In The News

Saving Languages Through Korean Soap Operas

Rose Eveleth October 6, 2014
About half of the world’s languages are at risk of falling into disuse in the near future. This rapid disappearance of languages is attributed to globalization, which has granted languages like English a special status of utility that rare languages do not share. Translators from entities like the Living Tongues Institute seeking to preserve endangered languages are working with “Viki,” a website...

Russia: Friction With the West, New Ties With the East

Laurence Neville September 23, 2014
After stalled reforms, intervention in Ukraine and an alleged role in shooting down a Malaysian passenger jet, Russia has lost international goodwill. So like the United States, Russia is conducting its own pivot to Asia: “Rather than retreating from globalization, Russia, some think, is instead redefining it. Russia is choosing to look east rather than west,” suggests Laurence Neville for Global...

Not End of the Road Yet

Nayan Chanda September 22, 2014
Individuals and countries, too, find it convenient to blame their own failings on globalization, with many going so far as to suggest that the interconnections can be halted. Reports of a decline in globalization are greatly exaggerated, argues Nayan Chanda, YaleGlobal’s editor in his column for Businessworld. The process of new connections is uneven yet ongoing, ever picking up speed and volume...

Globalization's Old “Race to the Bottom” Finds Unlikely Winners

Kenneth Rapoza August 27, 2014
Globalization has oft been described as a race to the bottom, but as with any race, there is much jockeying for position. The nations in the lead may surprise some corporations and nations, suggests a report from the Boston Consulting Group. China is not necessarily the big winner as demonstrated by expanded auto production in the United Kingdom, and Mexico is emerging as an alternative...

Italy and Japan: Troubled Twins of Globalization

Joji Sakurai August 26, 2014
Japan and Italy are major economies, ranked third and ninth in the world, respectively. Yet both have slipped in recent years, a result of insular policies that in turn encourage provincialism. The cultures offer beautiful and unusual elements that draw admiration from around the world. Ironically, challenges emerge as each are obsessed with preserving and perfecting traditions. “Japan and Italy...

Clashes With Russia Point to Globalization's End

Mark Leonard August 7, 2014
Russia hopes to wield control over bordering states like Ukraine and block them from close ties with the United States and the European Union. The US and EU countered Russia’s military intervention in eastern Ukraine with sanctions and Russia responded by targeting McDonald’s restaurants as unsanitary. Unraveling symbols of cooperation could be the undoing of globalization, and trade can be used...

The Tale of Two Middle Classes

Branko Milanovic July 31, 2014
Thanks to globalization and trade, middle-class incomes have more than doubled in countries like China and Indonesia, but still remain a fraction of those earned by the middle class in Europe or the United States . Meanwhile, in Europe, the United States and Japan, incomes for the middle class have stagnated even as their richest citizens accrue more wealth, profiting by investing in...