In The News

America Aloof

July 12, 2002
Since the fall of the Soviet Union as a counter superpower, the United States has found itself in the singular position of global super power – which has also come with its own contradictions. This op-ed article from the New York Times argues that while the Bush administration has been good at working with Russia on global terrorism, for example, it has not been as good when it comes to dealing...

In the U.S. Nowadays, Little Love for France

Emily Eakin July 6, 2002
The US and France have a long history of harboring snide cultural stereotypes, one that scholars trace back as far as 1797. And neither country is averse to verbally bashing the other whenever the two disagree politically. Thus, the spate of anti-Semitic incidents and a rise of anti-Americanism in France as a result of the war in Afghanistan have conspired to re-ignite francophobia in the...

U.S. Independence Day

July 4, 2002
A recent series of developments – from the US rejection of the Kyoto Protocol to the imposition of tariffs on steel imports to opposition to the International Criminal Court – has been raising questions about American leadership in a globalized world. An editorial in the Jakarta Post notes “Perhaps it is in the nature of a sole superpower to act unilaterally on major global issues without wasting...

Let Nike Stay in the Game

Bob Herbert May 6, 2002
Does the US Constitution protect freedom of speech even when that speech is full of lies? According to this opinion piece in The New York Times, it most certainly should. Last week, however, a lawsuit was brought against Nike charging the corporation with misrepresenting its overseas factories and falsely telling the public that it was in compliance with applicable wage and safety regulations....

Auto Parts Makers Grinding to a Halt

Danny Hakim April 30, 2002
The globalization of automobile parts production and the search for a bigger bottom line have been putting pressure on suppliers all over the world. In this story, the New York Times profiles a Michigan auto-part manufacturer who is losing his business to a foreign supplier. “General Motors, Ford and Chrysler used to develop all of their work in their backyard. Now, it's go on the Internet...

Bush Trades His Principles

Jagdish Bhagwati April 17, 2002
President George W. Bush is supposed to stand for free trade and open immigration. However, his recent policies speak otherwise. New steel tariffs have been applied in a preferential fashion, and immigration initiatives favor Mexicans. While some friends of the U.S., like Brazil, South Africa, and South Korea, are exempt from steel tariffs, the E.U. is not. And although the Immigration and...

New Allies May Hit Support for Anti-Globalisers

Alan Beattie April 16, 2002
While some in the anti-globalization movement, like Gail Taylor of the Colombia mobilisation, see a direct link between trade liberalization and support for leftist guerillas, others like Thea Lee of the AFL-CIO worry about the risk of merging anti-globalization and anti-war protests. Lee remarks about the AFL-CIO’s absence from protests at the IMF-World Bank meetings: “A lot of the protests seem...