In The News

A Recipe for Disaster

Nayan Chanda May 9, 2016
Widening inequality has fueled a populism in democracies like the United States and France that counters the agenda of political elites. “Now the Panama Papers revealing a massive tax avoidance scheme by the world’s elite have added another black mark to globalization,” explains Nayan Chanda, founding editor of YaleGlobal Online in his column for Businessworld, referring to a massive leak of bank...

The United States: Divided in More Ways Than One

Bruce Stokes May 5, 2016
The United States is polarized and so are members of its major political parties, especially on foreign policy. Results of a Pew Research Study released today suggest that isolationist tendencies are tempered by recognition for the practical need for international engagement. “Wariness of international engagement coexists with unilateralist assertiveness on some issues and a belief that the...

The Myth of the Islamic State: The History of a Political Idea

Mohammed Ayoob May 4, 2016
The goal of a worldwide modern caliphate may be impossible for diverse Muslim nations that lack consensus over universal standards on governance. Phrases like “golden age” are tossed about, yet ignore the challenges, explains Mohammed Ayoob for Foreign Affairs. The Prophet Mohammed died in the year 632, when the world’s population was about 200 million, and Ayoob details the history of the early...

Russia Needs Options to Deal with China

Thomas Graham May 3, 2016
Russia and China, fans of national sovereignty and obstacles for US influence, pivot to each other during times of troubles of their own making, whether the 2014 annexation of Crimea or the brutal crackdown of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. “Today, closer relations also help anchor Russia in the world’s most dynamic economic theater, East Asia,” explains Thomas Graham, a senior fellow at the...

Behind Global Crackdown on NGOs, Recognition of Their Power

Peter Ford May 2, 2016
Lawmakers in China, India, Malaysia, Russia and many other countries are cracking down on non-governmental organizations and activists that press for reforms. CIVICUS, a global alliance of civil society organizations, describes “serious threats to civic freedoms” in 96 countries, as reported by Peter Ford for the Christian Science Monitor. Methods used against NGOs that push for government...

Memorandum to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump

From: Jeffrey E. Garten April 28, 2016
Trade policy is among the issues prompting US voters to coalesce around Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as presumptive nominees for president. Clinton opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership, calling for a crackdown on trade violations and more enforcement; Trump is critical of nearly all trade agreements, vowing to get tough with top partners like Mexico and China. “The problem is not with the...

Indonesia’s Hesitancy on the Global Stage

Nithin Coca April 27, 2016
Indonesia’s President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo pursues trade, but otherwise keeps a low profile in foreign affairs. The country is in line for a seat on the UN Security Council. Widodo has spoken out in favor of better representation for developing nations, but the country has largely focused on domestic issues since the regional financial crisis in 1998 and global debt crisis in 2008. Widodo calls...