In The News

The Blurring Digital Divide

Patricia Yim April 28, 2005

Contrary to widespread commentary about a growing gap in IT capabilities between the developed and the developing world, many poorer nations are making great leaps in technology. The author, managing director for IBM Singapore, writes that IT skills are just as transferrable as any other intellectual asset, especially since recent years have seen the physical cost of digital technology decline...

Untapped Potential: US Science and Technology Cooperation with the Islamic World

Michael A. Levi April 19, 2005

The US relationship with the Islamic world, particularly the problem of terrorism, is a crucial issue. In order to combat terrorism, says this Brookings Institution report, the US must enact policies that address the causes of radicalism, improve the perception of the US in Muslim eyes, and drain support for terrorists in Islamic society. Although there is widespread hostility towards the US in...

A Pipeline to Peace

George Perkovich April 18, 2005

After years of distrust and suspicion, India and Pakistan are discussing the possibility of a joint pipeline, which will bring badly needed gas to western India. Aside from the potential economic benefits to both countries, the project is environmentally safe and most importantly, will encourage the two countries to cooperate more. The problem, however, is that the oil pipeline would originate...

'Wake Up and Face the Flat Earth' – Thomas L. Friedman

April 18, 2005

In his previous book, "The Lexus and the Olive Tree," New York Times foreign affairs columnist and author Thomas L. Friedman wrote about this shrinking world. Discussing his recent book, "The World Is Flat," with Nayan Chanda, editor of YaleGlobal Online, Friedman observes that not only has the world shrunk to a tiny size thanks to a communication revolution, it has even been...

Globalization Is Not Made in the West

Robbie Robertson April 13, 2005

Too often, globalization is seen as an exclusively Western phenomenon, an aggressive force that often endangers indigenous cultures and ways of life. But, as Robbie Robertson writes, this view is not simply reductive – it is inaccurate. "Globalization is not about rampant capitalism, technology, or homogenization," he writes, "It is about the changed environments people create...

Crouching Tiger, Swimming Dragon

Nayan Chanda April 11, 2005

Nearly six hundred years after Chinese ships visited the Persian Gulf, the ground is being laid again for a permanent Chinese presence in the area through which some 40 percent of the world's oil resources travel. As Nayan Chanda writes, Chinese diplomatic visit to Pakistan last week resulted in an agreement to expand a Chinese-built port there, leaving US, Japanese, and Indian governments...

International Bodies, Government Seek Ways to Deter Corruption in Aid

Tony Hotland April 7, 2005

Newspapers are reporting that the Indonesian government may have used tsunami relief money to purchase an eight million dollar villa for their ambassador to Switzerland. The report has prompted an uproar from Indonesians and international donors, who fear further misuse of relief money. Given the scope of reconstruction projects, say donors, well-connected officials in any affected country could...