Is the world economy on the brink of recession?

Skates now cut into the ice instead of gliding on top of it.

On the verge of civil war, Iraq just announced a restructuring of its foreign debt.

That may prevent the world economy from falling into recession.

As a result, the slide was halted, and the rebound was faster than forecasters expected.

Circuit breakers are in place nowadays to prevent a 1929 style slide into disaster.

And Japan is already slipping back into recession because of the earthquake.

A military elite favors step by step reform, but wants to protect its position and is determined to avoid a descent into chaos.

Many Africans will fall back into desperate poverty.

But even this is almost surely better than a depression.

The question is how to keep surveillance off the slippery slope to unaccountable snooping.

Whether Iraq achieves stability or is once again ripped apart by sectarian violence now depends, as it always has, on the new political elites.

The bubble has now burst, and these economies are heading into a steep recession.

Moreover, US schools, particularly at the primary and secondary levels, continue to slip down the global scale, constraining Americans ability to benefit from globalization.

With American influence at low ebb, the world is in danger of sliding into a vicious cycle of escalating violence.

Assistance in economic, humanitarian or other fields may be provided at the request of a country to avoid slipping towards conflict.

All of Asia s powers, including China and Japan, will have to play a part in stopping Bangladesh s drift into fanaticism and chaos.

Japan s annual 15 20 trillion yen infrastructure intensive stimulus didn t prevent its lost decade.

With inflation both headline and core now on an accelerating path, Asian central banks can t afford to slip further behind the curve.

To be sure, Bush s new strategy is highly unlikely to help Iraqis avert a slide into sectarian civil war. A temporary 16 boost in troops simply is not enough to get that job done.

By contrast, those nations that remain nostalgic for the cause of Che, such as Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia, are at this very moment poised on the brink of civil war.

The price of Nigerian crude is rising, a sure sign that the world sees instability ahead.

For, although the surge was important, two other factors played a critical role in bringing Iraq back from the brink.

So, what can be done to minimize the fallout of another economic contraction and prevent a deeper depression and financial meltdown?

Moreover, if peace prevents a slide into war, Hezbollah has another problem.

The word lava comes from Italian, and is probably derived from the Latin word labes which means a fall or slide.

In my statement to the Council on the November report, I spoke about the risk of sliding back into lawlessness and anarchy.

And if he fails? The Middle East will continue its slide into mayhem perversely befitting the upcoming centenary of World War I s outbreak.

It is certainly in Russia s national interest to prevent chaos in the country s big next door neighbor.

Firstly, they must control their military commanders and reverse the slide into predatory warlordism and criminal behaviour.

Such compromises may be the only way to stem the slide to civil war, and possibly also co opt the Islamists into a settlement with Israel and a rapprochement to the West.

In this scenario, Pakistani generals, instead of continuing to sponsor Afghan Pashtun militant groups (like the Taliban and their allies like the Haqqani network), would be compelled to fend off a potentially grave threat to Pakistan s unity.

For example, while Iran may not be happy with the American presence in Iraq, it realizes how close the country is to full scale civil war.

But if we are to move forward rather than revert to earlier, more dangerous times, the US, in particular, must reassert a constructive role in multilateralism.

If an imposed solution fails, the entire region will begin to slip into a dangerous confrontation during the first years of Barack Obama s presidency.

PARIS With the deepening of the economic crisis and the prospect of another recession looming large on the horizon, growing social inequality has become an increasingly urgent issue.

But, above all, he has tried hard to secure Republican support for his efforts to prevent the economy from disappearing into a deep recessionary hole.

If an imposed solution fails, the entire region will begin to slip into a dangerous confrontation during the first years of Barack Obama s presidency. And that confrontation will not be limited to Israelis and Palestinians.

Abdullah, perhaps earlier than most others, understood that some code of restraint was needed if the entire region was not to descend into a war of all against all.

The aid that Ethiopia receives from its friends may be a small price to pay to keep Africa s second largest country from descending into chaos.

It can choose to lead the Middle East into vibrant multi sectarian democracy or slump back into corrupt local politics under foreign tutelage.

Such compromises may be the only way to stem the slide to civil war, and possibly co opt Islamists into a settlement with Israel and rapprochement with the West.

But this is the most painful way out, and it generates intense social and political instability.

As early as October 2008, when the crisis first hit, China s government adopted a comprehensive policy package designed to prevent the economy from sliding further.

Israel, for its part, must recommit itself to the late Yitzak Rabin s doctrine that only a comprehensive regional peace agreement can prevent the Middle East from declining into nuclear chaos.