In The News

Malay-Muslims Have a Role in Remaking Singapore

Lee Hsien Loong May 27, 2003
In the contemporary moment, no country is immune from the possibility of religious and sectarian violence, and the threat of global terrorism. In this speech to a Malay-Muslim youth organization, Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, emphasizes the importance of cultural and religious pluralism, and the critical role of Malay-Muslims in Singapore's continued growth and...

No Regrets in a Suburb Named After the Despot

Andrew Buncombe April 10, 2003
Ironic that a Baghdad suburb named after Saddam Hussein is home to a population that vehemently opposes him. The residents of Saddam City belong to the minority Shia sect and live in poverty. The attack on Iraq has provided the residents with a much over-due opportunity to publicly denounce Saddam. For the poor in Saddam City, the attacks are also an occasion to celebrate, by mass lootings of...

Latino Immigrants Stepping Up to Serve the US Cause

Enrique Rangel March 31, 2003
The ultimate sign of nationalism is often seen as a willingness to give your life for your country. Since WWII, immigrants born in Latin and South America have fought for the American military, often before they even gained official recognition as American citizens. Joining the military may the fastest way to prove loyalty to a new state and to integrate oneself into a new nation. Immigrant...

Power to the Privileged

Amy Chua January 7, 2003
A central theme of global integration in recent years has been the spread of free markets and democracy. Yale professor Amy Chua argues that these features of globalization can create serious problems in countries where economic levers lie in the hands of an ethnic minority. She gives the example of Venezuela, where a president elected by the poorer section of society and the majority ethnic...

Fresh Setback for Schröder on Migrant Law

Haig Simonian December 18, 2002
Labor migration is a sensitive political issue in many nations. In Germany, businesses facing immediate labor shortages and an aging workforce have lobbied the government to open immigration to non-European Union talent. But now a law liberalizing immigration, put in place by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, has met with opposition from several local states, demonstrating that local interests,...

Globalization Narrows Gender Gap: World Bank

June 13, 2002
Andrew Mason, an economist with the World Bank, has found that globalization not only reduces poverty and raises income but also helps narrow gender inequalities in education, nutrition, and health. However, he cautions, governments need to continue their efforts to reduce inequalities. Although export promotion has created millions of new jobs for women "at wages higher than in traditional...

A Different Take on Human Origins

John Noble Wilford March 7, 2002
Dr. Alan R. Templeton, a population biologist at Washington University in St. Louis, believes that he has discovered primitive Homo sapiens’ initial migration out of Africa to be more than half a million years ago. Previously, the popular “Out of Africa” theory of modern human origin set the initial migration at only 100,000 years ago. Many scientists argue that these new findings will make the...