In The News

Times of India: Khashoggi Mystery

Nayan Chanda October 22, 2018
The death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul puts a spotlight on Saudi-US relations and investigations that seem more about spinning stories to ease public concerns than getting at the truth. “The Khashoggi mystery is proving hard to solve not because it is such a tough case to crack, but because the known facts are too simple to reach anything other than a damning...

BBC News: Merkel’s Three Challenges

Jenny Hill October 15, 2018
Chancellor Angela Merkel's already weakened government confronts challenges after Sunday's election in Germany’s largest federal state – Bavaria. Jenny Hill explains for BBC News that the ruling Christian Social Union, a coalition partner with Merkel’s more conservative Christian Democrat Union, lost its majority in the Bavarian state parliament. The party’s leader still serves as...

New York Times: Trump and Suspect Tax Schemes

David Barstow, Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner October 3, 2018
At first glance, an investigative New York Times report on Donald Trump’s participation in a long list of questionable tax schemes before he was president seems to have little to do with globalization and the world at large. Not so long ago, the United States was regarded, not simply as a superpower but as a moral leader and model for democratic governance including fair taxation. Today the...

Reuters: An Imperfect UN Still the World’s Best Hope

Peter Apps September 27, 2018
The United Nations has a track record of preventing wars, pointing out atrocities and human rights violations, encouraging dialogue and setting goals. Reform would be useful – including an adjustment in the frustrating veto power of the Security Council’s five permanent members – but the world should be grateful. “The assembly gives smaller nations and groupings a voice, and its resolutions can...

The Atlantic: Trump Issues Scathing Rejection of “Globalism”

Uri Friedman September 26, 2018
The US president’s speech before the UN General Assembly undercut the organization’s mission of global cooperation. Instead, he lashed out at what he called an unelectable bureaucracy, lacking accountability: “We reject the ideology of globalism and accept the doctrine of patriotism.” Uri Friedman writes for the Atlantic: “More than going after a specific leader or country, Trump used this year’s...

Wall Street Journal: UN Gathering and Global Problems

Farnaz Fassihi and Valentina Pop September 25, 2018
Numerous challenges from nuclear weapons proliferation to climate change cannot be resolved without global cooperation. Yet some nations reject such global responsibility and even refuse to acknowledge that challenges exist. More than 130 heads of state and government are arriving for the UN General Assembly in New York City – and will continue debate over two competing world views, national...

El País: Spain Wants Special Brexit Chapter

Lucía Abellán September 23, 2018
Any Brexit deal requires approval of the European Parliament and a supermajority of EU members, many of which hold messy concerns. For example, Spain is striving for an agreement related to taxes, labor and pollution concerns, and smuggling in Gibraltar. The territory in Southern Spain, under British control since 1713, has 30,000 residents and more than 50,000 registered businesses, so Spain...