In The News

The Poisonous Legacy of the Iraq War – Part I

Fawaz A. Gerges March 15, 2007
Four years ago, the US invaded Iraq and expected to install a democratic government. This two-part series examines how US military invention has influenced Muslim hearts and minds around the globe. In the first article, author and Middle East analyst Fawaz Gerges describes how the goals of jihadist fighters have evolved. Before the 1990s, such radical groups targeted Middle Eastern governments...

The Opening of Libya

Stanley Reed March 9, 2007
As Libya gradually emerges from 20 years of economic isolation, international energy firms rush to grab a piece of the North African nation’s extensive untapped oil reserves. Libya has organized an intensely competitive bidding process for exploration rights, pitting companies from the US, Europe and Asia against one another in a race to secure new sources of energy. Such investment will have...

A Budget for Globalization

February 22, 2007
Singapore’s historic status as a thriving international port has long rested on its openness to international business and trade. The government’s efforts in enticing foreign businesses and tourists to Singapore have made it among the most business-friendly economies in the world. One key to that success has been a willingness to adapt to a rapidly changing global economy, and the government...

Inequality and Globalization

Ben Bernanke February 21, 2007
The US strives to provide equal opportunity for all individuals, but does not guarantee equal economic outcomes, explained US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in a recent speech. Still, new competition or inventions like the computer can make some workers’ skills obsolete, warns Benanke, and if the nation does not provide a support system for such workers, thus limiting some of the risks,...

You’ve Never Had it So Good

February 12, 2007
Although there have been some costs, Britain has gained overall from the globalization of the last decade. Perhaps because of its colonial past, “The Economist” argues, Great Britain has embraced the economic shift in the developed world from manufacturing to services brought on by globalization. The country has seen a decade of solid economic growth and per-capita GDP levels surpassing those of...

Obama's International Background an Asset, Not a Flaw

Donald K. Emmerson February 5, 2007
Global exchange of all sorts is a prerequisite for the future, and parents should prepare their children. An international education – attending public school with ordinary children, not cloistered away with children of the elite – can be the best preparation for a global career and an antidote for racism, xenophobia or other forms of social tension. Isolationists in the US try to stoke fear of...

Erosion of English Skills Threatens Growth in the Philippines

Carlos Conde December 29, 2006
Lawmakers in the Philippines have passed a law making English the primary language of instruction from high school onward, reversing a trend that encouraged instruction in native languages. About 95 percent of Filipinos speak English, but call centers and other business run by foreign firms impose high standards. English skills declined rapidly after a 1987 law required bilingual education to...