In The News

NPT Review Faces Challenges as Iran Knocks on Door

Leonard S. Spector May 3, 2010
Threatening to build, possess or use nuclear weapons does not do much to win friends or influence neighbors, as the old saying goes, particularly as more nations acquire the bomb. More than 180 nations convene at the UN this month, starting today, to continue regular five-yearly review and negotiations aimed at reducing these weapons. Progress is slow because decisions at the UN conference on the...

Freeing the Renminbi

Nayan Chanda April 30, 2010
Criticizing the value of another nation’s currency is easy. Understanding the consequences of any currency adjustments is more complicated, explains Nayan Chanda, editor of YaleGlobal and regular columnist for Businessworld in India. Economic advisors have undoubtedly explained the many challenges linked to currency revaluation awaiting political leaders in both China and the US, suggesting that...

Thailand’s Red Tide

Pavin Chachavalpongpun April 30, 2010
A 2006 coup forced popularly elected Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra from office, abruptly ending his attempts to reform agriculture, education, taxation and other programs. Since then, protesters donning red shirts, led by the National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship, have rallied against the government, demanding new elections. Demonstrations have swelled since March,...

North Korea and Syria: A Warning in the Desert

Gregory L. Schulte April 28, 2010
Six-Party Talks began in 2003, with China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the US teaming up to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear-weapons ambition. Talks continued on and off with isolated North Korea, as it inched forward with its own nuclear development and clandestine export of nuclear material. One example of North Korea’s nuclear proliferation emerged in 2007 when Israeli bombers...

The Hub Nation

April 28, 2010
The US attracts one of the highest rates of immigrants in the world and this trend has important benefits for the country. Immigrants are tied to networks with their own countrymen, which facilitates economic growth. While modern technology allows for instantaneous global communication, it is often only immigrants who know the right people to call. They have pre-established trust relationships,...

Hear Them Roar

Rana Foroohar April 16, 2010
In countries and conflict zones where female voices are traditionally stifled, women have proven to be some of the most active dissidents. This tendency is not limited to the ranks of activists as female participation in politics and business has grown dramatically worldwide. In the developing world, the levels of basic education for women are rising. There are now as many girls as boys in...

Despotism Doesn’t Equal Stability

Owen Matthews April 15, 2010
The recent ousting of Kyrgyz President Bakiyev exposed the instability of today’s ex-Soviet oil-rich Central Asian nations. Western countries, as well as the nearby giants of Russia and China, have a history of sustaining the repressive rule of communist-era chiefs in order to shore up their own interests in the region. This approach may end up working against them as the corrupt regimes they...