In The News

“We’ll Be Watching You”: Thunberg’s UN Speech

September 23, 2019
Global leaders are failing youth, and 16-year-old activist Greta Thunberg addressed 60 world leaders at the UN Climate Action Summit about the need for urgent action on climate change, warning “we’ll be watching you.” Her assessment was concise, blunt and searing: “People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you...

Netanyahu Annexation Pledge: Al Jazeera

September 11, 2019
In a quest for votes prior to the September 17 election, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, applying Israeli sovereignty, if he wins reelection. Sections include the Jordan Valley and northern Dead Sea, making up 30 percent of the West Bank, as well as Jewish-only settlements in the territory, reports Al Jazeera: The report goes on to...

Dousing Sovereignty Wildfires: Project Syndicate

Jean Pisani-Ferry September 3, 2019
The world is more connected and informed on global events than ever before, and possibly more competitive over limited resources. Conflicts over sovereignty – the right for nations to do as they please, disregarding the interests of the world at large – could become more common. A quarrel between the presidents of France and Brazil over reflects a larger battle over national sovereignty: Emmanuel...

Johnson Suspends UK Parliament: Financial Times

Sebastian Payne and Philip Georgiadis August 28, 2019
The UK prime minister is determined to meet the October 31 deadline for Brexit, hard or soft, and suspended parliament for time than usual to stop efforts by a sizable opposition hoping to block the nation’s withdrawal from the European Union. Parliament was set to return on September 3 and suspension extends that until October 14. Boris Johnson suggests the suspension allows focus on other...

Hong Kong Protests Draw 1 Million Plus: BBC

Stephen McDonell August 18, 2019
As many as 1.7 million protesters of all ages bearing colorful umbrellas marched peacefully in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park and other parts of the city. “China, which has built up security forces in nearby Shenzhen, has likened the protests to terrorist activity,” notes a BBC News report. China has warned the city’s leaders not to lose control after recent violent clashes with police and disruptions...

Jammu and Kashmir, India and China: Diplomat

Samanvya Hooda August 16, 2019
India's change in status for Jammu and Kashmir, a lockdown and dividing the state into two union territories suggest a strategy toward China, argues Samanvya Hooda for the Diplomat. “Undivided Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) consists of the erstwhile Indian state of J&K, Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and Aksai Chin, controlled by China,” he explains. “China also controls the Shaksgam Tract...

Crumbling Global Order: Wall Street Journal

Greg Ip August 14, 2019
Major shifts in world systems can result in global downturns, argues Greg Ip for the Wall Street Journal. This was the case for the end of the era of cheap oil but not the advent of the internet. Increasing resistance to globalization and open markets fueled by nationalism and populism – and a general decline in diplomacy with Brexit, the US-China and South Korea-Japan trade wars, divisions in...