In The News

Megacities Might Not Save the Planet After All

Lizzie Wade April 29, 2015
Large cities are described as the “economic and cultural beating heart” for countries, attracting those seeking jobs, economic markets and entertainment. “In 2010, 6.7 percent of the human beings on Earth lived in a megacity,” reports Lizzie Wade for Wired, writing about research from engineer Christopher Kennedy with the University of Toronto, assisted by 28 researchers in 19 countries. “That...

An Unending Refugee Tragedy: Europe's Path to Deadly Partition

Matthias Gebauer, Horand Knaup, Peter Müller, Maximilian Popp, Jörg Schindler and Christoph Schult April 28, 2015
European leaders were ashamed after the 2013 sinking of a rickety boat with more than 500 refugees near the Italian island of Lampedusa. The EU promised measures to avoid such tragedies, but thousands still use life savings to attempt the treacherous crossing, fleeing poverty and conflict in Africa, Syria and beyond. Many refugees do not survive. The article in Spiegel Online reviews the array of...

South Africa: Xenophobia in South Africa - a Lack of Visionary Leadership

Ozias Tungwarara April 17, 2015
Xenophobia thrives in South Africa as is the case with much of the world. Citizens, especially those experiencing hard times, blame less fortunate foreigners, often from neighboring states, for poverty, crowded conditions, and crime. “In 2000 a major scenario exercise: ‘Southern Africa in 2020’ painted a grim picture of the southern Africa region in two decades, suggesting that only a new...

Creative Self-Disruption

Mohamed A. El-Erian April 9, 2015
New businesses emerge and expand, disrupting established businesses with unprecedented speed: “companies like Airbnb, Amazon, Apple, and Uber exemplify a different kind of transformation: agile players invade other, seemingly unrelated industries and brilliantly exploit huge but previously unseen opportunities,” writes economist Mohamed A. El-Erian for Project Syndicate. “Central to these...

The Persian Paradox: Iran Is Much More Modern Than You Think

Erich Follath April 8, 2015
It’s a mistake to judge a nation by its most vocal extremists. Iran, a country of 80 million, is young, diverse, urbanized and entrepreneurial. The literacy rate is 85 percent and many Iranians pursue advanced degrees. The country’s ranking for inequality is near that of the United States. “There are few countries in the world that are subjected to as much Western prejudice and misunderstanding...

What the West Can Learn From Japan’s “Lost Decades”

Roland Kelts April 3, 2015
Economists often label Japan as the “the sick man of Asia,” but the country’s stagnation may also reflect its leadership on sustainability. “Japan’s stagnation, pilloried by economists and analysts in the west, may turn out to be the catalyst for its greatest strengths: resilience, reinvention and quiet endurance,” writes Roland Kelts for the New Statesman. He points out that unending population...

Free-Wheeling Web Commentary Challenges Media's Traditional Power

Nayef Al-Rodhan March 31, 2015
The internet revolutionized politics, trade and social interactions. Blogs contribute so much to that revolution, and in 2007 author, philosopher, neuroscientist and geostrategist Nayef Al-Rodhan referred to them as the “fifth estate.” The designation of “estate” for media is often “contested simply because the media does not implement policy or mandate particular activity, yet these criticisms...