In The News

Behind Global Crackdown on NGOs, Recognition of Their Power

Peter Ford May 2, 2016
Lawmakers in China, India, Malaysia, Russia and many other countries are cracking down on non-governmental organizations and activists that press for reforms. CIVICUS, a global alliance of civil society organizations, describes “serious threats to civic freedoms” in 96 countries, as reported by Peter Ford for the Christian Science Monitor. Methods used against NGOs that push for government...

South China Sea: The Fight China Will Take to the Brink of War

Peter Hartcher April 28, 2016
China and the United States are competing for military dominance of the western Pacific Ocean and war could flare over the South China Sea, reports Peter Hartcher for the Sydney Morning Herald. Beijing has said it won’t comply with a ruling from the International Court of Justice in the Hague that upholds claims from the Philippines. The United States and Australia are not taking sides in the...

Insulting Erdogan: Merkel Falls Flat Over Satirical Poem

Stefan Kuzmany April 18, 2016
Free speech vents anger, and an ability to ignore insults, instead pursuing debate and analysis of good policies, lends power. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is moving ahead on prosecution of a comedian who made a crude satiric comment about the Turkish president in a crisis of state that reveals poor judgment and diminished power from both heads of state. A German law prohibits the insulting of...

Obama Calls for International Tax Reform Amid Panama Papers Revelations

Rupert Neate and David Smith April 6, 2016
Governments struggle to provide basic services as wealthiest citizens find ways, legal and illegal, to evade taxes. The release of more than 11 million files, known as the Panama Papers, from the law firm Mossack Fonseca detail methods for reducing taxes: shell companies, minimal disclosure requirements, property investments, trust funds and outright fraud. Repercussions of the massive leak are...

Opportunities, Not Oppression, to Stop Illegal Mining in the Peruvian Amazon

David J.X. Gonzalez February 18, 2016
Environmental degradation and human-rights abuses are often associated with small, illegal mining operations around the world. Peru, among the world's major gold producers, offers a case study on how local development could help solving a global problem. About 20 percent of Peru’s gold production comes from illegal and informal mines, and a crackdown on the small miners causes more problems...

US Can Meet Paris Climate Deal Goals Despite Court Ruling: White House

February 11, 2016
Almost 200 countries reached an historic agreement in December to reduce carbon emissions. The Obama administration imposed limits on power plants’ carbon emissions, but the US Supreme Court “took the unusual step to delay implementation of the Clean Power Plan until legal challenges to the regulation are completed,” reports Reuters. A Los Angeles Times editorial was blunt, suggesting “What'...

COP21: A Potluck Dinner in Paris

John Cassidy December 4, 2015
Nations will likely agree to limit greenhouse gas emissions, but governments must ensure enforcement. The climate conference in Paris does not aim for a treaty. Instead leaders “have agreed to hold a huge potluck dinner, in which each country brings what it can,” explains John Cassidy, writing for the New Yorker. The result is a hodgepodge of targets and pledges to reduce emission levels by some...