In The News

Through the Eyes of Asia’s Tiger Cubs

Mark L. Clifford February 20, 2012
Asia’s post–Cold War generation of young professionals have a decidedly optimistic outlook on the future – as revealed by the Asia’s Challenge 2020 essay competion organized by the Asia Business Council, Time magazine and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. Mark L. Clifford, executive director of the Hong Kong-based Asia Business Council, co-authored...

China: Hard Power at Home, Soft Power Abroad

Frank Ching February 8, 2012
China’s hard-edged regime, struggling to wield soft power, is concerned by the dominating influence of Western media and culture. China’s government is taking steps to remedy the problem, explains journalist Frank Ching. One success story is the establishment of more than 300 Confucius Institutes, many linked with universities, teaching Chinese language and culture in nearly 100 countries....

Global Causes Attract Growing Share of US Giving

Susan Froetschel January 10, 2012
After the 2008 global recession, Americans understandably tightened their purse strings for charitable giving. Yet giving to international causes rose by about 15 percent in 2010 – the largest percentage increase of all categories, including religion, health or education, according to Giving USA Foundation. Nonprofits in the international affairs category attracted 5 percent of US contributions,...

Thailand's Lèse-Majesté Witchhunt

Simon Roughneen December 29, 2011
Lèse-majesté charges are on the rise in Thailand, from a single case in 2000 to nearly 500 in 2010. Among the charged is Joe Gordon, an American who translated excerpts of a biography of the Thai King, receiving critical acclaim everywhere but Thailand. Gordon was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, but may receive a royal pardon. Observers can’t help but wonder if such accusations aren’...

Riots, Language and Britain’s Globalized Underclass

Garry Robson December 22, 2011
Violent riots broke out in Britain in August, and researchers, searching for reasons, examined the messages relayed by rioters over social media. Many of the calls to don disguises and join the mayhem were in a dialect labeled Multicultural London English by sociolinguists and Jafaican by the media – a post-racial blend that emerged from the more than 300 languages and dialects spoken by youth...

Unreality Check: From Kim to Kim in North Korea

Philip Gourevitch December 22, 2011
North Korea is among the poorest nations in the world, enduring government mismanagement that emphasizes military spending, which leads to repeat famines and manipulated relief efforts. With the announcement of Kim Jong Il’s death, North Koreans engaged in a massive display of rote grief, orchestrated, filmed and released to western media and analyzed by Philip Gourevitch for the New Yorker. “To...

A Global Consensus to Rise and Occupy

Laurence Brahm December 15, 2011
The year 2011 has given rise to a wave of peaceful protests around the globe. In Tunisia, Egypt, Europe, the United States and now even Russia, citizens organize via social media, convene in public spaces and protest policies that fail to protect the public interest. Alarm is building about governments and corporations that mismanage diminishing resources, argues Laurence Brahm, attorney and...