The current global financial crisis has led many an analyst to predict a reversal of recent growth trends in migration and a dramatic fall in remittances. While some data may confirm such predictions, it may not turn out that way in the end. As economist Jayati Ghosh argues, remittances may not...
Recent clashes between indigenous Uighurs and Han Chinese in Urumqi in China’s Xinjiang province highlight the growing difficulty Beijing faces with regard to minority rights. It also highlights how even a small group with global connections can bring the world spotlight on their cause and...
When the leaders of the eight industrialized countries meet in Italy this week, they will need to urgently address a silent crisis of hunger. With over a billion hungry people around the globe, it is critical that the developed world takes measures to increase agricultural productivity, writes...
八个工业化国家的领导人本周在意大利会晤，他们将要紧急应对一场无声的饥饿危机。芝加哥全球事务委员会（Chicago Council on Global Affairs）主席马歇尔•博顿（Marshall Bouton）写道，当全球有超过十亿人处于饥饿状态的时候，由发达国家采取措施来提高农业生产力，是至关重要的。由于全球经济不景气，穷人的数量可能增加，所以这样一种解决方案变得更为紧迫。部分解决方案在于引导一场新的包罗万象的绿色革命。在1960、1970年代的早期绿色革命中，先进的农耕技术提升了生产力，在那些已经拥有良好基础设施的潮湿地区（主要在亚洲）取得了成功。其他地区被甩在后面，...
The upcoming climate summit in Copenhagen in December poses some challenging, but not insurmountable problems for the Indian government. Co-Chairman of Infosys Technologies Ltd, Nandan Nilekani explains that India needs to engage actively in the climate debate, not only because India is likely to...
Zimbabwe was in world headlines when its opposition politician Morgan Tsvangirai was mercilessly beaten by government thugs. But now his joining a unity government has pushed the country to the background, even though Zimbabwe remains in dire straits. Deputy President of the International Crisis...
通用汽车的故事可以为很多商业寓言提供灵感。但在作者何威杰（William J. Holstein）看来，通用的衰落始自二十世纪八十年代，因为通用在当时没有能够认识到来自日本汽车制造商的威胁，以及汽车制造业向精益生产的结构性转向都是真实存在的。这种情况再加上在岗及退休雇员的高额医疗保险以及管理层的拒绝改革，都使得通用如崖边累卵，摇摇欲坠。但这种平衡在当时却并不像其表现出来的那样危险。何威杰认为，通用前执行总裁里克•瓦格纳（Rick Wagoner）当时正在改变这家公司，他只是需要更多时间以使公司成本与其日本竞争者相一致。遗憾的是，这场经济危机削短了时间，于是通用破产了。它是否能够东山再起，...
The tale of General Motors may provide the inspiration for many a business parable. But according to author William J. Holstein, GM’s downfall started in the 1980s when the company failed to view as credible the threat of Japanese automakers and the tectonic shift in auto production to lean...
The global response to China’s filtering software Green Dam Youth Escort and the Iranian election are not only proof of the power of the internet as a democratic form of communication, but also as a lever for democracy itself. Columbia Professor Guobin Yang shows how. The Green Dam software program...
In this second part of a two part series on Obama’s Middle East challenges, author Dilip Hiro offers a pointed analysis of the Iranian election, detailing its flaws and its possible aftermath. Prior to the election, Iranian opinion polls suggested opposition candidate and former Prime Minister, Mir...
With President Obama’s ground-breaking speech in Cairo and the turbulent Iranian election, the Middle East is witnessing a quickening tempo of history. In the first of this two-part series on Obama’s Middle East challenge, Middle Eastern Studies professor Fawaz A. Gerges analyzes Obama’s speech,...
伴随着奥巴马总统开创性的开罗演讲和动乱四起的伊朗大选，中东正在见证历史节奏的加快。在由上下两篇组成的“奥巴马中东问题之挑战”系列文章的上篇中，中东问题研究专家法拉兹•格尔格斯（Fawaz A. Gerges）教授对奥巴马的演讲进行了分析。他认为该演讲在中东政治发展中将起到承前启后的关键作用。它至少表明了往届总统都从未如此表现过的美国对身陷苦难的巴勒斯坦人民的同情和对以色列人的立场。除了认同巴勒斯坦的建国需求和呼吁以色列停止扩建犹太人定居点外，奥巴马此次演讲还有其他的历史意义。作为伊斯兰文化中心的埃及是阿拉伯世界中人口最多的独裁国家，也是最强大的伊斯兰组织“穆斯林兄弟会”的所在地，...
In this second part of our two part series on North Korea’s clandestine economy, journalist and author Bertil Lintner describes the demise of many North Korean-owned restaurants in Asia due to the economic crisis. Often titled Pyongyang, these restaurants once catered mainly to South Korean...
