Recent YaleGlobal Articles

Four Contradictions of US Trade Policy

Chris Miller
March 9, 2017
To create jobs and boost US manufacturing, the Trump administration must develop strategic trade policies. However, the rising value of the US dollar and market expectations for tax cuts and spending complicate policymaking, explains Chris Miller, author and associate director of the Brady-Johnson...

To Avert Disaster the US Must Deal With North Korea

Rakesh Sood
 March 7, 2017
North Korea is rapidly developing its nuclear program, conducting multiple missile tests as well as two nuclear tests in 2016. The regime is also accused of using a chemical weapon to assassinate the North Korean dictator's half-brother who had been living under China’s protection. The brazen...

The Futile Goal of “Winning” Wars

Louis René Beres
 March 2, 2017
Wars and the technology for fighting them have evolved rapidly in recent decades. “We never win, and we don’t fight to win,” lamented US president Donald Trump shortly before announcing plans to increase US military spending. “We’ve either got to win, or don’t fight it at all.” However, Louis René...

Disrupting US-China Relations Will Incur High Costs

Farok J. Contractor
 February 28, 2017
The United States and China, the world’s largest markets, are major trade partners. The relationship provides numerous benefits including affordable goods for households and millions of jobs for both nations: China has an estimated 16 million, albeit many with low wages, engaged in exports to the...

Sea Change Awaits Trump in Thailand

Benjamin Zawacki
 February 23, 2017
During the US election campaign and since, President Donald Trump and other members of his administration issued tough statements about China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea and promised to bulk up the US naval fleet. Thailand, both bilateral and multilateral treaty ally for the United...

Border Walls: Bad Medicine for Wrong Diagnosis

David Dapice
 February 21, 2017
The president and Republican legislators who control the US government are scrambling for ways to accomplish the quick fixes promised on the campaign trail: create more high-paying manufacturing jobs by limiting trade and making Mexico pay for a border wall to deter immigration. Conservatives...

Can Trump and Putin, Despite Uproar, Still Make a Deal?

Richard Weitz
 February 16, 2017
Questions are mounting about Russian influence within the highest levels of US government. US National Security Adviser Michael Flynn resigned after less than a month in office following reports he had discussed sanctions with Russia’s US ambassador weeks before Donald Trump entered office and...

China Has Chance to Undercut US by Wooing Taiwan

Humphrey Hawksley
 February 14, 2017
In the interest of peace, virtually all countries maintain official relations with China and unofficial relations with Taiwan. In December, the US president-elect disrupted this broad international understanding by questioning need for the One China policy and treating it as a bargaining chip. Two...

Can People Embrace Enlightenment 2.0?

Marc Grossman
 February 9, 2017
The Age of Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, spread through Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. Proponents argued that humans, as individuals and society, hold the power to improve their lives through reason and enterprise rather than tradition for tradition’s sake – thus...

The Trump Factor in the French Election

François Godement
 February 7, 2017
Populist Marine Le Pen narrowly leads in polls for the French presidential race with fierce attacks on immigration and globalization. Comparisons with US President Donald Trump are being made. Each politician “combines disaffection from the established parties – all liars, damn liars – a sense of...

Empire by Other Means: Russia’s Strategy for the 21st Century

Agnia Grigas
 February 2, 2017
Since Vladimir Putin became president of Russia in 2000, his first of three terms so far, the nation has steadfastly pursued a seven-part strategy for gaining influence over former Soviet republics and preventing them from moving into the more liberal sphere of the West. In her book "Beyond...

Russia Emerges as New Power Broker in Middle East

Dilip Hiro
 January 31, 2017
Russia – striving to prove that it is a superpower that resolves global challenges and not a weak regional power that preys on neighboring states – concluded peace talks with Syria and 14 rebel groups in the Kazakh capital of Astana. The United States sent an observer, and author Dilip Hiro notes...

Next Debt Crisis Might Affect Emerging Market Corporate Sector

Anthony Rowley
 January 26, 2017
Global debt has reached $217 trillion, equal to a record 325 percent of global gross domestic product. “High levels of debt do not in themselves indicate an impending crisis,” explains Anthony Rowley, author and long-time business editor. “But when a dramatic surge in borrowing is followed by a...

The Hidden Global Trade in Patient Medical Data

Adam Tanner
 January 24, 2017
As the global trade in health data continues its rapid growth, regulators are not keeping pace and most patients are unaware that their details can be sold. The use of such data in research could lead to new treatments, but privacy is also at risk. The United States has led on this trade even as...

Trump's Presidency: Rise of Illiberal Globalism?

Amitav Acharya
 January 19, 2017
The liberal international order which supports protections for individual freedom, as led by the United States, is in crisis. The threats are both external from authoritarian governments and internal from disgruntled populists who sense a loss of opportunities. The United States is signaling a...

US Dollar Reigns Supreme for Developing World

Will Hickey
 January 17, 2017
Economists have used the phrase “original sin” as a metaphor to refer to the inability of developing nations to borrow from their own currencies. “Developing nations overleverage their economies to external foreign debt, most often, the US dollar, due to an optimistic perception of global monetary...

Sino-Indian Tensions Roil Geopolitics in Asia

Harsh V Pant
 January 12, 2017
Chinese-Indian relations are deteriorating, worsening the security environment in Asia. “New Delhi may have decided to take the Chinese challenge head-on,” explains Harsh V Pant. “To complicate matters for India, its erstwhile ally Russia, which has become a close friend of China, is showing...

Don’t Bet on Enduring Republican Reset With Russia

Daniel Twining
 January 10, 2017
Donald Trump blasted critics who reject his plans to improve US ties with Russia on Twitter: “Having a good relationship with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing. Only ‘stupid’ people, or fools, would think that it is bad!” But Congress may not go along, including Republicans who worry about...

Alaska Airport Is a Big Link for the Global Supply Chain

Will Swagel
 January 5, 2017
Alaska is sparsely populated with about 750,000 people. Still, the state’s largest city has emerged as a vital link along the global supply chain, and the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport takes full advantage of being within 10 hours by air to 90 percent of the industrialized world. The...

Modern Servitude: Romanian Badante Care for Elders in Italy

Raluca Besliu
 January 3, 2017
As Europe confronts the challenges of an aging population, workers from relatively poor countries relocate to wealthier communities to provide care. “Badante” is an Italian term for caregiver that also refers to foreign women, especially the Romanians who leave home and family to work long hours...
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