In The News

Rolling Shocks Explain Why the World Is So Depressed

David Ignatius August 12, 2011
It’s an expectation that free economies and political systems return to normal after periods of volatility. But that’s not always so, explains David Ignatius in his column for the Daily Star. “A disruption that initially seems manageable gets bigger and more dangerous as the system oscillates up and down,” he writes. “Indeed, the effort to understand market failure and social disorder helped...

Global Economy: Is Anybody in Control?

David Dapice August 9, 2011
Around the globe, national leaders show no clue, no confidence, about how to re-engineer job creation or global economic security, contends economist David Dapice. The US has many resources for resolving its large debt, but bickering and stubborn quests for power prevent speedy resolution. Europe’s resistance to enact long-term policies on unequal accrual of debt among its member states and...

The Kremlin's Short-Term Gains Are Russia's Long-Term Losses

Yuri Mamchur August 5, 2011
Stability throughout the Middle East should matter more to Russia than the United States, argues writer Yuri Mamchur. But while the US cheered democratic aspirations and greater freedoms promised by the Arab Spring, Russia remained mute. “The dearth of official Russian involvement in the Arab Spring demonstrates the country’s fading influence in the world, at least the type of influence needed to...

A Stalled Arab Spring

Dilip Hiro August 4, 2011
Revolutions are rarely smooth affairs. So the Arab Spring extends into the scorching heat of summer. Securing lasting change takes longer than many analysts in the West and young protesters on the streets of Egypt, Yemen, Syria, Libya and Tunisia might have anticipated, explains author Dilip Hiro. Quick exits by presidents of Tunisia and Egypt spread hope throughout the Middle East and North...

Middle-Class Uprising Poses a Global Threat

John Paul Rathbone July 22, 2011
The world’s greatest source of instability might not be terrorism but a middle class angered by vanishing prosperity, the loss of a lifestyle with many comforts and protections, argues John Paul Rathbone for the Financial Times. He points to an observation of journalist Moisés Naím, that most recent conflicts are within rather than between civilizations. In developed and developing countries...

Egyptian Youth Sidelined From Their Own Revolution

Mohamed El Dahshan July 19, 2011
Egypt’s revolution is incomplete. Massive protests press on in Cairo and other cities, with many upset about the military overseeing transition from a crony dictatorship to democracy. Confusion of a transitional leadership and fast-approaching elections is unsettling: The transitional government lacks popular mandate, yet has little choice but to move quickly on budgetary and other matters with...

Water Challenges Asia’s Rising Powers – Part II

Rohini Nilekani July 14, 2011
India and China account for one third of the world’s population; each consumes more freshwater than other nations. Per inhabitant per year, though, India uses less than half what’s used in the US, China uses less than one third. This YaleGlobal series examines India and China’s water use, their expectations for rising demand and recognition that shortages will disrupt economic progress. The...