In The News

A Recipe for Disaster

Nayan Chanda May 9, 2016
Widening inequality has fueled a populism in democracies like the United States and France that counters the agenda of political elites. “Now the Panama Papers revealing a massive tax avoidance scheme by the world’s elite have added another black mark to globalization,” explains Nayan Chanda, founding editor of YaleGlobal Online in his column for Businessworld, referring to a massive leak of bank...

How to Save Brazil

Luiz Felipe d’Avila April 18, 2016
Brazil, among the world’s 10 largest economies and the fifth most populous, is in political and economic turmoil. The president has been impeached and the Brazilian Senate will decide whether to proceed with a trial. Populist policies and a drop in commodity prices led to debt that is 70 percent of GDP. Political leaders must act swiftly to restore public confidence and reduce corruption...

Panama Papers: Leaks Spur Global Investigations

April 4, 2016
Investing funds in offshore accounts is not necessarily illegal, but avoiding taxes is a violation of local and national laws. “Eleven million documents were leaked from the secretive Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca,” reports BBC News. “They show how the company has helped some clients launder money, dodge sanctions and avoid tax.” The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists...

Brussels Attacks Point to Broad Terrorist Network in Belgium

Shiraz Maher March 22, 2016
Three explosions in Brussels, two at the airport and one at the metro station, “once again demonstrate the difficulties in securing ‘soft targets,’ particularly where they relate to the transportation system,” writes Shiraz Maher for New Statesman. He also casts doubt on a theory that the attacks are a specific retaliation for the arrest of a 26-year-old associated with the coordinated terrorist...

The Long, Thorny Path to Calling ISIS “Genocidal”

Adam Chandler March 18, 2016
The Islamic State came to world attention for extremism and brutality in late 2013, and it took more than two years and designations by the European Parliament, the United States National Holocaust Museum and US House of Representatives for the US State Department to declare the terrorist group is responsible for genocide in the cities and territory it controls. The Islamic State is not a state,...

The Death of Berta Cáceres

Jonathan Blitzer March 17, 2016
Activist Berta Cáceres, 44, spoke out against the government awarding contracts for hydroelectric dams throughout Honduras, including areas inhabited by indigenous people. Her murder is drawing attention to her efforts as well as violence and corruption in Honduras. “Cáceres was on the front lines from the start, having founded the group that has organized much of the opposition, the Council of...

Corruption Threatens Ukraine's Hard-Earned Freedom

Chris Miller March 14, 2016
The abrupt resignation of Ukraine’s respected minister of economy and trade, his refusal to “serve as a cover-up for covert corruption,” has triggered political crisis and an onslaught of recriminations about inept governance. More resignations may follow, and the crisis comes during a treacherous period as the West and Russia battle for influence over the country of 45 million. “Notably, the...