In The News

Globalization Is a Story Still to Be Written

Sheldon W. Stahl May 3, 2006
Despite all the commentary on globalization, the ultimate question of whether the phenomenon enables progress or detracts from quality of life remains to be answered. Undeniably, globalization delivers tangible benefits, many visible in the US. A greater array of high-quality goods at lower prices is one benefit, while foreign direct investment can provide new employment opportunities. Such...

Radical Islam – Globalization for Losers

Jonah Goldberg May 2, 2006
Globalization is hardly limited to spreading American or western concepts. The phenomenon can take on many forms, used by governments of all sizes as well as individuals – anyone who catches media attention, intentional or otherwise. The forms can extend philosophies of freedom or safety, choices or control. Author Jonah Goldberg suggests that Osama bin Laden’s call upon Muslims to attack UN...

East Asia’s Troubled Waters – Part III

William Underwood May 2, 2006
The bitterness from invasions and atrocities can last for generations, and international protocol calls for one-time aggressors to apologize for mistakes and extend some symbolic reparations, even if miniscule compared with the true costs of suffering. Before and during WWII, Imperial Japan invaded cities along the Asia Pacific coast, particularly north China, abducting young men to toil in...

American Indie Filmmakers: Thinking Globally and Acting Globally, Too

Dennis Lim May 1, 2006
National cinema has expanded into international cinema, with directors of all nationalities chafing at audience expectations for a certain style or theme. Directors who are first- or second-generation immigrants in the US push film boundaries to explore new settings and characters, often beyond their own ethnicity. Author Dennis Lim suggests that the directors “go beyond dutiful multiculturalism...

New Globalization Battle Threatens Asia

Joergen Oerstroem Moeller April 26, 2006
The world today must confront a new economic policy conundrum: national governments doubting the benefits of cross-border mergers and acquisitions on the one hand, and the forces of economic globalization driving such partnerships on the other. The battle, already waged in Europe and the US, has now migrated to Asia. As global industry restructures, three major factors frame the conflict over...

The Silent Globalization of Remittances

Richard Reeves April 26, 2006
When immigrants work in wealth countries like the US, they often send money back home to families. Such remittance income far exceeds foreign aid or direct foreign investment in Central America and the Caribbean region. The World Bank estimates that such foreign exchange is on the rise, with more than $223 billion transferred from rich countries to poor in 2005. The distribution is direct and...

The World: Set Ways; Vive La Dolce Vita

Roger Cohen April 25, 2006
With the accelerating convergence of ideas and commodities, the world has more jobs available. Yet, many Europeans prefer job security to risky endeavors and resist the process of globalization. Pundits expected recent elections to decide the direction for Europe, but voters are polarized. Close results in the Italian election could undermine the credibility of Italy’s next political leadership,...