In The News

A Dangerous Interregnum

Roger Cohen November 29, 2013
The 9/11 attacks, followed by long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, have left the United States exhausted, which has transformed its approach to the globe. New York Times columnist Roger Cohen cites political theorist Antonio Gramsci who suggested that transitions, during which old ways resist new approaches, can magnify crisis. The United States, and other nations, too, have taken an “inward turn...

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...

After-School Activities Make Educational Inequality Even Worse

Hilary Levey Friedman November 25, 2013
Leisure activities – the exposure to new ideas, projects, adults and ways of working within teams – can contribute to a child’s later status. “While we talk a lot about inequalities between the rich and the poor, and the role school quality plays in perpetuating class divisions, one often overlooked factor is the opportunities middle- and upper-middle-class kids get to strengthen their life...

China Increases Aid to Philippines

Barbara Demick November 19, 2013
Global leadership is the ability to overlook small differences in the face of catastrophe and display generosity, along with the power of example and rapid response. China was subjected to sharp criticism at home and abroad, after initially offering $100,000 in aid to the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan, reports Barbara Demick for the Los Angeles Times. China has since increased aid to $1.64...

The Dilemma of Desperation Migration

Joseph Chamie November 14, 2013
Poverty, conflict and overpopulation have historically forced migrants to pursue opportunity in wealthier nations. Modern migrants have more options for low-cost travel, yet nations have more organized registration, border surveillance and enforcement tools, explains Joseph Chamie, former director of the UN Population Division. Thus, transit countries face new pressures. The desperate in North...

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 –...

American Universities Eye Chinese Students

Hassan Siddiq November 12, 2013
Increasing numbers of Chinese choose to study abroad, and nearly half head for US institutions of higher learning. The reasons behind the exponential growth, even at the undergraduate level, are as much financial as “the emphasis on globalization and diversity touted by the universities,” explains Hassan Siddiq for YaleGlobal. US universities have active recruiting programs, and seven of the top...