In The News

Habitual Blindness

Eric Rauchway July 20, 2006
The US is a creature of habit and that means repeating old mistakes, according to author Eric Rauchway. Reaping benefits of industrialization and expansion while devoting few resources to the process, thanks to immigration and foreign capital, the US too often mistakes “habit for virtue.” Rauchway contends that the US deludes itself into acting as though circumstances have changed little since...

Development Vs. Free Trade

Bernard K. Gordon July 20, 2006
The meeting this week in Geneva may be the last chance to complete the Doha Development Round of talks launched by the World Trade Organization in 2001. While many observers anticipate that the round could be rescued, the stalemate highlights the structural weaknesses of a trade organization taking on a development agenda. The aim of the WTO is to lower trade barriers in the pursuit of expanding...

The New Face of Globalization...

Evgeny Morozov July 16, 2006
The hemming and hawing of the management of the European steel company Arcelor could be seen as either an astute strategy for forcing Lakshmi Mittal to increase his bid for the company or as an attempt by the anachronistic “Old Guard” of Europe to maintain nationalism in trade. Either way, writes author Evgeny Morozov, the takeover shows that globalization has taken hold in Europe: “The Mittal...

Africa Beyond Aid and Bono

Ferial Haffajee July 15, 2006
Africa is vast and diverse, making it meaningless to talk about an “African dilemma” or an “African solution.” The continent has had both successes and failures of governance and reform during the past year, and Mail & Guardian Editor Ferial Haffajee notes that humanitarian aid will be necessary for the foreseeable future in areas of crisis. However, African countries cannot develop stable...

The Immigration Equation

Roger Lowenstein July 14, 2006
Many US opponents to immigration base their opinions on worries that immigrants pose competition for struggling unskilled workers already earning low wages. Economist George Borjas, a native-born Cuban who immigrated to the US in 1962, has compiled empirical evidence showing that the influx of unskilled, undocumented workers into the US does threaten working-class Americans, particularly those...

The Death of Doha Signals the Demise of Globalization

Martin Jacques July 13, 2006
The deadlock at the Doha round signals the end of an era. The past 25 years of globalization coincided with the promotion of multilateral trade, but now both the developing and developed nations turn their interests elsewhere. As the US and other developed countries slide toward protectionism, developing countries refuse to accept the type of unfavorable agreements that once characterized...

Megaplayers Vs. Micropowers

Moisés Naím July 12, 2006
The globe has entered an era of instability according to Moisés Naím, editor in chief of “Foreign Policy,” and that has opened opportunities for small, but highly competitive forces in the business, political and financial worlds. Some examples: Multinational corporations like Royal Dutch Shell no longer protests movements toward nationalization of oil supplies in small Latin American countries...