In The News

China’s Green Ambition, US Sees Red

Michael Richardson January 5, 2011
As factory to the world, China is hungry for energy. The nation secures traditional sources of energy – as the largest producer and consumer of coal, ranking second in oil consumption and imports, fifth for oil production – and is also intent on dominating the global renewable-energies industry. Recognizing that the rapidly-growing industry creates jobs, China devotes a growing pile of investment...

Monitoring America

Dana Priest, William M. Arkin December 30, 2010
The US is assembling a vast data collection on its citizens, including those who haven’t committed crimes, relying on the FBI, local police, state homeland security offices and military investigators, report Dana Priest and William Arkin in an investigation for the Washington Post. One agent describes the process as looking for “dots” to connect. The Department of Homeland Security has provided...

WikiLeaks Poses Legal Challenges for US Prosecutors

Kate Woodsome December 27, 2010
At the start of 2010, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton heralded internet freedom as a top foreign policy concern. But the website WikiLeaks released a series of embarrassing military and diplomatic cables, and the US restricts its employees from reading documents readily available throughout the world. US analysts and researchers are at a disadvantage with foreign counterparts who can review...

After Disputed Ivory Coast Election, Africa Tries to Break a Bloody Cycle

Vivienne Walt December 27, 2010
It’s an old story of leaders clinging to power, if not popularity, and ignoring election results. But increasingly, global media and observers rage against the election disputes and subsequent violence. “President Laurent Gbagbo has simply refused to accept the verdict of the electorate in the Nov. 28 runoff election won by his opponent, Alassane Ouattara,” reports Vivienne Wald for Time Magazine...

India Battles for Transparency – Part II

Pranab Bardhan December 24, 2010
As the developed countries’ economy teetered on the verge of collapse in 2007-2008, India and China emerged unscathed, lionized in the media as new champions of globalization. While China’s new assertiveness causes anxiety, India suffers from a self-inflicted wound caused by a series of scandals. This two-part YaleGlobal series examines the rise in corruption and its impact on India’s global...

India Battles for Transparency – Part I

Sadanand Dhume December 22, 2010
Debates comparing the rise of India and China often center on which is on the fast track as global leader – the world’s largest democracy versus the authoritarian state ruled by the Communist Party. Democracies are not immune to opaque processes or sets of complex rules known only to insiders, and this two-part series examines how corruption could impede India’s rise. In the first article, author...

Europe's Last Dictatorship Shows Violent Side

Benjamin Bidder December 20, 2010
Dictator Alexander Lukashenko claims to have won re-election in Belarus, a landlocked country of 10 million in Eastern Europe, with 80 percent of the vote. But opposition candidates claim election fraud, thousands turned out to protest and the nation’s security forces hit back hard. “The police and intelligence services in Belarus are focused primarily on the protection of one person: Lukashenko...