In The News

The Web as Weapon

Susan B. Glasser August 9, 2005
Islamic militants are often perceived as having an "anti-modernity" platform. Yet certain terrorist leaders are placing an increasing importance on the control and dissemination of information related to their activities. As a result, the internet has emerged as a vital tool of terrorism, creating a union between technology and fundamentalism. More than anyone, Abu Musab Zarqawi, the...

Terrorists Turn to the Web as Base of Operations

Steven Coll August 8, 2005
When Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida operatives were hiding out in Afghanistan in the 1990s, they were one of the first to adapt to the new technologies of globalization, communicating via commercial satellite telephones and producing video propaganda with hand-held cameras. Today, nearly four years after the 9/11 attacks, al-Qaida has become the first guerilla movement in history to "...

Reinventing the Union

Gary Fields July 28, 2005
The dramatic split in the AFL-CIO this week was caused by equally dramatic, though gradual, changes in the US economy. In the ‘new economy,’ manufacturing is losing ground to services. At the same time, globalization and technological development have allowed many jobs to be sent overseas, a phenomenon that unions seem powerless to resist. They suffer from low membership in high-technology...

The World Is Still Round

Robert J. Samuelson July 21, 2005
The onslaught of globalization seems to be the issue on everyone's minds today: If proponents like New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman are to be believed, national borders are becoming irrelevant as constant improvements in transportation and communications transform the world into a single market. Contradicting Friedman's thesis, however, Newsweek columnist Robert J. Samuelson...

In China, Sophisticated Filters Keep the Internet Near Sterile

Tim Johnson July 14, 2005
The spread of the internet in China has played a large role in that country's economic growth, as well as provided a cheap form of entertainment, communication, and learning for those who have web access. But the internet's popularity has not resulted in the open discussion and political reform that Chinese dissidents had hoped for. Rather, the government has concentrated many resources...

Iraq, Internet Fuel Growth of Global Jihad

Dan Murphy July 13, 2005
Investigators are still sifting through the evidence of last Thursday's bombings in London and searching for those responsible. But many experts believe that the bombers were likely European Muslims who were radicalized and driven to act in the name of al-Qaida as a result of Britain's involvement in the war in Iraq. Iraqi insurgents have publicized their struggle on the internet,...

Africa Should Follow China Online

David Bowen July 12, 2005
Although there has recently been much talk about African entrepreneurs seeking to turn their continent around, David Bowen suggests that their prospects look bleak, particularly considering the lack of African commercial activity on the internet. Africa's situation is in stark contrast to that of Asia – especially China – where traders have taken advantage of online networking opportunities...