In The News

The Arrogance of Chinese Power

Brahma Chellaney July 2, 2010
According to CIA estimates, China has the largest population, the largest labor force, the greatest number of people fit for military service and the third largest GDP at purchasing power parity. In addition to its massive, sustained economic and military growth, the nation plays an increasingly prominent role in international relations. The US, burdened by debt and two ongoing wars, hesitates to...

Germany's Export Boom Has Trade Partners Stewing

Armin Mahler, Christian Reiermann, Wolfgang Reuter, Janko Tietz June 30, 2010
Fortunes turn quickly, and the experience of German manufacturers shows that some firms emerge from recession with renewed strength. But global trade partners that rely on deficit spending claim that German prosperity comes at others’ expense, as suggests this Spiegel Online article. Critics complain that a weak euro, German wage stability and failure to stimulate domestic demand decrease the...

African Migrant Workers Find Slim Pickings in Strawberry Fields of Southern Spain

Jean-Jacques Bozonnet June 28, 2010
In Spain, migrant men called “ghosts,” live in hidden plywood shacks adjoining berry fields, and wait for the next season’s harvest. But weather and laws have disrupted the plans of many who travel from Africa and Eastern Europe seeking work on berry farms. In 2008, Spain aimed to reduce immigration by reducing the number of temporary work permits for harvests. The country’s unemployment rate...

Globalization of Energy Demand

June 18, 2010
In an interview with Nayan Chanda, Editor of YaleGlobal Online, Daniel Yergin, one of the world’s leading experts on energy, discusses the future of dependence on oil and a push towards efficiency. He also talks about the “globalization of demand”, in which he states that the success of globalization, notably demonstrated by rapidly rising incomes in, for example, China and India, is reflected in...

Nigeria: “World Oil Pollution Capital”

Caroline Duffield June 18, 2010
The Niger Delta has some 300 spills each year. But Nigeria, a major supplier for foreign markets, lacks the technology, researchers or journalists that monitor such spills, reports Caroline Duffield for the BBC. Many spills in Nigeria are the result of sabotage and aging equipment. Nigerians who have lost their livelihoods because of oil spills take note of the outraged response to an April 20...

The Middle East at the Crossroads – Part II

Dilip Hiro June 10, 2010
Democracy in rising powers like Turkey – along with economic and military distractions for the West, Israel’s obstinacy in resolving conflict with the Palestinians and convoluted US policies that urge free elections but punish results – prompts governments to strengthen ties with regional neighbors. As a result, countries like Turkey, a longtime member of NATO, no longer follow the West in...

As Growth in US Slows, Wal-Mart Puts More Emphasis on Foreign Stores

Ylan Q. Mui June 10, 2010
Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, pursues ambitious foreign expansion to make up for lagging sales in the United States. While no single country could replace the US in terms of consumer power, developing nations are poised for economic growth. Wal-Mart caters to newly-empowered consumers in emerging economies, a business model much like the firm’s “early strategy of building stores in a...