In The News

Globalisation's Strange Bedfellows

Alison Maitland December 12, 2005
In an unusual move, Unilever, the global consumer goods giant, has partnered with Oxfam to study its impact on local populations and businesses in Indonesia, with a view to showing that globalization is not necessarily a bad thing for developing countries. Oxfam was allowed unprecedented access to Unilever's Indonesian workers, and also looked at the impact of its consumer sales in that...

Globalization vs. Economic Sovereignty

Pang Zhongying December 2, 2005
China is often presented as a poster boy for successful globalization. But at least some intellectuals in China are not happy with the course globalization has taken. Chinese academic Pang Zhongying, writing in China Daily, points out that many countries, especially in the developing world, suffer an “erosion of permanent and exclusive privileges over [their] economic activities, wealth and...

Globalization Isn't Killing GM

Jim Jubak December 1, 2005
In recent years, large job layoffs and short-term cost cutting have become a commonplace in many American corporations. The managers of these businesses defend these changes as necessary in the face of globalization and competition from lower-cost operators abroad. But as business journalist Jim Jubak writes, budget cuts made in the name of improving global competitiveness are doing nothing to...

The Box That Makes the World Go Round

Alexander Jung November 29, 2005
When the ocean-freight industry was born, no one predicted how rapidly it would grow as a result of globalization. In particular, the division of labor that is a function of globalization has dramatically affected the industry. China especially serves as the world’s manufacturing center, with the EU and the US being the principle consumers. Between them lies the vast expanse of the high seas,...

Anti-Americanism is One ‘Ism’ That Thrives

Roger Cohen November 28, 2005
The phenomenon of anti-Americanism is gathering steam around the world, to the point where it might be called the only current, pervasive, global ideology. Taking many forms, from radical Islamic activity to political satire, anti-Americanism is also directly linked to anti-globalization sentiment. US technology, and US firms that continually seek expanded markets are widely perceived as the...

Avian Influenza: Pandemic Skeptics Warn Against Crying Wolf

Dennis Normile November 28, 2005
The threat of a bird flu pandemic has only recently received international attention that many believe is necessary to prevent a catastrophic loss of human life. Skeptics are raising their voices, however, asserting that there is no reason to expect a bird flu pandemic spreading amongst human beings in the near future. One skeptic argues that a repeat of the overcrowded trenches of World War I...

Americans are Tuning Out the World

Alkman Granitsas November 24, 2005
As the world becomes accustomed to the American way of life, Americans are tuning out the rest of the world. US citizens have paid less and less attention to foreign affairs since the 1970s, writes journalist Alkman Granitsas. The number of university students studying foreign languages has declined, and fewer Americans travel overseas than their counterparts in other developed countries. News...