Recent YaleGlobal Articles

Arch Roberts
April 10, 2014
Iran possesses the technology to enrich uranium that could lead to production of nuclear weapons, putting the country in a class with 14 nations including Germany and Japan. Perhaps that was the nation’s goal all along. “It’s possible that a pause in Iran’s nuclear program has become desirable and...
Will Hickey
April 8, 2014
Transition away from fossil fuels toward new alternatives is not going smoothly. Proponents of alternatives confront a powerful industry with longstanding incentives and favorable tax policies, suggests analyst Will Hickey. Around the globe, economic struggles and immediate profits take priority...
Barry Mirkin
April 3, 2014
Demographers are often called upon to predict the future by extrapolating from population statistics and trends. The United Nations has revised population projections upward, and demographer Barry Mirkin suggests the warning signs are clear: The globe can anticipate a billion more people in a...
Joergen Oerstroem Moeller
April 1, 2014
President Barack Obama traveled to Saudi Arabia to meet with King Abdullah, and both men “recognize that the geopolitical ground shaped by their common interest in stable oil prices has shifted, creating a new imbalance that could spill over into Mideast security policy,” suggests researcher...
Thomas Graham
March 27, 2014
Determined to restore Russia’s standing as a great power, President Vladimir Putin has his reasons for annexing Crimea and amassing troops along the border with Ukraine. “Today the former Soviet space, with the exceptions of the Baltics and Russia itself, is a region of fragile states, corrupt...
Anna Beth Keim
March 26, 2014
A desire for democracy – the ability to select one’s representatives, but also engage in informed debate on policies with compromise – may slowly take root in Turkey. Spring protests in Gezi Park gave way to harsh crackdown, a government corruption investigation in December and active debate over...
David R. Cameron
March 25, 2014
Europe’s advance on former Soviet satellite states unnerved Russia. After unrest in Ukraine and deposition of the president, Russia moved to annex Crimea – which in turn may “drive Ukraine into the arms of the EU and give NATO a new raison d’être,” explains David R. Cameron, Yale professor of...
Marc Grossman
March 20, 2014
Despite threats from the Taliban, as evidenced today, March 20, in Jalalabad and impending withdrawal of international forces, Afghans head to the polls to elect a new president April 5. But there is reason for hope as “Afghanistan is not the same country it was in 2001, and Afghans seem ready...
Carlyle A. Thayer
March 18, 2014
China has twice as much territory and population than the combined 10 member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – not to mention three times the GDP and four times the military spending. China increasingly pushes its weight in the region, most recently by criticizing Malaysian...
Ashok Bardhan
March 13, 2014
The US economy is growing, but employment is not keeping pace. A reliable supply of natural gas and dropping prices, high-tech manufacturing, and big-data analysis offer economic promise. Technology of all kinds contributes to efficiency and productivity. Firms consider returning facilities in the...
Strobe Talbott
March 11, 2014
Displeased by the removal of its ally in Ukraine, and contending a need to protect ethnic Russians wherever they live, Russia has dispatched troops to the neighboring state. The next step is redrawing Ukrainian borders by annexing Crimea under the guise of a hastily arranged election limited to...
Joseph Chamie
March 6, 2014
Women now outnumber men in global university attendance and graduation rates. Most gains are in developed nations; in some countries, as many as two thirds of graduates are women, though discrimination still lingers. Globally, the ratio is 93 men to 100 women; men tend to concentrate in engineering...
Raluca Besliu
March 4, 2014
Communist Romania, in 1949, was one of the first countries to recognize the communist People’s Republic of China. In 2007, Romania joined the European Union and has felt like a second-class member since – a market for European goods and services, but not a full partner. Prime Minister Victor Ponta...
David R. Cameron
February 27, 2014
In November, Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych rejected signing an Association Agreement with the European Union and later negotiated a bailout deal with Russia. Months of protests led to a week of violence and culminated in Yanukovych’s removal from office. The parliament moved swiftly to...
Joseph LaPalombara
February 25, 2014
Machiavellian maneuvers rely on clever deceit and appearances to achieve political goals, as described by Niccolò Machiavelli in his short book The Prince, published in 1532. Using political machinations, disrupting a coalition carefully crafted by the leader of his own party and promising...
James Leitner and Ian Shapiro
February 20, 2014
US Congress raised the artificial debt ceiling to pay bills without a fuss, but the move may galvanize extremists who want to slow government spending, explain James Leitner, president of Falcon Management, and Ian Shapiro, a Yale political science professor. Economists around the globe agree the...
Stephen S. Roach
February 18, 2014
Global analysts fret about the resilience of emerging markets, including China’s. Yet economic managers in China know what needs to be done, already taking steps to rebalance, shifting from dependence on manufacturing and exports towards more services and consumer spending. The world is not...
David I. Steinberg
February 13, 2014
The government in Burma (Myanmar) is loosening political controls, and welcoming more trade and interactions with the rest of the world. The strong culture has resisted waves of Indian, Chinese and Western influences in the past, suggests David I. Steinberg, distinguished professor of Asian Studies...
Alistair Burnett
February 11, 2014
This year marks the centenary of the First World War in Europe and has prompted comparisons with rising tensions between China and Japan, and the United States and China. A shifting balance of power adds to tensions. A small or accidental clash combined with alliance commitments could cause a wider...
Ziad Haider
February 6, 2014
China with its fast-growing economy is on the hunt for global investments. The United States reviews most investments for national security implications with its Committee on Foreign Investment, chaired by the Department of Treasury, and Ziad Haider, attorney and writer, argues Chinese companies...
Subscribe to Featured Articles