Gwynne Dyer

Gwynne Dyer: There is no need to panic over the power shift to Asia

By Gwynne Dyer | February 20, 2012

A great shift of productivity and wealth is underway, but will the United States and China be able to manage the shift without a great war?

Comments (12)

Gwynne Dyer: New divisions in Africa are going from bad to worse

By Gwynne Dyer | February 15, 2012

In Nigeria, Islamist terrorists of Boko Haram are murdering people all over the country in the name of imposing sharia law on the entire nation.

Comments (6)

Gwynne Dyer: The Syrian oppositionâ��s great mistake

Gwynne Dyer: The Syrian opposition’s great mistake

By Gwynne Dyer | February 9, 2012

President Bashar al-Assad and his Baathist regime know how to destroy armed resistance.

Comments (15)

Gwynne Dyer: Cultured meat could lead to conversion of farmland to forests

By Gwynne Dyer | February 5, 2012

Barley fields like this one could disappear if there's sufficient lab research into making tasty food for the world's starving masses.

Comments (21)

Gwynne Dyer: The Syrian tragedy

By Gwynne Dyer | January 30, 2012

Syria is headed towards a catastrophic civil war, but nobody is willing to put troops into the country.

Comments (18)

Gwynne Dyer: Why Scotlandâ��s separatist referendum is all in the question

Gwynne Dyer: Why Scotland’s separatist referendum is all in the question

By Gwynne Dyer | January 27, 2012

When it comes to independence from the United Kingdom, Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond knows just how to ask a question in order to get the answer he wants.

Comments (5)

Gwynne Dyer: The Armenian massacres and the French presidential elections

By Gwynne Dyer | January 24, 2012

President Nicolas Sarkozy is responsible for a bill that will make it a crime to question whether the Armenian massacres in eastern Turkey in 1915 qualified as a genocide.

Comments (30)

Gwynne Dyer: The risk of Islamist coups

By Gwynne Dyer | January 20, 2012

The eastern half of what used to be Pakistan narrowly escaped a military coup last month.

Comments (5)

Gwynne Dyer: In the case of China, Taiwan should just play the waiting game

By Gwynne Dyer | January 16, 2012

The most important thing in Taiwanese politics is always left unsaid.

Comments (14)

Gwynne Dyer: Sodomy and democracy in Malaysia

By Gwynne Dyer | January 13, 2012

Anwar Ibrahim is an unusual man in two respects.

Comments (2)

Gwynne Dyer: Why Americaâ��s new defence strategy is straight from the Stone Age

Gwynne Dyer: Why America’s new defence strategy is straight from the Stone Age

By Gwynne Dyer | January 9, 2012

Back when land was the only thing of value, it made sense to go heavily armed, because somebody else might try to take it away from you—but it doesn’t make sense anymore.

Comments (27)

Gwynne Dyer: Has African National Congress reached "tipping point" with 100th anniversary?

By Gwynne Dyer | January 5, 2012

Politics is a tough old game in every country, but there is a systemic problem here: the ANC doesn’t do democracy well.

Comments (2)

Gwynne Dyer: Agony aunt passes judgment on corruption

By Gwynne Dyer | January 1, 2012

New Zealand is the least corrupt nation in the world, but that doesn't necessarily mean its citizens are more moral than people living in other places.

Comments (7)

Gwynne Dyer: Arab Spring, euro crisis, and climate change are big stories of 2011

By Gwynne Dyer | December 28, 2011

Every year brings changes, but some years really are turning points.

Comments (8)

Gwynne Dyer: Bombings in Syria and Iraq raise spectre of Sunni-Shia war

By Gwynne Dyer | December 26, 2011

Many believe that Syrian president Bashar al-Assad is responsible for recent "terrorist" attacks in Damascus.

Comments (5)

Gwynne Dyer: North Korea and H5N1: a sense of proportion

By Gwynne Dyer | December 20, 2011

There are more frightening things in the world than wonky North Korean dictators.

Comments (9)

Gwynne Dyer: Unpacking the false equation that religion equals morality in Great Britain

By Gwynne Dyer | December 19, 2011

In the United States, where it is almost impossible to get elected unless you profess a strong religious faith, it would have passed completely unnoticed.

