In The News

With Flights Grounded, Kenya’s Produce Wilts

Jeffrey Gettleman April 22, 2010
Farmers in the Rift Valley in Kenya have learned an important lesson in globalization in the last week, as a volcanic eruption in Iceland shut down air travel to Europe. At first, many Kenyans thought nothing of it. Then they realized that the flower and vegetables they sell to European markets could not be transported because of the shutdown. This transnational agriculture is a critical piece of...

Globalization in Higher Education

Ben Wildavsky April 15, 2010
China’s efforts to improve its universities via partnerships with Western institutions represent an international trend toward bettering higher education. Singapore, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia have all engaged in similar partnerships intended to grow a strong national university system and thus mitigate the effects of the brain-drain. In Western Europe, nations such as France and Germany are...

Check Out That Colombian Tata!

Daniel Gross April 13, 2010
On a trip to Colombia, the author was surprised to find an example of the new nature of international corporations. Tata Consultancy is a branch of the Indian car company that recently bought several British and American brand-name car labels. Tata’s Colombian branch is providing services to a number of Latin American governments and corporations. An Argentinian manager oversees employees from a...

Spreading Digital Revolution in a Cuban Living Room

Nick Miroff April 12, 2010
Yoani Sanchez, the Cuban blogger who was been recognized internationally for her Generation Y blog, hosts a Blogger Academy to teach other Cubans the skills required to participate in social media, including Twitter, blogging, and Wikipedia. While the Cuban government has not shown any intentions to shut down the Blogger Academy, it continues to view Sanchez as “part of an aggressive US foreign...

Oil, Minerals and the Militarisation of Globalisation

Julius Barigaba March 30, 2010
A new study links conflicts in Africa to the foreign policy of the United States. The study says the American government is motivated by the desire to control natural resources – not a new allegation – and has set up military commands around the world to ensure that control. In particular, the creation in recent years of a command especially for Africa raises the suspicions of many Africans, who...

Connecting Across Oceans

Nayan Chanda February 18, 2010
The global economic crisis inspired cries of globalization’s demise, but economic data from the past two years paints a more complex picture. Developed countries generally suffered through negative GDP growth, while developing countries largely stayed in positive territory. Trade collapsed, with shipping indices sinking to surprising lows, but has since recovered. And total international travel,...

Globalization in Trouble – Part II

David Dapice February 15, 2010
Globalization appears to have weathered the storm of the financial crisis, but it may be poised for a tumble. According to economist David Dapice, many developing nations, whose economies often depend heavily on exports, cannot sustain themselves without the willing consumption of their goods by the developed world. But with a pullback in aggregated demand among developed nations, the prognosis...