In The News

The Times of India: A Tectonic Shift?

Nayan Chanda May 11, 2017
North Korea depends on China, but the isolated regime is turning on its benefactor with an editorial that warns “China of grave consequences if it tried to stop the development of the country’s nuclear weapons programme,” explains Nayan Chanda, founding editor of YaleGlobal Online, in his column for the Times of India. Chanda details China’s adept handling of security and foreign relations in...

Bloomberg: Comey’s Firing Helps Demean the US Globally

Leonid Bershidsky May 10, 2017
US intelligence officials maintain that Russia interfered in the US presidential election with false news spread over social media to discredit Hillary Clinton. The inexpensive campaign succeeded beyond Russians' wildest expectations. The US Russia scandal is “eating the U.S. from the inside, undermining the country's global role at least as much as President Donald Trump's erratic...

Washington Post: Israeli Settlers Wait for New Home

Ruth Eglash May 10, 2017
In the West Bank, a group of religious Jews who were forced to leave their homes in Amona, an illegal Israeli settlement, have been waiting months for the Netanyahu government to construct a long-awaited settlement that may never come. After the Israeli Army removed these settlers from their homes, Netanyahu promised to build a new “legal” home – although the international community views all...

Reuters: Liberal Moon Jae-in Wins South Korean Election

Ju-min Park and Se Young Lee May 9, 2017
Moon Jae-in, a progressive in a field of 13 candidates, decisively won the presidential election in South Korea with more than 40 percent of the vote including many young supporters. “A decisive win by Moon would end months of political turmoil stemming from a parliamentary vote in December to impeach former President Park Geun-hye over an extensive corruption scandal,” reports Reuters. “Moon,...

The Local: Six Challenges Facing France’s New President Emmanuel Macron

Elisabeth Beretta May 7, 2017
Emanuel Macron, 39, won the French presidential election over Marine Le Pen, 65-35 percent. Macron, a former banker, supports France’s membership in the European Union, maintaining that globalization can be embraced and controlled. Le Pen is a fierce opponent to EU integration and immigration. Neither candidate represents mainstream political parties, offering voters a distinctive choice that...

Foreign Policy: How Not to Lose Asia to China

Michael H. Fuchs and Nina Hachigian May 5, 2017
An “America First” policy has prompted concern from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations about whether the United States is a dependable partner for countering Chinese influence. The foreign ministers of ASEAN’s 10 member states will meet for dialogue in Washington, DC. Recommendations from Michael H. Fuchs and Nina Hachigian would require the Trump administration to back away from some of...

The Straits Times: Great Expectations for South China Sea Code of Conduct Will Be Dashed

Mark J. Valencia May 4, 2017
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China suggest that negotiators are making progress on a Code of Conduct for the South China Sea, but details and implementation won’t be easy, argues Mark Valencia for the Straits Times. “China will resist any provision that could subject it to third-party dispute-settlement processes without its consent,” he explains, adding that it opposes non-...