Comments (18)

Gwynne Dyer: Durban climate-change conference was an almost total failure

By Gwynne Dyer | December 14, 2011

Over the past 15 years of climate negotiations there has been a steady decline in the seriousness of the response.

Comments (9)

Gwynne Dyer: EU crisis summit shows how deluded Europeâ��s leaders are

Gwynne Dyer: EU crisis summit shows how deluded Europe’s leaders are

By Gwynne Dyer | December 12, 2011

One senior European politician said angrily that British prime minister David Cameron was “like a man who comes to a wife-swapping party without his wife”, and there was some truth in that.

Comments (8)

Gwynne Dyer: The fear of free women in Middle Eastern monotheisms

By Gwynne Dyer | December 9, 2011

A senior academic in Saudi Arabia recently declared that allowing women to drive would spell the end of virginity in the kingdom.

Comments (18)

Gwynne Dyer: Why Russians are done with Vladimir Putin

By Gwynne Dyer | December 5, 2011

The prime minister will still return in March’s presidential elections, but the erosion in his popular support is suddenly visible for all to see.

Comments (7)

Gywnne Dyer: Rear-guard action at the Durban climate conference

By Gwynne Dyer | December 1, 2011

The plans for a new global deal on climate change lie broken and abandoned.

Comments (12)

Gwynne Dyer: A progress report on the Arab Autumn

By Gwynne Dyer | November 28, 2011

The Arab Autumn is a much slower and messier affair, but despite the carnage in Syria and the turbulent run-up to Egypt’s first democratic elections, the signs are still positive.

Comments (10)

Gwynne Dyer: Can you trust the army in Burma?

By Gwynne Dyer | November 22, 2011

What should pro-democracy leaders in Burma do when the army shows signs of wanting to make a deal and withdraw from direct control over the country?

Comments (5)

Gwynne Dyer: Ceasefire in the war on drugs?

By Gwynne Dyer | November 18, 2011

The political leaders who are starting to say that it’s time to end the war and legalize the drugs are almost all in the producer nations, where the damage has been far graver than in the drug-importing countries.

Comments (16)

Gwynne Dyer: The Arab League has changed sides

By Gwynne Dyer | November 15, 2011

The Arab League suspended Syria’s membership because President Bashar al-Assad has not carried out the commitments he gave the League about ending the violence against Syrian civilians.

Comments (1)

Gwynne Dyer: Reports of Iran's nuclear ambitions sound like a repeat of Iraq eight years ago

By Gwynne Dyer | November 9, 2011

The same intelligence agencies are producing the same sort of reports about Iran that we heard eight years ago about Iraq’s nuclear ambitions, and interpreting the information in the same highly prejudiced way.

Comments (38)

Gwynne Dyer: Muddling through the euro crisis in Greece

By Gwynne Dyer | November 7, 2011

Many fear that a Greek default could take the euro down with it, so there have been frantic EU attempts to cobble together some financial aid package that could keep Greece solvent.

Comments (5)

Gwynne Dyer: Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas seeks to strengthen bargaining position

By Gwynne Dyer | November 3, 2011

This comes on the heels of a UNESCO vote, which granted Palestine full membership on October 31.

Comments (6)

Gwynne Dyer: The African population disaster

By Gwynne Dyer | October 28, 2011

Few Africans will say that because it’s too painful to contemplate, and few outsiders will say it because it is politically incorrect. But a lot of people know it.

Comments (18)

Gwynne Dyer: Dissecting the notion of Muslim fanaticism

By Gwynne Dyer | October 25, 2011

Repeat three times after me: “Islamic” is not the same as “Islamist”. And Arabs are not fools; they are grownups.

Comments (5)

Gwynne Dyer: What would Moammar Gadhafi have been like without absolute power?

By Gwynne Dyer | October 23, 2011

Now that the dictator is dead, it's a good time to reflect on the impact that his position had on his behaviour.

Comments (36)

Gwynne Dyer: The possibility of peace in the Basque country

By Gwynne Dyer | October 18, 2011

A conference in Spain last weekend will probably lead to the end of ETA’s long and violent campaign for Basque independence.

