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INTERNATIONAL EDITIONS: HIGHLIGHTS AND EXCLUSIVES, 

AUGUST 18-25 2008 DOUBLE ISSUE

COVER: What Bush Got Right (All overseas editions). Newsweek International Editor Fareed Zakaria examines the Bush administration's successes in American foreign policy, while also noting its failures. "Bush's basic conception of a 'global War on Terror,' to take but the most obvious example, has been poorly thought-through, badly implemented, and has produced many unintended costs that will linger for years if not decades. But blanket criticism of Bush misses an important reality." He writes that for "whatever reasons and through whichever path, the foreign policies in place now are more sensible, moderate and mainstream.  In many cases the next president should follow rather than reverse them."  He writes that the foreign policies that aroused the greatest anger and opposition were mostly pursued in Bush's first term. "In the last few years, many of these policies have been modified, abandoned or reversed. This has happened without acknowledgment-which is partly what drives critics crazy-and it's often been done surreptitiously. It doesn't reflect a change of heart so much as an admission of failure; the old way simply wasn't working."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/151731

SPECIAL REPORT: THE EDUCATION RACE. Build It And They Will Learn. Special Correspondent Zvika Krieger opens this special report about how the geography of higher education is changing fast, with the Middle East and Asia coming on strong. "There is a war out there for talent," says Abdulla al-Karam, director-general of Dubai's Knowledge and Human Development Authority, "and we're not going to let everyone else take the best." Dubai, along with its neighbors, is leading a rush of countries trying to erode the dominance of Harvard, Yale and a handful of other, mainly American or British  schools. 

http://www.newsweek.com/id/151680

      Ballad of the Old Cafés. Krieger reports that the relatively liberal and cosmopolitan natures of Cairo, Beirut and Baghdad once made them magnets for the intelligentsia. Coffee shops buzzed with debate and printing presses churned out revolutionary tracts. In recent years, however, war, unrest and economic malaise have caused a sharp decline in these centers, and Western universities have started moving in, helping the new academic stars battle the old capitals for dominance.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/151681

      The Big Brains Are Back. Special Correspondent Mary Hennock reports that in China, which has fought a battle against brain drain for 30 years, the booming economy and the country's growing prestige are bringing back Chinese expats in growing numbers.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/151685

     The Star Students of the Islamic Republic. Special Correspondent Afshin Molavi reports that one of the best undergraduate electrical-engineering programs in the world is at the Sharif University of Science and Technology in Iran. Iranian students are developing an international reputation as science superstars. And universities worldwide are noticing.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/151684

      When More Is Worse. Special Correspondent Jason Overdorf reports that although India's economy and its job markets are booming, the nation's university system has recently hit a full-fledged crisis. And Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's educational reform program, while bold, may expand the county's higher education system without addressing its underlying problems.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/151682

The Campus of the Future. European Economics Editor Stefan Theil reports on a group of leaders who are rethinking how their universities should function in the 21st century. Schools are realizing they need to distinguish themselves in a global race for students, professors and resources. More and more, that means moving away from specialized academic training and toward more integrated approaches to complex, real-life problems.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/151686

      A Global Headhunt. Special Correspondent Barrett Sheridan reports on the trend in schools making top-level hires from abroad. And the talent-flow isn't quite universal. High-level personnel tend to head in one direction: outward from the United States.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/151689

      Tune In Tomorrow. Theil reports that long gone are the days when "online education" meant little more than digitized correspondence courses. Today it features videos and podcasts, blog and live chats, Webcams and wikis, and online courses are becoming ever more popular.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/151688

From the President's Office. Judith R. Shapiro, the chair of the board of trustees of Common Cents and former Barnard College president, looks back at how much has changed during her 14 years there, from the technology revolution to renewed political engagement. Today's youth, connected to events and people halfway around the world by the Internet, also see themselves as global citizens responsible for the well-being of others and the survival of the planet."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/151693

 Harvard Hits the Rich-Poor Gap. Miami Bureau Chief Arian Campo-Flores reports that Harvard's recent major restructuring of financial aid resonated far beyond its walls. Within months, several other Ivies and well-endowed schools publicized their own aid overhauls aimed at middle- and upper-middle-income families overwhelmed by the spiraling cost of higher education.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/151695

Brand Names, Bad Values? Senior Editor Daniel Gross writes that there's no question that going to university is a smart economic choice. But a look at the strange variations in tuition reveals that the choice about which college to attend doesn't come down merely to dollars and cents. In this hyper-consumerist age, most buyers are evaluating college as a consumer product-like a car or clothes or a house. And with such purchases, price is only one of many crucial factors to consider, Gross writes. 

http://www.newsweek.com/id/151696

The West Need Not Panic. Yale President Richard Levin writes in an essay about how Western universities should respond to the rise of rest. "Already we've begun to experiment with franchise operations, setting up programs in the Middle East, China and elsewhere ... More broadly, we should remember that increased competition is a good thing. The list of the world's top 20 universities is likely change in the years ahead ... America's great universities should welcome the newcomers and recognize that the whole world will benefit from their success."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/151704

WORLD VIEW: Russian Moves in the Americas. Jorge Castañeda, Mexico's former foreign minister, writes that Caracas, not Havana, "is where the Russian push into Latin America could work, and the consequences for the military equilibrium in South America ... and in the Caribbean would be severe, forcing others into an arms race no one wants or can afford." He continues that it would not be a bad idea for this U.S. administration or the next one to take up the matter with Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev. "Similarly, it would be wise for Washington to refrain from any tough talk or humiliating language directed at Havana." 

http://www.newsweek.com/id/151676

THE LAST WORD: Alistair Darling, chancellor of the Exchequer. Darling says that although the British economy has darkened over the last year, he disagrees with critics who say the country did not make provisions for the future during the good times. "If you look at the level of debt we inherited from the Conservatives in 1997, we have reduced it quite dramatically. At the same time we managed to triple investment in public services. And the same people who now criticize us were in the past are urging us to spend more and more, not less and less."     

http://www.newsweek.com/id/151675

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