandeh Yumkella: Chocolate-Fueled Growth

An agribusiness development strategy focused on higher-value output and stronger productivity growth throughout the value chain represents one of the best opportunities for rapid and broad-based economic growth and wealth creation in Africa.

It also may be one of the few local pathways out of poverty for small farmers.

Kandeh K. Yumkella is Director-General of the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and an editor of a new publication Agribusiness for Africa's Prosperity.

1:38 PM

Gareth Evans: Asia's Month of Milestones

In recent weeks, nervousness about the rise of China has seen a fundamental strategic repositioning by the Asia-Pacific region's major players, with President Barack Obama vowing to reassert US power and interests there.

But, while concerns about China's behaviour should be a part of US allies' strategic planning, they should not be exaggerated.

Gareth Evans is a former Australian Foreign Minister, President Emeritus of the International Crisis Group, and currently Chancellor of the Australian National University.

7:17 AM

Robert Skidelsky: The Wages of Economic Ignorance

Politicians portray everything good that happens as the result of their exceptional talents and efforts, while everything bad is caused by someone or something else.

But, when it comes to the most advanced countries' inability to achieve a sustained recovery since 2008, they have only their own economic illiteracy to blame.

Robert Skidelsky, a member of the British House of Lords, is Professor Emeritus of Political Economy at Warwick University.

8:51 AM

Michael Spence: Can Italy Be Saved?

As the economist Mario Monti assembles Italy's next government, much is at stake for the country, for Europe, and for the global economy.

Only bold commitments by both the EU and Italy can prevent an extremely bad outcome - and ensure a relatively favourable one.

Michael Spence, a Nobel laureate in economics, is Professor of Economics at New York University's Stern School of Business, Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University.

9:38 AM

Jomo Kwame Sundaram: Development Cooperation under Siege

Globalisation has helped to integrate developing countries into the world economy, but now that very integration is becoming a threat in the wake of the financial crisis.

With the increasing likelihood of protracted stagnation in most rich countries, the prospects for development look poor.

11:18 AM

Can Italy Be Saved?

MILAN - As the economist Mario Monti's new government takes office in Italy, much is at stake - for the country, for Europe, and for the global economy.

4:27 PM

Mohamed A. El-Erian: The Anatomy of Global Economic Uncertainty

A major paradigm shift is underway, but instead of being overwhelmed with anxiety, Western countries can seize opportunities in adversity by learning to adapt.

Mohamed A. El-Erian is CEO and co-CIO of PIMCO, and author of When Markets Collide.

12:20 PM

Brahma Chellaney: 'Our' Islamists

Defenders of current US policy in the Islamic world argue that it is sometimes necessary to choose the lesser of two evils, which is why, when it came to the Persian Gulf oil monarchies, America chose the status quo over the Arab Spring.

But, as its history in Afghanistan shows, the US risks fomenting new and even greater dangers.

Brahma Chellaney, Professor of Strategic Studies at the New Delhi-based Center for Policy Research, is the author of Asian Juggernaut and the newly released Water: Asia's New Battleground.

1:31 PM

Shahid Javed Burki: South Asia's Whispering Enemies

Last week's South Asian regional-cooperation summit was predictably disappointing, given unmet expectations for the meeting between the Indian and Pakistani prime ministers on the sidelines of the main event.

While relations between the region's two largest economies have improved slightly over the past 18 months, no new initiatives were offered.

Shahid Javed Burki, former Finance Minister of Pakistan and Vice President of the World Bank, is currently Chairman of the Institute of Public Policy, Lahore.

1:43 PM

Richard N. Haass: Re-Orienting America

After the Cold War ended, the US became preoccupied with Europe, and then, after the 9/11 attacks, shifted its focus to the Middle East.

Now US foreign policy is beginning to catch up to the importance of the Asia-Pacific region ? and not a moment too soon.

Richard N. Haass, formerly Director of Policy Planning in the US State Department, is President of The Council on Foreign Relations.