In The News

Economist: China’s Efforts to Win Over African Audiences

November 5, 2018
Growing ties between Chinese capital and African nations has attracted controversy in recent years. As an article for the Economist notes, “ever since the Kenyan government signed a deal in 2014 for a state-owned Chinese company to build a railway between Nairobi and Kenya’s main port in Mombasa, the project has attracted controversy.” Many Kenyans are suspicious over corruption due to the...

Reuters: The EU and Merkel's Departure

Alastair Macdonald November 1, 2018
Angela Merkel is stepping down as her party’s leader and said her fourth term as German chancellor is her last. Some analysts anticipate “prolonged paralysis and a Germany less inclined to share its wealth and locked in confrontation with its neighbours” and others hope for a stronger coalition supporting integration, explains Alastair Macdonald for Reuters. The next leader for the Christian...

The Economist: El Salvador’s Óscar Romero Canonized

October 31, 2018
After 40 years, the Vatican canonized El Salvador’s Archbishop Óscar Arnulfo Romero as a saint, and the Economist describes this as a “controversial” choice: “Often seen as ideologically left wing, he was above all a martyr for his faith and his church.” In the 1970s, El Salvador’s long-ruling coffee oligarchy and army were confronted by left-wing trade unions and peasant groups, with aid from...

New York Times: Hate Poisons America

October 30, 2018
A ready supply of high-powered guns combined with hateful online rhetoric and brutal attacks on specific communities – the most recent a shooting in a Pittsburgh synagogue and bombs mailed to leading Democrats – demonstrate how hatred can consume entire societies. Americans no longer feel safe in their schools, workplaces, places of worship or entertainment. In Pittsburgh, the gunman shouted, “...

The Economist: Saudi Arabia’s Alliances Tested

October 28, 2018
The murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey has put pressure on the US government to reassess its relationship with Saudi Crown Prince and de facto ruler Mohammad bin Salman. However, Donald Trump may be willing to look the other way as the crown prince continues to shield himself from blame over Khashoggi’s death. Turkey is making “a whitewash more difficult” and “Its investigators...

Folha De S. Paulo: Investors Eye Brazil Election

Taís Hirata October 27, 2018
Brazil, like many other democracies, is polarized over politics and foreign investment. Voters head to the polls on 28 October to select between far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro and leftist Fernando Haddad. Bolsonaro has led in the polls, and China eyes the outcome, concerned about Bolsonaro’s nationalist views. “The candidate, already known for his criticism towards former state companies that...

Washington Post: Bomb Targets and Trump’s Words

Philip Rucker October 25, 2018
Nationalism is defined by Oxford Living Dictionaries as “Identification with one's own nation and support for its interests, especially to the exclusion or detriment of the interests of other nations.” The extreme ideology regarding any criticism as threat is especially dangerous when so many challenges are global in scope. Yet Donald Trump proudly proclaims his stance as nationalist and...