In The News

The Economist: Kenya’s New Government Faces Serious Challenges

August 30, 2017
Kenya’s recent presidential elections have come under scrutiny with candidate Raila Odinga calling the incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta’s reelection a “computer-generated fraud.” In Nairobi and in Western Kenya, protestors have “blocked roads and burned tires,” reports the Economist. “The police responded [by] firing tear gas and live rounds into the crowds. After a few days, at least two dozen...

The Telegraph: Indian Independence Day

Barney Henderson August 16, 2017
This August marks 70 years since the Great Partition divided British India into two independent nations: India and Pakistan. The Indian independence movement engaged in non-violent struggle under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and diplomacy efforts in international forums in the wake of the Second World War, just as the old British and French empires were on the verge of collapse. As Barney...

Project Syndicate: Explaining Global Recovery Amid Political Recession

Michael Spence August 4, 2017
A disconnect between political dysfunction and strong economies is disconcerting. Michael Spence, Nobel laureate in economics, suggests the global economy may not be reaching its full potential. “Leaders in Europe, as well as in a number of emerging economies, have now concluded that both the UK and the US are unpredictable and unreliable allies and trading partners,” explains Spence. “Asia, with...

BBC News: What Lies Ahead for Divided Venezuela?

Will Grant July 31, 2017
Venezuela is in crisis even though it has the largest proved oil reserves in the world. The country depends heavily on oil revenues and mismanaged the industry. President Nicolás Maduro, in office since 2013, lacks control and credibility. Election results of assembly members charged with changing the constitution are suspect: The government claims that more than 40 percent of the electorate...

Financial Times: America’s Looming Constitutional Crisis

Edward Luce July 28, 2017
Investigations into interference in the 2016 US presidential election continue, with reports suggesting that the special counsel is examining the Trump Organization’s financial dealings with Russia. Leaders around the globe follow every detail to assess the resilience of US law. Donald Trump has called the investigations a witch hunt, expressing anger after the attorney general, an early...

Deutsche Welle: EU Urges Poland to Halt Judicial Reforms or Face Sanctions

July 20, 2017
Judicial reforms initiated by Poland’s governing party Law and Justice, of which the President Andrzej Duda is a close ally, are coming closer to fruition, but with substantial criticism in both Poland and abroad. Proposed legislation would “trigger the immediate dismissal of current judges in the Supreme Court” and then allow the justice minister to appoint both Supreme Court replacements and...

Spiegel Online: Only Radical Thinking and Action Can Tame Globalization

Alexander Jung July 8, 2017
A growing global economy expanded the middle class and wealth for many nations that were once poor. That is of little comfort to the 800 million people who live in extreme poverty. Widening inequality and climate change are serious threats. “The G-20 nations represent two-thirds of the global population, just over three-quarters of its economic output and four-fifths of its greenhouse gas...