In The News

World Puts the Brakes on the Rush to Globalization

Steven Pearlstein July 7, 2006
A backlash against globalization flourishes in countries that have benefited from active trade, including the US and China. Author Steven Pearlstein cites the failure of Doha, the polarized Mexican electorate and the US debate on immigration as evidence of the continued potency of the nation-state and the national economy. Rather than preaching about the dangers of protectionism and...

A Promise Not Kept

Paul Blustein June 30, 2006
Few can deny that the wealthiest nations have an edge over poor countries when it comes to trade – and many economists argue that opening US and European markets to agricultural goods from small nations could substantially reduce poverty. The World Trade Organization (WTO) has repeatedly tried to address the inequities since 2001, with its Doha round of talks. Reducing farm tariffs and subsidies...

The Law of the Spirits

Andrew Morgan June 30, 2006
Good cooks like to experiment. But vodka producers in the Nordic, Polish and Baltic markets want to restrict ingredients for vodka production to two raw products: cereals or potatoes. Such are the issues that have posed obstacles for negotiators throughout the Doha round of trade talks. The regulation would prevent other producers whose alcohol comes from fruit or molasses from marketing their...

Behind the Rise of Iran's President: A Populist Economic Agenda

Bill Spindle June 30, 2006
Extravagant government spending could cause more economic harm to Iran than any sanctions by Europe and the US over the country’s nuclear program. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s promise to “put the oil revenue on the dinner table of every Iranian” garners him the loyalty of Iran’s working class. Buoyed by oil money, he has proposed $4 billion for school renovations, raised salaries for state...

Plan B for Plurilateralists

Bernard K. Gordon June 22, 2006
The current round of the World Trade Organization’s Doha conference has become hopelessly stalled, bringing into relief a split between what some call the “can do” and the “won't do” nations. Political scientist Bernard K. Gordon posits that the current US administration will not settle for a limited multilateral agreement that could likely result from the WTO talks. Instead, he sees the...

US Competes With China for Vietnam’s Allegiance

Jane Perlez June 22, 2006
It has taken Vietnam a mere 15 years to develop from a low-income country to one that is middle-income. As a result, Vietnam has emerged as a regional economic power in Asia, its growth only trailing that of China. The US and China are both eager to counter the other’s influence in Vietnam – increasing imports of goods, industry and culture to the nation. China last fought with Vietnam in 1979...

Latin America’s Left Turn

Jorge G. Castañeda June 7, 2006
Mexican-born political scientist Jorge G. Castañeda describes the resurgence of left-identified political leaders in Latin America as two-pronged. One form, most present in Chile, Uruguay and Brazil, has Marxist and Castroist roots, but has evolved to a practice based in social policy and internationalism within a market framework. The other – which Castañeda defines as “peculiarly Latin...