Gwynne Dyer

Gwynne Dyer: Tibetans in flames

By Gwynne Dyer | May 16, 2012

The number of Tibetans burning themselves to death in protests against Chinese policy has grown very fast recently.

Comments (1)

Gwynne Dyer: Moderates move to the front of the line in Egypt's presidential election

By Gwynne Dyer | May 13, 2012

Comments (4)

Gwynne Dyer: Could Greece's default lead to the collapse of the euro?

By Gwynne Dyer | May 9, 2012

There is now a risk that the euro, the 10-year-old common European currency, might indeed collapse. The trigger could turn out to be last weekend’s election in Greece.

Comments (18)

Gwynne Dyer: A signal honour from Osama bin Laden

By Gwynne Dyer | May 4, 2012

I was recently notified that Osama bin Laden wanted to send me and 14 other journalists “special media material” on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

Comments (15)

Gwynne Dyer: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict after the â��peace processâ��

Gwynne Dyer: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict after the “peace process”

By Gwynne Dyer | May 1, 2012

It has been almost a decade since insiders really believed that it was going to end up in the “two-state solution” that was envisaged in the Oslo Accords.

Comments (14)

Gwynne Dyer: Sudan and South Sudan are on the brink of war

By Gwynne Dyer | April 27, 2012

The war, if it comes, would be over control of the oil reserves along the undefined border, but it would also be an ethnic conflict.

Comments (6)

Gwynne Dyer: Mr. Normal, FranÃ§ois Hollande, speaks blunt truths about the markets

Gwynne Dyer: Mr. Normal, François Hollande, speaks blunt truths about the markets

By Gwynne Dyer | April 23, 2012

The Socialist Party leader in France is poised to become his country's next president, which could tilt the balance of power in Europe.

Comments (4)

Gwynne Dyer: Iâ��ll have a slice of clitoris cake, please

Gwynne Dyer: I’ll have a slice of clitoris cake, please

By Gwynne Dyer | April 20, 2012

Let’s suppose that you are an artist who knows you have to shock people if you really want to get on in the trade.

Comments (17)

Gwynne Dyer: The lies of Afghanistan

By Gwynne Dyer | April 16, 2012

The official line is that by two years from now, when U.S. and NATO forces leave Afghanistan, the regime they installed will be able to stay in power without foreign support, but most foreign observers disagree.

Comments (15)

Gwynne Dyer: Argentinaâ��s campaign to recover the Falkland Islands

Gwynne Dyer: Argentina’s campaign to recover the Falkland Islands

By Gwynne Dyer | April 12, 2012

Argentina President Cristina Kirchner recently marked the 30th anniversary of the Argentine invasion and British recapture of the islands.

Comments (39)

Gwynne Dyer: Bashar al-Assad wins and Syria loses

By Gwynne Dyer | April 8, 2012

The Arab dictator has reneged on a deal that might have resulted in fewer civilians losing their lives in protests against his regime.

Comments (7)

Gwynne Dyer: The possibility that Aung San Suu Kyi will lead a democratic Burma

By Gwynne Dyer | April 3, 2012

Burma is far from being a genuine democracy, but the results of recent by-elections—where the National League for Democracy won 40 of the 45 seats at stake—is encouraging.

Comments (6)

Gwynne Dyer: Nuclear weapons and the â��Global Zeroâ�� project

Gwynne Dyer: Nuclear weapons and the “Global Zero” project

By Gwynne Dyer | March 29, 2012

Keeping bomb-grade nuclear material out of the wrong hands requires a high level of international cooperation.

Comments (6)

Gwynne Dyer: The symmetry of murderers Mohamed Merah and Sergeant Robert Bales

By Gwynne Dyer | March 26, 2012

Mohamed Merah went on a 10-day killing spree in Toulouse, France. U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales was charged with murdering 17 Afghans in two villages near Kandahar.

Comments (4)

Gwynne Dyer: How global civilization will get through the 21st century

By Gwynne Dyer | March 20, 2012

Our duty to our great grandchildren is to figure out how to make it to 2100 without a collapse; however, the way we currently live isn’t sustainable.

Comments (38)

Gwynne Dyer: Why Nicolas Sarkozy wonâ��t last much longer in France

Gwynne Dyer: Why Nicolas Sarkozy won’t last much longer in France

By Gwynne Dyer | March 15, 2012

Francois Hollande, the Socialist leader, cruises towards what seems like an inevitable victory in next month’s French presidential election.

Comments (1)

Gwynne Dyer: Chinaâ��s impending financial crash

Gwynne Dyer: China’s impending financial crash

By Gwynne Dyer | March 12, 2012

Building a skyscraper is the ultimate expression of economic confidence, and more than half of the skyscrapers currently under construction in the world are being built in China.

Comments (12)

Gwynne Dyer: No defensible reasons to attack Iran

By Gwynne Dyer | March 7, 2012

There is something comic about two nuclear-armed countries declaring that it is vital to prevent a third country from getting a few of the things too.

Comments (53)

Gwynne Dyer: Hugo Chavez might be on the way out after ruling Venezuela for 13 years

By Gwynne Dyer | March 5, 2012

The populist president is battling cancer and a very formidable opponent in the next election.

Comments (12)

Gwynne Dyer: Vladimir Putinâ��s Pyrrhic victory

Gwynne Dyer: Vladimir Putin’s Pyrrhic victory

By Gwynne Dyer | February 28, 2012

While Putin is most likely going to win the Russian presidential election in March, people are losing their fear of his regime, and the corruption issue is biting deeper and deeper.

Gwynne Dyer: Painting Calcutta blue

By Gwynne Dyer | February 24, 2012

West Bengal got a new government last year, and the state’s new rulers decided that the capital city, Calcutta, needs a new colour scheme.

Comments (5)

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 (13)

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 (32)

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 (9)

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 (19)

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)