In The News

Will Japan Emerge from its Shell? – Part I

Edward J. Lincoln February 3, 2010
For the world’s second largest economy, Japan takes a decidedly backseat approach to involvement in global affairs. While there are no rules to force global intercourse, Japan-specialist Edward J. Lincoln believes that as a key beneficiary and user of global public goods, Japan should become more involved. But the hurdles preventing greater interchange between the world and the Japanese are many...

One World, Two Universes

Nayan Chanda February 1, 2010
The tussle between Google and China is laying bare a strained relationship between China and the Western world that had previously been covered up by the financial crisis. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's recent speech on Internet freedom, though it did not specifically mention China, marked a shift for the US administration in emphasizing human rights. Western corporations are...

China and Google: Searching for Trouble – Part II

Jeffrey Garten January 21, 2010
The China-Google tussle is about two visions of the future, according to international trade and finance professor Jeffrey Garten. It is about openness and globalization vs. stability and nationalism. For China, the desire is to continue to lift millions of its citizens out of poverty; if such a goal entails national stability, requiring control of the internet, so be it. To Westerners, who...

Immigration in Italy: Southern Misery

January 15, 2010
Rosarno, Italy has recently experienced a wave of anti-immigrant violence targeted at Africans, many of whom work as crop-pickers. Causes of such violence are multi-faceted. An influx of immigrants, many of whom entered illegally, created tensions with the existing population over employment and race. Worsening the situation, cheap citrus imports from countries like Spain and Brazil left Italian...

Globalization: After the Recession

Justin Lin January 6, 2010
While some developing country leaders may decry globalization as exploitation by a different name, World Bank economist Justin Lin argues that the world is far too integrated today for any one country to turn its back on globalization. Indeed, for developing countries to benefit from globalization they must learn from the lessons of history, particularly when it comes to employing the principle...

Scientists Use Cell Phone Records to Predict Spread of Malaria

Aaron Hoover December 18, 2009
Employing a method for epidemiology research from Europe, scientists at the University of Florida have used cell phones records to track the how malaria might spread in Zanzibar. Calls made by Zanzibar residents while travelling in Tanzania were recorded, showing a small group occasionally visits a region with a high rate of malarial infection. While individuals don’t infect one another with the...

Deglobalization

Daniel Gross December 14, 2009
As the world economic crisis unfolded, it revealed globalization’s most vulnerable element: trade. Though shrinking for the first time since World War II, world economic growth dipped only slightly compared with the precipitous drop in world trade. In response, state governments and international businesses began rethinking the supposed efficiency of globalization. Businesses are moving toward...