In The News

How to Avert Another Debt-Ceiling Crisis

James Leitner, Ian Shapiro November 15, 2013
The United States borrows 46 cents for every dollar it spends, and despite congressional approval of the expenditures, a few members cling to a self-imposed debt ceiling, insisting that partial default may bring new discipline and spending priorities. “Had the debt ceiling been breached, the damage to the U.S. and world economies could have been measured in trillions of dollars,” write James...

Snowden and Obama Slow Down Globalization

Irwin M. Stelzer November 13, 2013
Policies and individuals can influence globalization’s pace. Writing for the Weekly Standard, Irwin Stelzer blames former US National Security Agency contract worker Edward Snowden – his release of National Security Agency documents revealing methods and targets – and President Barack Obama for slowing globalization by hampering free trade, capital flows and foreign investment. “Neither [man]...

Typhoon in Philippines Casts Long Shadow Over UN Talks on Climate Treaty

Henry Fountain, Justin Gillis November 13, 2013
Those worried about climate change are not waiting for scientific deliberation that Typhoon Haiyan is a consequence of a warming planet. The typhoon is reported to have killed thousands in the Philippines, and relief organizations struggle to reach survivors with needed food, water and supplies. Some delegates in Warsaw for UN talks on a climate treaty point to the typhoon as “the cost of...

Typhoon Haiyan and the Geopolitics of Disaster Relief

Rory Medcalf November 12, 2013
Powerful Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines, leaving perhaps 10,000 dead and a path of devastation. Like it or not, post-typhoon disaster relief for the Philippines involves both good-faith compassion and strategic calculations in an ongoing battle for influence, explains Rory Medcalf writing for the Interpreter, published by the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Australia. Australia...

Should Extremist Parties Be Banned?

Jan-Werner Mueller November 8, 2013
Some political organizations, formal or informal, often seem bent on fomenting anger, attracting attentionby excluding citizens based on race, religion, gender or other characteristics rather than practicing good governance and solving problems. “Is there a place within liberal democracies for apparently anti-democratic parties?” asks Jan-Werner Mueller for Project Syndicate. He examines the...

India and China Seek Economic Integration

Neeta Lal November 5, 2013
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are supporting a multibillion dollar construction corridor encompassing Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar that could “redraw the economic and geopolitical map of Asia,” reports Neeta Lal for the Asia Sentinel. The BCIM corridor was a topic during Li’s trip to India. “’Connectivity’ is China’s new mantra and the focus of...

The US and Pakistan: An Incompatible Couple

Dilip Hiro October 31, 2013
As the United States withdraws forces from landlocked Afghanistan, it needs cooperation from Pakistan for the easiest exit route and support against the ongoing war on terrorism. Pakistan resents US drone attacks and other intrusions, yet with a troubled economy, also relies on funding from the United States and the International Monetary Fund. Pakistan seeks more policy leniency, including a...