In The News

Understanding Latin America’s New Political Paradigm

Ernesto Talvi November 11, 2016
In Latin America along with Europe and the United States, political parties that lean right are strengthening. Since the 1970s, social and political change is shown to be derived from cycles of “economic malaise,” writes Ernesto Talvi for the Brookings Institution. Corruption scandals combined with economic doldrums, as in the case of Brazil, have reduced popularity of left-leaning governments....

Crazy Campaign Ends With Upset, and Hard Work of Governing Begins

David Dapice November 10, 2016
US voters elected Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States, and globalization was pummeled. The United States is deeply divided over policies on trade, immigration and alliances for financial, environmental and national security. Democracy was tarnished, too as some politicians threaten US governance by refusing to compromise. Economist David Dapice reviews the many challenges...

What the Tea Party Tells Us About the Trump Presidency

Vanessa Williamson November 9, 2016
The Tea Party movement foreshadowed Donald Trump’s winning the US presidential race. Vanessa Williamson, writing for Brookings, describes the grassroots activists as a coalition of older, white conservatives and a conservative media infrastructure funded by ideologue billionaires who oppose taxes and regulations. “Donald Trump was willing to address immigration in terms substantially more extreme...

China Bars Activists From Taking Seats in Hong Kong Legislature

Jason Thomson November 8, 2016
China bypassed courts by blocking two Hong Kong legislators from taking office – not allowing them to retake oaths after they modified the oath the first time and failed to swear allegiance to the larger power. “The move by mainland China is the latest chapter in an ongoing tussle between Beijing and Hong Kongers who worry that the city’s relative autonomy, protected until 2047 under the handover...

Russia Sets Out to Bring the Middle East Under New Order

Chris Miller November 8, 2016
With a combination of low-cost intervention in Syria, counterterrorism resources and support for Iran, Russia is making strides in bringing the Middle East into multipolar balance. “Moscow is eyeing a new order,” explains Yale scholar Chris Miller. “The main fracture dividing the Middle East will not be between US allies and insurgent groups, the Kremlin hopes, but between fluctuating coalitions...

The World Is Watching America's Election

Frida Ghitis November 8, 2016
The US election had its bizarre moments, and global interest runs high. Citizens of Canada, Mexico and elsewhere sense that their countries have a huge stake in the outcome. Newspapers around the globe detail poll closing times for the 50 states, and small crowds gather around televisions, laptops and smartphones to monitor results. “But watching America is not just a spectator sport -- people...

The Rise and Rise of Fake News

November 7, 2016
News spreads quickly via the internet, and research suggests that increasing numbers of US adults rely on social media for their news. “There are hundreds of fake news websites out there, from those which deliberately imitate real life newspapers, to government propaganda sites, and even those which tread the line between satire and plain misinformation,” reports BBC News. The purpose of some...