In The News

The Real Foreign Hand Backing Anna

Rajiv Kumar August 25, 2011
One man’s protest against corruption has caught India’s attention, ignited by trends of mass protests abroad, argues Rajiv Kumar in an opinion essay for the Hindu BusinessLine: With fewer opportunities in the West, investors flock toward emerging economies like India, bringing along new demands for transparency and accountability; fewer escape routes exist for India’s elite to flee corruption;...

The Great Failure of Globalization

Jeffrey Sachs August 24, 2011
US and European leaders are in denial over realities of global capital markets and competition from Asia, contends Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Sachs argues that rapid globalization, responsible for the sharp economic decline of the west, has disproportionately hurt the unskilled and middle class while benefiting the wealthy. “The path to recovery now...

Top Indian Technology Firms TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Aegis and Others in US Are Going for Local Hiring

Shruti Sabharwal August 22, 2011
Indian IT firms are seeking to employ more Americans as a result of the high US unemployment rate and criticism of outsourcing. “In response, IT firms are now pulling out all the stops to be seen as job creators with a stake in local economies,” writes Shruti Sabharwal for the Economic Times. Sensitive to charges of stealing jobs, the Indian firms have joined a number of US initiatives: Wipro...

The Eurozone Fights for Survival – Part II

Joergen Oerstroem Moeller August 18, 2011
Lenders are in the habit of putting profits over borrowers’ interests. Many players in the financial markets – the credit markets, banks, economists and analysts – took little notice as small eurozone economies like Greece amassed huge debts based on fiscal records of strong partners like Germany. Massive lending led to crisis, and an abrupt halt, hiking interest rates, aggravated the...

The Global Era and the End of Foreign Policy

Philip Zelikow August 18, 2011
The world is so connected, with greater wealth and power overall, that foreign policy has shifted from adjusting relations between states to convincing states to adjust internal policies, explains Philip Zelikow, professor and former US State Department counselor, in an essay for the Financial Times. The most pressing modern challenges, like climate change, cybersecurity, famines or terrorism,...

The Problem With Fair Trade Coffee

Colleen Haight August 17, 2011
Europe and the US account for about 88 percent of the world’s coffee consumption, while most beans are grown in developing nations. Some industry representatives try to ensure what’s become known as “fair trade,” by certifying producers who meet specific labor, environmental and production standards. “Retailers explain that neither FLO – the Fairtrade Labelling Organization’s International...

The Eurozone Fights for Survival – Part I

François Godement August 16, 2011
The debt crisis rocking Greece, Portugal or Italy not only threatens the stability of the eurozone, but also raises serious questions about the region’s relations with the world. This two-part series examines the European crisis and its ramifications. In the first article, François Godement, senior policy fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relations, points out that minimal attention is...