In The News

Slowbalization: Lobe Log

John Feffer December 25, 2019
The slow food movement – relaxing, eating local, focus on tradition – has influenced slowness in other areas of life including education and travel. “To a world addicted to ever greater connection speeds, ever faster modes of transportation, and ever more caffeinated feats of multitasking, the go-slowers recommend a perverse resistance to the frenzied scherzo of modern life in favor of a more...

Turkey May Close Two Bases: Anadolu Agency

Cigdem Alyanak December 16, 2019
While the current set of US legislators do not agree on much, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide, 1915 to 1923. As the Ottoman Empire declined and World War I began, Turkey sided with Germany and accused Armenians of supporting Russia. Targeted by Turks, as many as 1.5 million Armenians died during the period. US President Donald Trump opposed the...

The World Is Drowning in Rubbish: World Today

Kate O’Neill December 5, 2019
China once accepted half the world’s plastic trash, and recycled much of that. Increased waste and sloppy cleaning encouraged China and other Asian nations to reject massive shipments from wealthy nations. “Until recently, these countries had been guilty of ‘distancing’, the practice of shifting waste ‘out of sight, out of mind’, both literally and in people’s imaginations,” explains Kate O’...

Fantasy of a Global Britain: New Statesman

Robert Saunders October 10, 2019
Brexit will bring immense changes, and citizens who depend on trade or diplomatic relationships feel betrayed, explains historian Robert Saunders for New Statesman. Both sides in the debate have relied on selective historic details. The notion of a “global Britain,” is one example, but history suggests that Britain was small without its colonies. Saunders describes how Enoch Powell and other...

Armed Conflict Possible in Europe? Spiegel

Dirk Kurbjuweit September 6, 2019
The rise of antagonistic nationalism triggered World War II – and a wake of destruction with more than 60 million dead worldwide. Fears emerge that another wave of nationalism, with disregard for minorities and democratic institutions and emphasis on competition, could put an end to 75 relatively peaceful years. Writing for Spiegel Online, Dirk Kurbjuweit summarizes the events leading to the...

YG Contributor: Immanuel Wallerstein, 1930-2019

September 4, 2019
Immanuel Wallerstein, a long-time contributor to YaleGlobal Online, died August 31, 2019, at the age of 88. He was also a member of the faculty of the Sociology Department at Yale. A prolific writer of many books and essays, he also developed world-system theory, suggesting the world has been caught up for centuries in a system of dominant and dependent nations and communities. “Wallerstein...

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...