In The News

China, Russia Seek to Profit as the EU Beacon of Democracy Goes Dim

Humphrey Hawksley April 5, 2016
“Not long ago the European Union stood as an unassailable beacon, a model for how trade and shared values could override historical hatreds and how a disparate collection of nations could work together under a single set of political values,” argues Humphrey Hawksley, BBC correspondent, in this YaleGlobal esssay. The EU is now vulnerable to the charms – and illusions – of authoritarian order....

Europe Must Adapt to a Dangerous World

Daniel Twining March 29, 2016
Security is essential for economic viability, and the terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels suggest that European Union leaders underestimated the jihadist influences within their cities and the aggression near its borders. EU leaders must master geopolitics, influencing regional events and engaging in great power competition. The continent may be over-reliant on the United States for security...

Whisper It Softly: Muslims Are Part of Europe's Future

Shada Islam March 10, 2016
Violent conflict in the Middle East is driving hundreds of thousands of refugees toward Europe – a crisis that is straining resources, explains Shada Islam, policy director of Friends of Europe based in Brussels. The continent is divided over welcoming the refugees and settling them in different countries, with some politicians stoking fear and warning about a clash of cultures. “Muslims, also,...

Missing the Big Picture, US Policy on North Korea Could Bring Disaster

Paul Bracken March 8, 2016
So far in 2016, North Korea has tested an atomic weapon and long-range missile. The United Nations Security Council responded with sanctions amid hope that China might contain a belligerent ally. The world expects the United States to monitor international developments, and those not posing immediate danger or causing global media alarm are often put to the side with a cursory response. “Yet...

North Korea Sanctions Largely Depend on China’s Implementation

Lee Je-hun March 3, 2016
A day after the UN Security Council imposed 52 new sanctions against North Korea, the isolated regime fired six short-range projectiles about 100 kilometers off the Korean Peninsula. The sanctions “places a legal responsibility on UN member states, who will be found in violation of the resolution if they do not implement these sanctions,” reports Lee Je-hun, staff reporter for the Hankyoreh in...

Russia: Only Tactical Success in the Middle East

Thomas Graham March 1, 2016
Despite an economic downturn and depressed oil prices, Russia wrested control in eastern Ukraine and Syria. Russian President Vladimir Putin is taking a gamble “that Europe would eventually seize an offer of cooperation in Syria to constrict the migrant flow and contain the terrorist threat and that such cooperation would sap Europe’s aversion to Russian behavior in Ukraine, leading to a decision...

Why More Defense Spending Could Slow Technology Growth

Satyajit Das February 24, 2016
Scientific research in any sector introduces innovations that deliver new products and jobs for society. The science during periods of peace may produce more innovations than the science of war, and Satyajit Das, writing for MarketWatch, points to the end of the Cold War as an example: “scientific and mathematical resources previously employed in the defense-industrial infrastructure were...