In The News

Plugging the Brain Drain

Huang Shaojie December 5, 2011
A tough stance on immigration in the US could play into China’s hands and keep more talented Chinese workers at home. “The US quota system for skilled worker immigrants provides a maximum of 9800 ‘green cards’ a year to citizens of any one nation,” reports Huang Shaojie of China’s Global Times. More than 100,000 Chinese students study in the US, and of course, the quota system puts the world’s...

Toppling of Libyan Dictator Legitimizes R2P Doctrine

Bennett Ramberg November 29, 2011
The war in Libya broke new ground, lending support for the international community to take a strong stand against dictators who threaten their own people. Bennett Ramberg, formerly with the US State Department, analyzes recent wars and how intervention in Libya compares. After horrific massacres in Rwanda and Srebrenica, the Canadian government took the lead in 2001, convening diplomats in...

Herr and Madame, Señor and Mrs.

November 28, 2011
Trends in international marriages reveal larger trends in globalization, migration as well as public policy. Cross-border marriages are on the rise, yet reliable statistics on cross-border unions are hard to find, since all countries don’t routinely collect data on citizenship of couples. The International Union for the Scientific Study of Population has launched a comprehensive study on cross-...

Stop the Great Firewall of America

Rebecca MacKinnon November 25, 2011
Protection sometimes can go too far. Proposed US legislation that aims to prevent the theft of intellectual property could actually aid and abet censorship efforts, complementing those in China. “The bills would empower the attorney general to create a blacklist of sites to be blocked by Internet service providers, search engines, payment providers and advertising networks, all without a court...

The Magic of Diasporas

November 23, 2011
Citizens in troubled economies like the US and Europe are increasingly lashing out against immigration. Such blame is misplaced. Fears about depressed wages, stretched benefit programs and brain drain are exaggerated, suggests this article in the Economist, and governments must do a better job of educating voters about “the growing economic importance of diasporas, and the contribution they can...

Foreign Workers Welcome, But No Permanent Residents, Please

Philip Bowring November 11, 2011
With rapid economic growth comes the need for new sources of labor, particularly for jobs that citizens no longer care to do. So, wealthy places like Hong Kong or Singapore turn to Bangladesh, the Philippines and other neighboring states for temporary migrant help, unskilled or low-skilled, in households, restaurants or construction sites. In particular, temporary immigration is on the rise, and...

Exotic Pets: Why Do Americans Keep Dangerous Animals?

Louis Theroux November 2, 2011
Keepers of exotic pets may imagine they’re protecting species. Yet too often owners do not reflect on the long-term needs or behaviors of wild animals. Manageable, adorable chimp, tiger and bear cubs quickly become aggressive adults, disposable and dangerous. Exotic animal ownership is rampant in the US, writes Louis Theroux in an essay for BBC News. Trade is booming in unregulated jurisdictions...