In The News

Migration Laws May Be the End of Globalization

Branko Milanovic August 1, 2006
The first worldwide era of economic globalization ended with the carnage and insecurity of two World Wars separated by a Depression, according to author Branko Milanovic. The end of the current era, he writes, will not necessarily come from global catastrophe, but rather with “an economic retrenchment that brings economic stagnation and consigns billions of people to grinding poverty.”...

All Fall Down

Edward Gresser July 27, 2006
Leaders of developing nations anticipated that negotiations of the Doha Round could lead to even-handed trade practices, particularly in agriculture. With the talks collapsed, the wealthiest nations will not suffer nearly as much as the developing nations, according to trade analyst Edward Gresser. The real losers, he says, will be cotton farmers in West Africa, textile workers in low-income...

Why Monday’s Collapse of the Doha Round Negotiations Is the Best Outcome for Developing Countries

Walden Bello July 27, 2006
Many mourn failure of the Doha Round as a setback for the citizens of the world’s most impoverished countries, yet author Walden Bello contends that the outcome may be best for the developing economies. Rather than delivering aid, Doha’s unequal provisions could strip farmers of any means to protect their products with tariffs, subjecting them to fierce competition of a global economy. Non-...

South African Business: Going Global

July 26, 2006
Following the fall of apartheid, South African companies had much catching up to do. The isolation of the 1980s, however, did confer some benefits, including self-sufficiency and internal development. Another result was the creation of local conglomerates focusing on diverse industries, or “business octopuses.” Allowed to do business beyond South Africa’s borders, however, these unwieldy...

Habitual Blindness

Eric Rauchway July 20, 2006
The US is a creature of habit and that means repeating old mistakes, according to author Eric Rauchway. Reaping benefits of industrialization and expansion while devoting few resources to the process, thanks to immigration and foreign capital, the US too often mistakes “habit for virtue.” Rauchway contends that the US deludes itself into acting as though circumstances have changed little since...

The Village That Refused to Die

Jonathan Watts July 19, 2006
Hydro-engineers making their way to the Chezhou village in rural China didn’t expect a warm welcome, but never imagined they would be held hostage by villagers angry about the construction of a dam that will force them to abandon their homeland. The government has proposed a dam for one of China’s most ecologically diverse and beautiful areas – the Tiger Leaping Gorge. While villagers have staged...

Only a UN-Led Peace Process Can Halt the Iraq Catastrophe

Menzies Campbell July 17, 2006
Continued violence and instability in Iraq have undermined the ability of coalition forces to play a positive role in the reconstruction, writes Menzies Campbell, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party in the UK. To move forward, he explains, the task must be internationalized and carefully planned. Urging that the United Nations should be given more control of the peace process, Campbell writes...