Heated debate immediately erupted, with some experienced practitioners questioning the feasibility of such a goal.

After 1989, the issue of self determination became acute again in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

Talk about the book in Japan is so fervid that the term dignity (hinkaku) has become a buzzword.

FLORENCE As the Cancún climate change summit approaches, discussions about the viability of carbon trading systems is intensifying.

Now that debate is once again heating up in France, as the planned introduction of ethnic statistics has caused a fierce dispute that touches the very heart of French republicanism.

FLORENCE As the Cancún climate change summit approaches, discussions about the viability of carbon trading systems is intensifying. The world can look to Europe as a model that is not only up and running, but that works.

Race has always been a provocative subject when the needs of science and statistics intersect with politics. Now that debate is once again heating up in France, as the planned introduction of ethnic statistics has caused a fierce dispute that touches the very heart of French republicanism.

TOKYO Kokka no Hinkaku, The Dignity of a State, is the title of a recent book by the Japanese mathematician Masahiko Fujiwara that has sold three million copies. Talk about the book in Japan is so fervid that the term dignity (hinkaku) has become a buzzword.