In The News

What Americans Ignore About Finland's School Success

Anu Partanen March 19, 2013
Educators around the globe are curious about the consistently high test scores from students in Finland, as measured by OPEC. “Compared with the stereotype of the East Asian model – long hours of exhaustive cramming and rote memorization – Finland's success is especially intriguing because Finnish schools assign less homework and engage children in more creative play,” reports Anu Partenan...

Growing Divide in Saudi Arabia Between Rulers, Ruled

Karen Elliott House March 15, 2013
Saudi Arabia has a diverse arsenal for squashing dissent against the repressive regime, ranging from bribes and government jobs to harassment and long jail sentences. Two moderate activists received 10-year prison sentences for supporting a constitutional monarchy and human rights, reports author Karen Elliott House in an opinion essay for the Washington Post. The Arab Spring has spurred activism...

An Interview with John Dramani Mahama

John Dramani Mahama February 18, 2013
In an interview with Nayan Chanda, Ghana's Vice President John Dramani Mahama, now President, says how stigma of homosexuality hampers fighting AIDS, talks about the role of telecommunication in political transformation, voices concern about NATO attacks on Libya, and Ghana's effort to avoid the curse of wealth from natural resources. – YaleGlobal

In China, Vast Chasm Between the Rich and the Rest

Sim Chi Yin February 11, 2013
Resentment is building online and in daily interactions among Chinese over rising income inequality, which is particularly pronounced between urban and rural communities. Sim Chi Yin explores the divisions with photographs of young graduate student who cannot find good jobs; retired laborers about to be evicted from small homes to make way for skyscrapers; street cleaners outside luxury stores...

Conservative Causes Go Global

Clifford Bob January 16, 2013
Global civil society has long been ideologically diverse and hard fought over many years, as demonstrated with the anti-slavery or suffrage movements. Causes with global stature carry greater prominence than local or national efforts, giving supporters access to more allies, resources and shared strategies. And while conservatives support minimal government in many areas, particularly...

Governance Falls Behind Globalization

Ernesto Zedillo December 3, 2012
Many in the world point to the need for mechanisms to monitor and control globalization, particularly after a decade when debt crises in one country spread quickly around the globe. Yet as economic interdependence continues to build, governance is not keeping pace. Ernesto Zedillo is director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, and as YaleGlobal Online marks its 10th anniversary,...

Inequality Breeds Resistance to Globalization

Pranab Bardhan November 27, 2012
Many critics point to globalization, its swirling influences over worldwide connections through trade, technology and communications, as a culprit behind growing inequality. Yet Pranab Bardhan, economist with the University of California, Berkeley, points out that the connections deliver both opportunities and challenges. Multiple forces contribute to entrenched economic inequality in so many...