In The News

US Congress Blocks World Bank Move on Safeguards

January 12, 2015
The US Congress has inserted a provision in an appropriations act that requires greater “protection for the environment or for human rights than the bank’s current safeguards,” reports Environment News Service. The United States is the largest contributor for World Bank operations, and the measure formalizes criticism about the World Bank’s 2014 proposal on environmental and social safeguards: “...

China, Russia and the US Juggle Soft and Hard Power

Alistair Burnett January 8, 2015
Reliance on soft power requires measured patience. Nations want their own way, and the world has seen a marked resurgence in use of hard power, suggests Alistair Burnett, editor of BBC's The World Tonight. The United States intervenes in Iraq and Syria; Russia has annexed Crimea and encourages rebels in eastern Ukraine, while China asserts broad territorial claims in the East and South China...

Plummeting Oil Prices Upend Global Economy

Chris Miller January 6, 2015
Abrupt changes in prices of an essential commodity like oil immediately create winners and losers. Oil prices have fallen since July due to new supplies coming on line and exporters seeking to hold on to market share. If sustained for long, the price drop will transform the global economy and geopolitics, explains Chris Miller, PhD candidate at Yale University and research associate with the...

US-China Diplomacy and Grand Strategy

Robert D. Blackwill December 19, 2014
As major rivals in governance, trade and security, China and the United States have many irreconcilable differences. The current level of bilateral diplomacy may not prevent confrontation. “Although both sides will deny it publicly, the main thrust of U.S. policy is to maintain its strategic primacy in Asia, and the main thrust of China’s policy is to replace the United States as Asia’s leading...

After a Half Century, Thaw in US-Cuba Ties

Mimi Whitefield December 18, 2014
US and Cuban presidents Barack Obama and Raúl Castro issued simultaneous announcements – a start to normalizing ties after 53 years “that could bring more trade, support for Cuba’s nascent entrepreneurs and more open communications with the island,” reports Mimi Whitefield for the Miami Herald. The two countries also exchanged prisoners. “Obama not only said that the U.S. and Cuba would work...

Arms and Men: Technology’s Shadow Over Democracy

John Ferejohn and Frances Rosenbluth December 9, 2014
The nomination of Ashton Carter, a physics instructor and researcher, as the US Secretary of Defense offers a reminder how modern war increasingly relies on technology rather than collective human strength. The new form of warfare launched against Iraq was described by a previous president as “shock and awe.” In the United States, massive troop mobilization for a national causee and the...

Modi's Bangladesh Deal: Small Footprint, Big Impact

Nayan Chanda December 9, 2014
Since taking office in spring, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought good relations with neighbors. As part of such effort, he has pushed for settlement of an old border dispute with neighbor Bangladesh – a move that “will smoothen India's relations with Bangladesh, enable closer cooperation on fighting terrorism and could also help reduce China's seductive appeal to Bangladesh...