May 2012

Page 1

A World of News and Perspective

■ EDUCATION & MEDICAL

SPECIAL SECTIONS INSIDE

LIVIN L U X U R

EDUCATION ■ A Special Section of The Washington Diplomat

■ May 2012

The

‘Stan’ Surge

■ WWW.WASHDIPLOMAT.COM

■ VOLUME 19, NUMBER 5

■ MAY 2012 Rise of Central Asian Students In U.S. Reflects Region’s Growth by Carolyn Cosmos

United States

Will NATO, G-8 Summits Become Useless Talk Shops?

Here’s a puzzle: College campuses across the United States have seen a 32 percent increase in international students since 2000, reports the Institute of International Education (IIE) — even though global test scores show that the U.S. education system is lagging far behind its overseas counterparts such as powerhouses like Finland and Singapore.

Niger

PEOPLE OF WORLD INFLUENCE

Reporter Deconstructs Af-Pak-U.S. Conundrum

Caucasus

Sahel Out Of Shadows The military coup in Mali pivoted the world’s attention

Now in its fifth year, with a record 70 embassies participating, Passport DC remains a oneof-a-kind citywide event. PAGE 36

Page19

Ever since his 2001 bestseller “Taliban,” Pakis­ tani author and journalist Ahmed Rashid has been at the forefront of diagnosing the scourges that infect his region, from a glut of American money to Pakistani scapegoating, and in his latest book, he warns that a botched U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan could prove fatal for Pakistan. PAGE 6

Reformers Try to Rid Human Rights Council Of Moral Hypocrisy

Passport DC: Numbers Don’t Lie

EDUCATION

The Washington Diplomat

United Nations

culture

However odd this conundrum, the steady stream of international students coming to the United States makes sense, said Allan Continued on next page

May 2012

World leaders will converge on the United States for two important summits in May, but critics are skeptical that the G-8 and NATO are equipped to produce a consensus on what to do about Syria, Afghanistan, the Arab Spring, the fragile global economy and other thorny issues of the day. PAGE 8

Reformers have been cleaning house at the U.N. Human Rights Council, which has gained some credibility by calling out abuses in Syria, Libya, Sudan and Sri Lanka, though it remains a platform for authoritarian propaganda. PAGE 10

High school students in the United States ranked 32nd among nations in math proficiency tests last year and were 17th in reading, according to a study headed by Harvard professor Paul Peterson.

Testudo overlooks McKeldin Mall at the University of Maryland in College Park.

toward the Sahel, but Maman S. Sidikou, Niger’s new envoy and a longtime development expert, says the instability next door is just the latest problem plaguing his region, already gripped by drought, poverty and — now — the renewed threat of Islamist extremism. PAGE 15

Complacency In Caspian’s Frozen Conflicts Energy riches have heated up the economies of Caspian Basin states such as Azerbaijan while cementing partnerships with the United States, but Baku’s new ambassador, Elin Suleymanov, says long-dormant conflicts could still easily erupt and derail two decades of postSoviet progress. PAGE 12


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