In The News

A Herb for All Cures

Nayan Chanda July 24, 2014
India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will proceed with a controversial universal identification card known as Aadhaar, an initiative launched by the previous administration. “To take full advantage of this simple but effective tool of governance, the government, though, needs to clean up the implementation of the programme that has been marred by inefficiency and misuse,” writes Nayan...

The Islamic World and the West: Recovering Common History

Nayef Al-Rodhan July 15, 2014
One out of five people in the world are Muslim, and many Europeans express fear about growing numbers of Muslim migrants. “Islam in Europe tends to be viewed as not only a recent, but also a foreign and threatening presence,” explains Nayef Al-Rodhan, University of Oxford philosopher, neuroscientist and geostrategist. “Europe and the Arab-Islamic world have brushed shoulders for centuries, and...

Positively Un-American Tax Dodges

Allan Sloan July 11, 2014
Multinational firms are moving headquarters to avoid US tax rates. The US corporate tax rate is 35 percent compared to Ireland’s 12.5 percent. About 60 firms have abandoned the United States because it taxes all profits worldwide, notes Alan Sloan for Fortune magazine, and he contends the transfers undermine the US tax base, standards and respect for corporate brands: “Inverters don’t hesitate to...

How to Turn Off the ISIS Tap

Carol E. B. Choksy and Jamsheed K. Choksy July 8, 2014
Wealthy donors and even officials in Muslim nations like Iran, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have tolerated terrorist groups that attack religious foes in other nations. Inevitably, the extremists lash back, seeking to control the minds and hands that feed them. Such is the case with the self-proclaimed caliphate known as the Islamic State, also known as IS, ISIS or ISIL, which controls extensive...

Hong Kong Votes, Beijing Fumes: Analysis

Dylan Loh Ming Hui July 3, 2014
A global finance capital is in turmoil over how to organize an election set for 2017. Beijing plans for universal suffrage in Hong Kong with a slate of candidates approved by a 1,200-member pro-China committee, explains Dylan Loh Ming Hui, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, in Eurasian Review. Occupy Central wants the nominating process to be open. China blasted an unofficial...

UN: Surging Environmental Crime Funds Conflicts, Hurts Growth

June 27, 2014
Rising wealth for middle classes around the world drives demand for status symbols, in turn spurring environmental crime. Illegal logging, elephant and rhino hunting for ivory and horns, among other practices have created instability in many countries. According to the United Nations and Interpol, illegal practices help fund armed conflicts, militias and insurgents and curtail international aid...

Islam – Up for Grabs

Ooi Kee Beng June 26, 2014
The world is on the watch for Islamic extremism – recent examples include the execution of some 1,700 Shia solders in Iraq and the kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls in Nigeria. Two dynamics are underway that confound international relations, argues Ooi Kee Beng, deputy director of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies: First, a tendency among some Muslim nations to extend Islam rigidly...