In The News

A Chasm Grows in "Flat" World

Mark Trumbull September 7, 2005
"In theory," writes Mark Trumbull in The Christian Science Monitor, "as economies open up to commerce, there should be greater equality of opportunities – and incomes." Unfortunately, as Trumbull reports, globalization is not the ultimate cure for poverty, as others may have hoped. While the economies of countries like China and India have certainly blossomed with increased...

Latin America’s Dysfunctional Democracy

Denise Dresser August 3, 2005
Most Latin American nations have democratized over the last ten years in terms of free and fair elections. With falling living standards and stagnating income, however, the region continues to be mired in poverty and democracy remains dysfunctional. Governments have produced skin-deep democracies in which people have a vote, but don’t really have a stake, in which wealth is increasingly...

The Other War Against Terror…at $8 a Day

Matthew Thompson July 20, 2005
An unpublicized front in the "war on terror," the island nation of the Philippines is a frequent target for jihadist attacks, and a training site for extremist groups. Tragic bombings, such as those in London, have been mirrored in the Philippines. The country must often take a backseat to news from other areas of the globe, when, in reality, it is Southeast Asia's frontline in the...

The Zapatistas: The Second Stage

Immanuel Wallerstein July 15, 2005
When NAFTA came into effect in January of 1994, the Zapatistas – a group representing the indigenous Mayans in Mexico – revolted in Chiapas, one of the poorest regions in the country, and drew attention to their right to autonomy. For the last 11 years, the Zapatista rebellion has reinvigorated anti-systemic movements around the world. The protests at the 1999 WTO meetings in Seattle, as well...

A Place Where Women Rule

Emily Wax July 9, 2005
The small community of Umoja, Kenya, is a unique experiment in social progress and gender equality. The town serves as a refuge for women and does not admit men, much to the chagrin of the latter. Umoja represents a new awareness among African women about AIDS, rape, spousal abuse, and the gaps in legal codes that allow such violations to go unpunished. Women are increasingly banding together and...

A Muslim Woman, a Story of Sex

Alan Riding June 22, 2005
The Almond, the first novel of North African writer Nedjma, has attracted media and critical attention ever since its publication in France last year. The novel is a study of sex – a topic very much off-limits to authors in traditional Arab societies, let alone the women who live within the conservative-leaning social structures. Nedjma, herself a female and a product of Muslim society, has...

In the Gulf, Women Are Not Women’s Best Friends

N. Janardhan June 20, 2005
Following in the steps of Bahrain, Oman, and Qatar, Kuwait recently granted women the right to vote and hold public office. The country, however, still faces important challenges in achieving the full and equal integration of women into society. Although women in the Gulf are becoming increasingly visible in businesses, their political rights continue to be restrained by a combination of...