In The News

Paula Newberg March 30, 2012
NATO is winding down its military operations in Afghanistan, leaving the nation only slightly more stable than when troops arrived in 2001. Security priorities drove aid, and Afghanistan and its neighbor Pakistan are now left in desperate need of good governance and nation-building. “Billions have been spent, but only a trickle was invested in Afghanistan's economic future,” explains Paula...
Anthony J. Spires March 28, 2012
The number of NGOs continues to multiply worldwide, and competition for funding is intense. US-based foundations that contribute to international endeavors tend to promote human rights and democracy. But recipient programs in China are tightly monitored and controlled by the government, explains Anthony J. Spires, sociology professor with the Chinese University of Hong Kong, adding that “major...
Richard Weitz February 29, 2012
Organizing Central Asian states – once members of the Soviet Union – might seem an easy task. Regional and global integration for economic and security purposes has been the goal of Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev since the country gained independence in 1991, explains Richard Weitz, senior fellow and director of the Center for Political-Military Analysis at Hudson Institute. So far...
Mark L. Clifford February 20, 2012
Asia’s post–Cold War generation of young professionals have a decidedly optimistic outlook on the future – as revealed by the Asia’s Challenge 2020 essay competion organized by the Asia Business Council, Time magazine and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. Mark L. Clifford, executive director of the Hong Kong-based Asia Business Council, co-authored...
Bruce Stokes February 13, 2012
Ignoring the European debt crisis is reckless for a major economy like the US – though riots in the streets of Athens, a reaction to austerity measures, may prompt new heed. Bruce Stokes points to many reasons for the US to act swiftly on the euro-crisis: Nearly 60 percent of overseas profits for US multinationals come from the continent, with 20 percent of US exports headed to Europe; austerity...
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...
Andrea Armeni November 23, 2011
In tackling climate change, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change must negotiate among parties that are poles apart and the equally vehement interests of developers and conservationists. This YaleGlobal series analyzes challenges awaiting the leaders headed for Durban, including the need for global cooperation and the cross-border nature of so many interests. In the second and final...