In The News

Poverty Breeds Insecurity

January 19, 2005
At the United Nations Millennium Summit in September 2000, world leaders placed development at the heart of the global agenda by adopting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which set clear targets for reducing poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation, and discrimination against women by 2015. To devise a plan for implementation and recommend strategies for developing...

For Honduras and Iran, World's Aid Evaporated

Ginger Thompson January 11, 2005
As international relief agencies rush to tsunami-devastated areas and the UN prepares to coordinate rebuilding efforts, many observers can't help but wonder how long the outpouring of goodwill will last. Six years ago, the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch seemed remarkably similar: World leaders pledged long-term relief, and aid workers populated storm-ravaged areas of Honduras. But now,...

Rethinking Science Aid

Keith Bezanson January 10, 2005
As the UN prepares to revisit its Millennium Development Goals in September, the topic of international development is on the minds of many. According to this SciDev.Net opinion piece, science and technology aid can play a crucial role in economic development - if used wisely. The authors push for an approach that encourages public-private partnerships that foster innovation, tailoring aid...

Wave of Ignorance

Robin Harger January 7, 2005
As relief efforts begin and tsunami-ravaged areas embark on the long road to rebuilding, the international finger-pointing has already begun. Contrary to popular belief, UN official Robin Harger writes, a large number of casualties could have been avoided. According to Harger, the absence of technological infrastructures for early warning stems from a number of factors, particularly the manner...

A Global Age Catastrophe

W. Scott Thompson January 6, 2005
The South Asian tsunami has captivated headlines and hearts around the world. Is the fascination with this recent catastrophe due to more than the staggering size of the death toll? Perhaps, suggests this Los Angeles Times commentary. The large number of tourists in affected areas magnified the international scope of the disaster. Further, as global news giants rushed correspondents to the...

No Fair Trade Without Free Trade

Herbert Oberhaensli November 29, 2004
Those critical of globalization often see neo-liberal business interests as one rapacious, profit-hungry monolith, eating away at the pockets of starved workers and consumers. Such conceptualizations perhaps oversimplify the complexity of the global economic landscape. According to Herbert Oberhaensli, head of economics and international relations at Nestlé, free trade does more good than harm....

Grassroots Versus Globalism

Janadas Devan November 12, 2004
When India's ruling party suffered a surprising defeat in April elections, a myth that had been woven through the nation came unraveled. Though the Indian government had beamed optimistically about its robust economic growth and burgeoning urban middle class, most Indians remained in rural areas mired in poverty. The losing BJP party had failed to reconcile the major paradox of globalization...