Gwynne Dyer - World Watch

Intervention unlikely in Syria

GWYNNE DYER - WORLD WATCH - © Fairfax NZ News

OPINION: 'The Security Council cannot go about imposing solutions in crisis situations in various countries of the world," said Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, as the UN began discussing what to do about the Syrian crisis last Friday. He needn't worry.

'Armenian tragedy not genocide'

GWYNNE DYER - © Fairfax NZ News

OPINION: I go to France quite often, but after this article is published, I may be liable to arrest if I set foot in the country.

Taiwan plays the waiting game

GWYNNE DYER - WORLD WATCH - © Fairfax NZ News

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

The cave mentality lives on

GWYNNE DYER - © Fairfax NZ News

OPINION: If you're not allowed to enslave people any more, or even loot their resources, then what is the point of being a traditional great power?

The thorny issue of bribery

GWYNNE DYER - WORLD WATCH - © Fairfax NZ News

OPINION: It's getting harder for freelance journalists to make a decent living, so recently I've had to branch out into the advice column business.

A year of bloodshed and financial failures

GWYNNE DYER - WORLD WATCH - © Fairfax NZ News

OPINION: Every year brings changes, but some years really are turning points: 1492, 1789, 1914, and 1989, for example. Does 2011 belong in the august company of such Really Important Years? Probably not, but it definitely qualifies for membership in the second tier of Quite Important Years.

Worse than a wonky dictator?

GWYNNE DYER - WORLD WATCH - © Fairfax NZ News

OPINION: Western intelligence agencies have been warning for years about the consequences that would ensue if Iran were to get nuclear weapons. Better bomb the place before they do.

Europe's leaders are deluded

GWYNNE DYER - WORLD WATCH - © Fairfax NZ News

OPINION: 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.

Putin's shine finally wears off

GWYNNE DYER - © Fairfax NZ News

OPINION: `Throughout the day, it was like receiving reports from a war zone," said Communist Party deputy head Ivan Melnikov on Monday, speaking about the thousands of calls he had received from regional offices about violations in the Russian parliamentary elections. But despite the manipulation, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's United Russia Party got fewer than half the votes this time, down from almost two-thirds in 2007.

'Arab Autumn' stays on track

OPINION: Progress may be slower, but the Arab world shows no signs of stalling in its quest to bring down dictatorships.

Burma edges toward legitimacy

GWYNNE DYER - WORLD WATCH - © Fairfax NZ News

OPINION: Burma is the second-poorest country in Asia (after North Korea), although 50 years ago it was the second richest. It is the second-most repressive dictatorship in Asia, outdone again only by North Korea.

Arab League makes about-face

GWYNNE DYER - WORLD WATCH - © Fairfax NZ News

OPINION: For most of its 66-year history, the Arab League was a powerless organisation, dominated by autocratic regimes that made sure it never criticised their lies and crimes, but suddenly this year, it woke up and changed sides.