In The News

Health Care Gaps Increase Vulnerability to Ebola

Laurie Garrett October 6, 2014
Ebola will test the world’s diverse systems of health care. The United States is alone among advanced economies in lacking a universal health care system, and its health care costs more per capita than that of any other country. A system with unequal benefits makes the country vulnerable on two fronts: US hospitals offer state-of-the art treatment, a plane ride away, for the insured or those with...

The Political Implications of Latin America's Slowing Growth

Eric Farnsworth October 3, 2014
Brazilians head to the polls, and the results could be a bellweather for the whole region. Latin American economies have flourished during the last decade due to growing worldwide demand for their copper, iron ore, meat and soy. However, the region can anticipate a slowdown as the world continues to recover from recent economic crises and as growth subsides in China, their main market. Regional...

China’s Biggest Political Challenge Since Tiananmen in 1989

Gideon Rachman October 1, 2014
Tens of thousands crowd Hong Kong’s financial center, challenging the Chinese government’s insistence on selecting a slate of candidates for the 2017 election. Gideon Rachman for the Financial Times describes the eerie parallels with the crushed pro-democracy Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement 25 years ago. China is wealthier with more global standing, and so too are the Hong Kong protesters...

Modi: Forging New Relationships with Washington

Sumit Ganguly September 30, 2014
Based on his own track record and promises to deliver economic growth to all of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was swept into office with a decisive parliamentary majority. Domestic prosperity is linked with global ambitions, and one is not secure without the other, suggests Sumit Ganguly, professor of political science. He reviews Modi’s foreign-policy challenges and recent visits with...

Will It Be a Trusting Relationship?

Nayan Chanda September 29, 2014
Prime Minister Narendra Modi received an enthusiastic welcome from members of the US Indian diaspora at Madison Square Garden, perhaps previewing strategic cooperation between the world’s largest democracy and the United States. In his regular column for the Times of India, Nayan Chanda reviews how the strategic situation has deteriorated for both India and the United States: China is...

Watch Three Mideastern Developments Very Carefully

Rami G. Khouri September 29, 2014
The Middle East is under fire and dealing with the chaos encourages strange bedfellows. Violent rampages of Islamic State terrorists, alarm all and could spur new cooperation. Most players support US-led strikes in Iraq and Syria, coordinated with five Arab states, though many claim the intervention comes too late. Other critics ask how intervention can be applied without instigating more...

US and Vietnam to Discuss Curbing China’s Sea Claims

David Brown September 25, 2014
Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet in Washington early October. The two nations, at war more than 40 years ago, now find common interest in protecting open sea lanes in the South China Sea. China asserts sweeping claims, going as far as to construct new islets and impose limitations on the use of other nations’ exclusive economic zones. China...