In The News

Huawei in Challenge to US

Stephanie Kirchgaessner, Kathrin Hille February 17, 2011
Social media sites – like LinkedIn or Facebook – make it easy for companies to find customers, employees, suppliers and more. But they also help regulators uncover troublesome connections. Such a case – with US regulators perusing LinkedIn and accidentally discovering that China’s telecom giant Huawei had purchased, without government review, interest in a California firm that makes cloud...

Can the Internet Tame Governments? – Part II

Borje Ljunggren February 11, 2011
The internet, so essential for the modern economy, is a bane for autocratic governments thin-skinned about criticism, whose minions strive to eliminate any dissident thoughts or deeds. Internet and cell phones were less widely available in 1989, and global observers can’t help but wonder if such communications might have thwarted China’s violent crackdown on student protests at Tiananmen Square....

Globalization Fuels the Arab Uprising

Frida Ghitis February 10, 2011
Global trade and competition, recognition of declining resources, rising wage inequality and prices, along with instant communications – many forces of globalization are behind uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. Widespread, well-publicized discontent has made oppression more difficult to enforce, explains Frida Ghitis for World Politics Review. “For people living in the stagnant economies of the...

Can the Internet Tame Governments? – Part I

James Cowie February 9, 2011
Debate rages in the West about whether the internet in authoritarian states is a tool for winning freedoms or another device for control. In the wake of Egypt’s mass protests emerged the first case of a government’s attempt to sever an entire nation from internet access. This YaleGlobal series explores governments and the internet, and which is the taming force. The first article, written by...

Egypt Violence Exposes Secret Tools of State Repression

Frank Gardner February 8, 2011
After a week of reporting on Egypt’s pro-democracy protests, international journalists abruptly became the target of harassment and attacks from plainclothes police and men expressing support for President Mubarak. Some reporters were beaten, handcuffed, interrogated – routine intimidation of ordinary citizens by police forces in nations under authoritarian rule. If intended to curtail coverage...

There’s No Stopping It

Nayan Chanda February 7, 2011
Internet and cell phones are essential tools for global business. Any attempt to cut the flow of communications invites anger, protest, confusion and embarrassing scrutiny, as it was discovered by the Mubarak government on 28 January. Egypt, hoping to hobble protesters and block international observers, ordered its internet providers to change gateway addresses and stop traffic. “The ploy failed...

Why a Nervous China Aims to Shield Citizens From Egypt News

Peter Ford February 1, 2011
The most powerful nations in the world watch helplessly as protests build in Egypt. Instability could spread throughout the Greater Middle East and deeper into Africa. China has invested heavily in the continent, and so far remains neutral, other than expressing hopes for stability, reports Peter Ford for the Christian Science Monitor. Attempting to maintain stability at home, the Chinese...