Recent YaleGlobal Articles

Technocratic Traps of Policy Reforms

Vladimir Gel’man
 July 10, 2018
Rejecting the expert opinions of educated specialists in trade, finance and other areas is tantamount to killing geese that lay golden eggs. “Nations that hope to contribute and compete in the modern world require skilled professionals, especially in complex areas such as taxation and banking, and...

Bangladesh Joins the Space Age

Abu Sufian Shamrat
July 5, 2018
With the launch of the Bangabandhu-1 satellite, Bangladesh has entered the space age. The project, assisted by other space powers, cost US$248 million and marks a promising step in integrating the economy in a global market, explains Abu Sufian Shamrat. Critics of the Bangabandhu-1 point to other...

The West Scrutinizes Chinese Investment

Philippe Le Corre
July 3, 2018
Protectionist stances on immigration and trade have overshadowed proposals for stricter reviews of inbound foreign investment: The United States plans reform for the Committee on Foreign Investment of the United States, which reviews projects for national security concerns, and the European Union...

West’s Failure to Reform Threatens World Order

Humphrey Hawksley
 June 28, 2018
A rebalancing of world power is underway, and global and regional organizations are in need of reform. China and Russia challenge the post–World War II international order developed by the United States and its allies. China’s swift economic growth and Russia’s military interventions have caught...

Indonesian Voters Debate Globalization

Niruban Balachandran
 June 26, 2018
Indonesia, the world’s fifth most populous nation is “a sprawling, 3,000-year-old civilization with more than 360 ethnicities, 707 languages and dozens of religions,” writes foreign policy analyst Niruban Balachandran. “Perhaps this diversity and openness to trade and exchange contribute to...

The US, Nation of Immigrants, Turns on Them

Susan Froetschel
June 22, 2018
The Trump administration launched a zero-tolerance policy on undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers crossing the southern US border, resulting in mass arrests since early April. The administration rationalized that such arrests justified separating children from parents and placing them in...

Trump, Kim and the China Factor

Lowell Dittmer
 June 21, 2018
A summit with the US president boosted standing for North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. China, not part of the summit, advises Kim from the sidelines – China’s President Xi Jinping, in office since 2013, only agreed to meet Kim after Trump accepted the summit invitation in March. Kim has since met with Xi...

Illusion of Security From Singapore

Shim Jae Hoon
June 19, 2018
North Korea’s Kim Jong-un returned home to a hero’s welcome for snagging a meeting with the US president and concessions including suspension of joint US–South Korea military exercises. Donald Trump returned with big promises, suggesting that Kim is “de-nuking the whole place, and he's going...

In Search of the Real Indo-Pacific

Donald K. Emmerson
 June 14, 2018
Global powers express renewed interest in the Indo-Pacific, and intentions are divided over strategies that could counter China or entice Chinese participation. The Indo-Pacific region dominated discussions at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, even more so than the summit between leaders of...

Russia, FIFA and the Power of Sport

Michał Romanowski
 June 12, 2018
Mega sporting events like the Olympics or the World Cup attract global attention to host countries as well as the athletes. Russia, hosting the World Cup through mid-July, views such events as “a way to prove the world it is a guardian of universal norms,” writes Michal Romanowski, Eurasian expert...

Leveraging Ambiguity in Foreign Relations

Mikhail Troitskiy
 June 7, 2018
Uncertainty in global economic or security affairs is often associated with risk. “And yet, ambiguity can be ‘constructive,’ bringing clear benefits in the field of negotiation and conflict resolution,” observes Mikhail Troitskiy, a political analyst in Moscow. “Ambiguity can be a force for common...

Iran and North Korea: Trick or Treat?

François Godement
 June 5, 2018
Some foreign policy analysts criticized US President Donald Trump for pursuing a denuclearization agreement with North Korea soon after withdrawing from a 2015 agreement aimed at slowing Iran’s nuclear-weapons program. Iran and North Korea have a shared history of nuclear proliferation, writes...

The Making of Tunisian Foreign Policy

Amina El Abed
 May 31, 2018
The unprecedented mass protests throughout the Middle East during 2011's Arab Spring had limited effect on most regimes. Only Tunisia successfully ended authoritarian rule, but democracy remains a work in progress. Parties, aligned with powerful neighbors, have failed to provide ideological...

Too Late for North Korea Denuclearization

Louis René Beres
 May 29, 2018
As US President Donald Trump tries to reschedule the summit with North Korea's Kim Jong-un after having cancelled it, he must set realistic goals. The two sides kept talking, with Trump writing: “The world, and North Korea in particular, has lost a great opportunity for lasting peace and great...

The EU Splits With Trump on Iran Nuclear Deal

Dilip Hiro
May 24, 2018
US President Donald Trump has turned on European allies by withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, undermining the foundation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Iran was in compliance with the agreement, but hardliners convinced Trump to exit the deal rather than try for revisions. Many...

Electoral Tsunami for Malaysia

Philip Bowring
May 22, 2018
Malaysians and overseas observers tentatively welcome election results that have ended 60 years of power for United Malays National Organization, a party increasingly associated with corruption and erosion of the rule of law. But worries are not far behind about “a disparate four-party coalition...

Ukraine and Russia: Peace, War and the Future

Volodymyr Dubovyk
 May 17, 2018
Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and enjoyed relative peace for more than two decades until February 2014. “Vladimir Putin’s gamble of using military force in Crimea and Donbas has changed the relationship drastically,” writes Volodymyr Dubovyk, associate professor of...

India-China Relations in the Age of Xi Jinping

Shyam Saran
 May 15, 2018
The leaders of China and India, Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi, have nationalist tendencies with a pragmatic bend. Varying economic growth for the two rival nations and contrasting systems of governance – one increasingly authoritarian and the other democratic – have given China the upper hand as a...

10 Quick Facts on US Trade

Farok J. Contractor
 May 10, 2018
Trade offers many benefits for economies, and the outlook for the United States is not as grim as some political leaders suggest. Still, there are challenges for the US-Chinese trade relationship, explains Farok J. Contractor, professor at Rutgers Business School. The United States does have a...

Keeping Pressure on Iran

Jamsheed Choksy and Carol Choksy
May 8, 2018
President Donald Trump announced that the US is exiting from the Iranian nuclear deal and will reintroduce sanctions. Lifting sanctions was part of the 2015 nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action reached by China, Iran, the United States, Russia, Germany, France, the United...
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