In The News

The Great War’s Ominous Echoes

Margaret MacMillan December 30, 2013
More than 10 million soldiers and many civilians died in the First World War, 1914-1918. An assassination, incidental in the century’s overall history, triggered the massive war spurred by national rivalries and reckless arms race. “The approaching centenary should make us reflect anew on our vulnerability to human error, sudden catastrophes, and sheer accident,” writes author Margaret MacMillan...

There’s No Such Thing as a Global Citizen

Jakub Grygiel December 17, 2013
Global problems like climate change require leaders with vision who move beyond narrow, short-term interests. YaleGlobal is among the many urging global solutions for such global problems. Jakub Grygiel, international relations professor, describes that goal as a “figment of the imagination of the few” to be avoided in practice. He expresses concern about schools of public policy “giving up on...

Will a Rising China Be a Responsible China?

Frank Ching November 28, 2013
The Chinese Communist Party’s Third Plenum released its plan for reforms, including moving toward the free market in allocating resources, abolishing prison reeducation, easing the one-child restriction for some families and eliminating local control over the judiciary. Despite such guidance on reforms, though, the plan is also designed to strengthen the party’s control, writes journalist Frank...

The Kennedy Temptation

Ian Buruma November 14, 2013
Assassinations of popular leaders prompt many to speculate what might have been had they lived. Citizens mourn that a violent killer or a small group of extremists can dash the hopes and choice of many as was the case with US President John F. Kennedy. “America’s national politics is so poisoned by provincial partisanship – especially among Republicans, who have hated Obama from the beginning –...

The Danger of High Home Ownership: Greater Unemployment

David G. Blanchflower and Andrew J. Oswald November 4, 2013
Home ownership is a common goal for societies and individuals. Yet statistical patterns suggest that a high rate of “home ownership weakens the vitality of the labour market and slowly grinds out greater rates of joblessness,” report economists David G. Blanchflower and Andrew J. Oswald in a paper for Chatham House. Home ownership may disrupt efficient functioning of the labor market by reducing...

Emerging Challenges: What's In Store for the New Global Powers

Erich Follath October 23, 2013
The emerging economies are on track to be more influential and work as a united front against the West, notes Erich Follath for Spiegel Online: “For the first time in 150 years, the combined output of the developing world's three leading economies – Brazil, China and India – is about equal to the combined GDP of the longstanding industrial powers of the North[,] Canada, France, Germany,...

Malala’s Desire to Learn Shames Our Schools

Allison Pearson October 14, 2013
Education empowers individuals and their societies. When she was 15, Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by Taliban extremists while traveling between school and home in Pakistan. She recovered from her wounds in England and has since been a determined global voice about education as a source of power and a right for all. She describes her lessons and the ability to read, write, calculate, and...