In The News

The Guardian: Venezuela Plan to Rewrite Constitution Branded a Coup by Former Regional Allies

Jonathan Watts and Virginia López May 3, 2017
Venezuela has ample oil reserves and other natural resources, but its citizens must contend with unemployment, inflation, corruption and negative growth. Foreign investors and neighboring states are alarmed as protests and riots over food shortages overwhelm the country. The opposition won control of the national assembly by a large margin in 2015, but President Nicholás Maduro plans to revise...

Lace Capital Riven by French Politics: NYT

Liz Alderman May 1, 2017
Technology, changing fashions, competition in Asia combined with the European Union ending textile import quotes in 2005, eroded jobs in the lace industry, reports Liz Alderman for the New York Times. “From steel mills to auto factories, the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs to globalization has created social distress – and competing visions from the candidates about how to fix it,” Alderman...

BBC: Chancellor Merkel Warns UK on Scope of Brexit Talks With EU

April 27, 2017
The European Union is setting priorities and preparing for an orderly Brexit with the expectation of settling exit terms before planning on future ties. Terms for settlement include British payments due for the EU budget and rights of EU citizens in the UK and British citizens in the EU. The British dispute an estimate from EU officials that the United Kingdom owes €60 billion. EU leaders will...

Stratfor: Changing the Scientific Climate in the United States

April 26, 2017
Throughout history, experimentation and science have delivered comfort and prosperity – electricity, road and air transportation, cures for disease, satellites and weather forecasting, communication technologies and more. US scientists are alarmed by political leaders who reject policy recommendations based on evidence – notably the near unanimous agreement among climate scientists that reliance...

New Mandala: Kingdom of Fear – and Favor

Pavin Chachavalpongpun April 25, 2017
Maha Vajiralongkorn is struggling to attract the respect directed toward his father, Bhumibol Adulyadej – with analysts expecting the new king of Thailand to be weak, “precisely because of his lack of moral authority, divinity and popularity once enjoyed by Bhumibol,” explains Pavin Chachavalpongpun for New Mandala, a publication based in Australia. “Vajiralongkorn reigns as a monarch whose...

The New York Times: Macron and Le Pen Advance in French Election

Alissa J. Rubin April 24, 2017
French voters selected Emmanuel Macron, an economist and political novice, and Marine Le Pen, a far-right populist who opposes the European Union, to advance to a runoff. Two out of three French voters voted for non-traditional candidates. “Political experts said the vote showed a new, profound cleavage in French politics around globalization, as well as France’s relationship with the European...

Spiegel Online: Time to Break Off EU Membership Talks With Turkey

Markus Becker April 20, 2017
A narrow majority of Turkish voters have approved constitutional reforms that consolidate their president’s power. The European Union could continue to pursue economic ties, but end negotiations on Turkey’s membership. “The Turks have voted for autocracy, for the repression of political opponents and likely also for the introduction of the death penalty,” urges Markus Becker for Spiegel Online. “...