Comments (2)

Gwynne Dyer: the martyrdom of Yulia Tymoshenko

By Gwynne Dyer | October 13, 2011

The former Ukrainian prime minister was sentenced to seven years in prison and a $186 million fine for a decision she made while in office that would never end up in court in a normal democratic country.

Comments (4)

Gwynne Dyer: Civil war coming to Syria?

By Gwynne Dyer | October 8, 2011

There are many things that Syria has in common with Iraq—including the possibility that a great deal of bloodshed will accompany the fall of a dictator.

Comments (7)

Gwynne Dyer: The heritage of Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and other monsters

By Gwynne Dyer | October 4, 2011

This is the 20th year that Braunau has held the "Contemporary History Days" conference, which tries to deal with the legacy of living in the city where Adolf Hitler was born and grew up.

Comments (4)

Gwynne Dyer: King Abdullah's balancing act in Saudi Arabia

By Gwynne Dyer | September 29, 2011

The pro-democracy movements are operating right along Saudi Arabia’s frontiers, in Jordan, in Yemen, and most frighteningly in Bahrain. Everyone agrees that something must be done—but what?

Comments (1)

Gwynne Dyer: Will the euro survive until tomorrow afternoon?

By Gwynne Dyer | September 25, 2011

We are dealing with three different things here. One is a default by Greece. The second is a collapse of the euro, triggered by a Greek default. The third thing is the collapse of the European Union itself.

Comments (6)

Gwynne Dyer: Geo-engineering takes off to cool Earth's surface

By Gwynne Dyer | September 21, 2011

Scientists are planning to test the feasibility of an “artificial volcano” that injects sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere to cool the planet by two degrees.

Comments (7)

Gwynne Dyer: In Vladimir Putin's Russia, Right Cause takes a wrong turn

By Gwynne Dyer | September 17, 2011

A rich man tried to create a new opposition party, but it was crushed by government officials.

Comments (6)

Gwynne Dyer: What the Vatican option means for Palestine and the United Nations

By Gwynne Dyer | September 13, 2011

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas will address the General Assembly on September 23, and then there will be a vote that he is certain to win.

Comments (9)

Gwynne Dyer: The real potential for naval conflicts around the world

By Gwynne Dyer | September 9, 2011

If this sort of thing goes on, it is plausible to imagine a point at which countries with real military power—Israel and Turkey, or India and China—start shooting at each other.

Comments (14)

Gwynne Dyer: Osama bin Laden's strategy behind the 9/11 attacks

By Gwynne Dyer | September 5, 2011

The Saudi-born terrorist wanted the U.S. to invade Afghanistan in response to the 9/11 atrocities.

Comments (21)

Gwynne Dyer: Is force an instrument of love in Libya?

By Gwynne Dyer | September 1, 2011

Sometimes you have to use force to protect innocent people from harm. Which brings us to Libya.

Comments (9)

Gwynne Dyer: Nigeria and Boko Haram

By Gwynne Dyer | August 29, 2011

Attacks on Nigeria’s unity, though just a “local problem”, are a very serious threat to Africa’s biggest country.

Comments (2)

Gwynne Dyer: With rebel victory, what's next for Libya?

By Gwynne Dyer | August 25, 2011

Consider the tasks that the revolutionaries now face.

Gwynne Dyer: Moammar Gadhafi's looming defeat offers lessons about violent and nonviolent revolutions

By Gwynne Dyer | August 22, 2011

The Libyan rebel forces have gone out of their way to prevent their fight against the dictator to descend into tribalism.

Comments (5)

Gwynne Dyer: Was George W. Bush a "sleeper" working for Iran?

By Gwynne Dyer | August 17, 2011

The question arises because Bush’s actions as president did much more for Iran’s interests in the Middle East than for those of the United States

Comments (36)

Gwynne Dyer: Julius Malema's South African game

By Gwynne Dyer | August 15, 2011

Julius Malema did something unusual on August 13. The leader of the Youth League of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress apologized for something he had said.

Comments (2)