In The News

Project Syndicate: Macron’s Internationalism

Kemal Derviş June 1, 2018
In stark contrast to the views of the US president, French President Emmanuel Macron embraces a new global order and the growth of intergovernmental organizations. He still has strong faith in the Iran deal, and supports international trade is necessary for liberal-democratic politics. In the wake of Brexit, he pursues pan-European politics, maintaining a pro-globalization stance in the face of...

Los Angeles Times: US Tested by Sadr’s Victory in Iraqi

Tracy Wilkinson and David S. Cloud May 16, 2018
Democracy ensures that one nation may not appreciate election results of another nation, and a longtime opponent of the United States took the lead in Iraq’s parliamentary elections. “For years during the long U.S. occupation of Iraq, Muqtada Sadr was an intractable foe, blamed by the Pentagon for hundreds of deaths of American service members, as well as atrocities against Iraqi civilians,”...

Atlantic Council: Win for Democracy in Malaysia

Huihui Ooi May 11, 2018
Opposition leader Tun Mahathir Mohamad, 92, is Malaysia’s new prime minister after defeating the incumbent’s Barisan Nasional coalition. “This is the first time since Malaysia’s independence in 1957 that an election has brought about a transfer of power and an end to BN rule in the Muslim-majority nation,” notes Huihui Ooi of the Atlantic Council, adding that the surprise outcome defies an...

Project Syndicate: Why We Need Globalization

Koichi Hamada May 2, 2018
Open economies with active trade, immigration and foreign investment have historically enjoyed prosperity, and “globalization does not deserve voters’ ire,” argues Koichi Hamada for Project Syndicate. Competition does harm some communities and individuals, but governments can target policies that encourage economic security, job training and adaptation. “Yet such countervailing policies are...

Eurasianet: Armenia’s Diaspora Clout

Grigor Atanesian April 30, 2018
The Armenian diaspora supported protests in Yerevan against Serzh Sargsyan, president since 2008. ”Since protests in Yerevan began on April 13, rallies in solidarity took place in the global centers of the Armenian diaspora,” reports Grigor Atanesian for Eurasianet. “In the diaspora, support for the protests was far from universal, however, and some of the biggest diaspora organizations kept...

Politico: How Trump Could Lose a Trade War With China

Doug Palmer April 10, 2018
After demanding concessions from allies by imposing steel and aluminum tariffs in March, US President Donald Trump has instigated a trade war with China without a strong global coalition for support. Analysts suggest that China, an authoritarian regime lacking in democratic or free market oversight, can move more nimbly and undergo less political backlash on the home front if a full-blown trade...

The Guardian: Demise of the Nation State

Rana Dasgupta April 6, 2018
Nation states are losing influence, contends Rana Dasgupta for the Guardian, and the political systems are obsolete for confronting modern challenges that are either focused and local or global in nature. Systems based on borders struggle to deal with complex companies, technologies, immense wealth and social movements that no longer respect borders. “Exhaustion, hopelessness, the dwindling...