In The News

Hunger Pains Test North Korea’s Dynastic Succession

Shim Jae Hoon February 1, 2012
Isolated North Korea has carried out early stages of transfer of power from Kim Jong Il to his third son, Kim Jong Un, with elaborate titles and displays of respect. But the government faces grave challenges stemming from decades of prioritizing military spending capped by a nuclear-weapons program, acrimonious relations with South Korea since the 1950-1953 war, and steadfast refusal to engage...

Global Causes Attract Growing Share of US Giving

Susan Froetschel January 10, 2012
After the 2008 global recession, Americans understandably tightened their purse strings for charitable giving. Yet giving to international causes rose by about 15 percent in 2010 – the largest percentage increase of all categories, including religion, health or education, according to Giving USA Foundation. Nonprofits in the international affairs category attracted 5 percent of US contributions,...

US-Pakistani Relations in Crisis – Part II

Robert M. Hathaway January 5, 2012
Hours after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, Pakistan pledged to assist the US in fighting terrorism in neighboring Afghanistan. But a series of events, including the May discovery of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad and the November US strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers along the Afghan border, contribute to mounting mistrust in both nations. This YaleGlobal series examines the deteriorating...

Burma in the US-China Great Game – Part II

Aung Zaw December 7, 2011
China publicly shrugged at the Obama administration’s initiative to engage with Burma, widely seen as part of the US plan to reinforce its position in Asia. This YaleGlobal series analyzes the global ramifications of Burma’s willingness to diversify its relations beyond China. The West had imposed sanctions after Burma’s violent suppression of the democratic movement and setting aside 1990...

Chocolate-Fueled Growth

Kandeh K. Yumkella December 5, 2011
Poverty continues to linger in most Sub-Saharan countries, in large part due to the shortsighted nature of their export-based commodity economies. In an opinion essay for Project Syndicate, Kandeh Yumkella, director general of the UN Industrial Development Organization, suggests the time has come for these nations to upgrade their economies by focusing on ““value-added, agro-industrial...

World Will Miss Economic Benefit of 1.8 Billion Young People

Fiona Harvey October 31, 2011
As the population hits the 7 billion mark, the world contemplates the challenges in providing adequate education, jobs and other opportunities for growing numbers of youth. The largest cohort of youth in the world’s history can represent great potential or missed opportunities. A UN report warns that the potential economic benefits of having such a large global population of young people could go...

What Does Gaddafi's Fall Mean for Africa?

Mahmood Mamdani October 21, 2011
The brutal end of Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi is a warning for despots who resist reforms. Too many African leaders follow the personality-based model of Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah rather than the state-building model of Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere, argues Mahmood Mamdani, a professor at Columbia and Makerere universities in an essay for Al Jazeera. Failure to establish sustainable institutions breeds...