Too often, debate about the relationship between the state and the market casts them as opposing forces locked in a zero-sum struggle. But this simplistic approach quickly renders constructive discussion a casualty of the ideological battle between advocates of state and market capitalism.

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The recent controversy over errors in a 2010 paper by the economists Carmen Reinhart and Ken Rogoff is a sad commentary on the politically toxic atmosphere surrounding fiscal policy in the US, Europe, and Japan. The Reinhart/Rogoff paper is just a small part of a large literature that shows high debt levels to be economically risky.

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The disqualification of two leading candidates for Iran's presidency sends a strong message from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei. Simply put, Khamenei is determined to avoid the type of friction that has characterized his relationships with previous presidents, particularly outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

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Apocalyptic prophecies - from Y2K to Mayan baktuns - divert resources and attention from more consequential scientific developments and debates. As journalism shifts toward sensationalism over empiricism, doomsday panics are becoming increasingly frequent - and increasingly damaging.

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Disputes over territorial sovereignty are among the thorniest of all diplomatic disagreements. While the sovereignty disputes in the South and East China Seas involve seemingly non-negotiable claims, the resources surrounding the islands can nevertheless be shared, nurturing habits of closer regional cooperation in the process.

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A half-century after the Sino-Indian War of 1962, the countries' mutual border remains undefined and a constant source of friction - the latest episode being a three-week incursion by Chinese troops into Indian-held territory. Other Asian countries can no longer afford to ignore their own longstanding border disputes with China.

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China's successful transformation from a middle-income country to a modern, high-income country will depend largely on the reforms that the government undertakes over the next decade. But, because the most pressing reform - interest-rate liberalization - carries both risks and rewards, officials should be prudent in their approach.

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A government cannot liquidate its deficit if the source of its revenues, the national income, is diminishing. It is deficit reduction, not debt, that is profligate, because it implies wastage of available human and physical capital, quite apart from the resulting misery.

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While some African countries now rank among the world's fastest-growing economies, others - including the 14 countries that form the franc zone - remain mired in poverty. To break out of it, franc-zone leaders must pursue complete emancipation from France, abandon the CFA franc, and build relations with China.

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As Russian and American diplomats prepare for a Syrian peace conference, the Middle East is experiencing convulsions not seen since the Arab Spring two years ago. Indeed, in historical terms, the Syrian crisis, not the Arab Spring, will most likely be regarded as the region's seminal event in this decade.

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