In The News

Bangladesh Accommodates Extremism, Spelling Danger for the Region

Sumit Ganguly May 17, 2016
The Islamic State extremists have claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in Bangladesh on journalists, educators, atheists and religious minorities. Unfortunately, “the present regime, in denial about religious extremism, finds this trend to be politically expedient,” writes Sumit Ganguly, a professor at Indiana University and also a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute...

"My Name Is Sadiq Khan and I'm the Mayor of London"

Nabanita Sircar May 10, 2016
Cities and nations inspire, not when their citizens fear and denigrate immigrants, but instead welcome the newcomers’ skills and ideas and celebrate their rising influence. “In a world where terrorism and Islamophobia is spreading rapidly, London showed its inherent multicultural, diverse character when it elected the first Muslim Mayor, Sadiq Khan,” explains Nabanita Sircar for Outlook magazine...

China, Russia Seek to Profit as the EU Beacon of Democracy Goes Dim

Humphrey Hawksley April 5, 2016
“Not long ago the European Union stood as an unassailable beacon, a model for how trade and shared values could override historical hatreds and how a disparate collection of nations could work together under a single set of political values,” argues Humphrey Hawksley, BBC correspondent, in this YaleGlobal esssay. The EU is now vulnerable to the charms – and illusions – of authoritarian order....

Washington’s New Friends in Latin America

Patricio Navia March 24, 2016
Barack Obama is taking steps to improve relations with neighbors as the first sitting US president to travel to Cuba since Calvin Coolidge in 1928. “Obama’s visit to Cuba and Argentina this week underlines the United States government’s effort to make new friends and rebuild old relationships in Latin America,” writes Patricio Navia for the Buenos Aires Herald, adding that “as the US did not...

International Students Find Roles in US Presidential Campaign

Paul Elish and Susan Froetschel March 22, 2016
The percentage of international students enrolled at US colleges and universities has climbed over the past five years, due to rising applications from overseas and declining enrollment by US students. College administrators encourage civic engagement for all students, and international students are following the US presidential race. “The election will determine the roles for foreign nationals...

Worldview: The Myth of the Strongman

Trudy Rubin March 1, 2016
Newspapers throughout the United States are imploring voters to think twice before casting a vote for real estate mogul and reality-TV star Donald Trump. Many voters are distraught over stagnation, the lack of fulfilling jobs and opportunities. Many hope a forceful personality can deliver change. “We've entered an era in which strongmen are in vogue and democracy is taking a hit worldwide,”...

Number of Workers per Retiree Declines Worldwide

Joseph Chamie December 22, 2015
Most governments must juggle budgets and confront the fact that the world has fewer people of working age to support the swelling ranks of the elderly. Joseph Chamie, a demographer, analyzes the Potential Support Ratio, or PSR, and suggests the statistic could reveal more about the overall health of an economy than GDP or other common indicators. “The PSR has weighty implications for governments...