In The News

Unravelling 'Enlightened Moderation'

Masooda Bano June 18, 2004
In a critical rejoinder to an article by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, Masooda Bano chastise Musharraf for calling on all Muslims to "bow unquestioningly to US demands." The "apologetic mindset" Musharraf evidences is an insult to Muslims worldwide and overlooks the achievements and strengths of many Muslims. He accepts that Muslim groups are responsible for...

Lessons on Globalization from India

Pratap Bhanu Mehta June 17, 2004
Is there an inherent contradiction between democracy and globalization? Some anti-globalization protesters might say yes. And their pro-free trade opponents might also agree. But upon careful consideration, writes philosopher and political scientist Pratap Bhanu Mehta, it is clear that the debate between democrats and globalizers is often too stylized. "The constraints on democracy, in...

Lula: Support globalization

Alan Clendenning June 16, 2004
While hundreds of demonstrators chanted against globalization, inside a conference hall in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s leftwing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had a different message. Addressing a gathering of 180-nation United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, he said the developing world should learn how to use globalization instead of denouncing it. Lula’s speech offered yet another...

Fresh Water Talks

Gamal Nkrumah June 11, 2004
In parts of North Africa, fresh water is a scarce commodity. Although the region's main pipeline – the mighty Nile River – is perhaps most often associated with Egypt, it actually runs through a host of countries further upstream. In order to map out use rights in an equitable fashion, the ten-country Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) hopes to bring all parties to the negotiation table. But the...

Indonesia's Shameful Export

Devi Asmarani June 8, 2004
Last month, Indonesia was forced to face the reality of a widespread child prostitution network when a woman was arrested for employing young schoolgirls as prostitutes from a food stall in a densely populated neighborhood in South Jakarta. This article in the Straits Times reports that the 1997 economic crisis has caused millions of children to take to the worst of forms of child labor,...

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June 6, 2004

Trade Theory vs. Used Clothes in Africa

Carter Dougherty June 3, 2004
In Uganda the seemingly ubiquitous struggle between free traders and protectionists is played out in the debate over used clothes. Like so many other cities in Africa, Uganda's capital, Kampala, is the destination for millions of dollars worth of second-hand garments from the developed world. But while myriad jobs have sprung up in Uganda's used clothes trade, those involved in the...