In The News

US, India’s Goals Diverge in New Delhi’s Near Abroad

Nilanthi Samaranayake May 20, 2014
The United States and India do not always agree on strategic policies. “While there is certainly much convergence between U.S. and Indian aspirations for stability in Afghanistan and East Asia, structural cleavages characterize both nations’ political and strategic approaches to the smaller countries in India’s backyard,” explains Nilanthi Samaranayake for World Politics Review. “The pervasive...

Talk of an Internet Fast Lane Is Already Hurting Some Startups

David Talbot May 16, 2014
Studies of internet and computer use suggest that full potential is far from realized. The US Federal Communications Commission is proposing rules that “would allow ISPs to charge content providers like Netflix to ensure speedy service, so long as those charges are ‘commercially reasonable,’” reports David Talbot for MIT Technology Review. “History shows that some Web-based products and services...

Climate Change: We Have No Solution Yet

Robert J. Samuelson May 13, 2014
Any report warning of global warming or climate change should carry the disclaimer, “we now lack the technologies to stop it,” argues Robert J. Samuelson in the Washington Post. The economics column reflects the widespread impatience over scientific research and response on a complex problem that affects every industry and every part of the globe. Samuelson accepts that climate change is real,...

Is Brazil Losing Global Momentum?

Alistair Burnett May 6, 2014
Brazil, the world’s seventh largest economy and sixth most populous nation, is host to the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. The global focus highlights the nation's ongoing need to confront social challenges at home including deficits in infrastructure investment and development, suggests Alistair Burnett, editor of The World Tonight, a BBC News program. Some critics suggest that Brazil’s...

Obama’s Asian Allies Need to Give Something Back

Clyde Prestowitz April 25, 2014
The United States makes commitments to foreign allies, but cannot promise how firm the US electorate and future administrations will be in honoring those commitments. The Obama’s US pivot to Asia as a strategy focused on the populous Asia, including China, and opportunity for trade, while maintaining a security presence to protect that trade. US citizens and allies wonder if the United States is...

Differing Approaches to Immigration on Two Sides of the Atlantic

Michael Mandelbaum April 24, 2014
Politicians opposed to immigration are making electoral gains throughout Europe, and legislators in the United States are also polarized over immigration reform, especially the status of an estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants. Michael Mandelbaum, author and international studies professor, argues that “immigration has become a major and contentious political issue in the world’s...

Future of the Internet Debated at NetMundial in Brazil

Leo Kelion April 23, 2014
Following reports that the US National Security Agency had monitored her phone calls and emails, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff organized a meeting to analyze internet governance. Brazil's secretary for Information Technology Policy urges shared global responsibility. “Ahead of NetMundial's start, Brazil's Senate has unanimously passed the Marco Civil - a law that enshrines...