In The News

'Wake Up and Face the Flat Earth' – Thomas L. Friedman

April 18, 2005
In his previous book, "The Lexus and the Olive Tree," New York Times foreign affairs columnist and author Thomas L. Friedman wrote about this shrinking world. Discussing his recent book, "The World Is Flat," with Nayan Chanda, editor of YaleGlobal Online, Friedman observes that not only has the world shrunk to a tiny size thanks to a communication revolution, it has even been...

A Pipeline to Peace

George Perkovich April 18, 2005
After years of distrust and suspicion, India and Pakistan are discussing the possibility of a joint pipeline, which will bring badly needed gas to western India. Aside from the potential economic benefits to both countries, the project is environmentally safe and most importantly, will encourage the two countries to cooperate more. The problem, however, is that the oil pipeline would originate...

'Wake Up and Face the Flat Earth'

April 18, 2005
Since Columbus discovered the New World in 1492 and reconnected peoples that had been separated for ten millennia, globalization has become increasingly fast-paced. The interconnected world, facilitated by information technology and trade liberalization in the late 20th century, is the most recent wave of human societies' efforts to connect each other even more closely. In his previous book...

China Soups Up Internet Censoring Filters

Anick Jesdanun April 14, 2005
According to a recent US study, China is the most successful country in the world – that is, in terms of Internet censorship. The Chinese government uses a multilayered approach, employing thousands of public and private censors to remove online content deemed too sensitive. The system is so advanced that while references to Tibetan independence are entirely removed, for instance, general...

Globalization Is Not Made in the West

Robbie Robertson April 13, 2005
Too often, globalization is seen as an exclusively Western phenomenon, an aggressive force that often endangers indigenous cultures and ways of life. But, as Robbie Robertson writes, this view is not simply reductive – it is inaccurate. "Globalization is not about rampant capitalism, technology, or homogenization," he writes, "It is about the changed environments people create...

Russia's Neighbors

Vladimir Radyuhin April 7, 2005
As optimists salute democracy's march in the Middle East, so too do they point towards the former republics of the Soviet Union, where a spate of "democratic" revolutions has toppled three Russian-backed governments. Georgia, Ukraine, and now Kyrgyzstan have all undergone sweeping regime changes. But Russian analysts, like Vladimir Radyuhin, are cautious in their appraisals of such...

The Spirit of Bandung

Josef Purnama Widyatmadja April 6, 2005
In 1955, epresentatives from nations across two continents convened at the first ever Asia-Africa conference, held in Bandung, Indonesia. That first summit was a statement of principle – world regions, under the constraints of imperialist or colonial powers, could indeed assert themselves on a global stage outside the sphere of Western influence. In the midst of a global ideological struggle,...