In The News

Cultural Revolution

February 1, 2013
From “cultural backwater” to trendsetter – that’s how the Economist describes the transformation of the Nordic region in just two decades. Immigration, globalization and the internet have contributed to the region’s burst of innovation in the high-tech, entertainment, restaurant and other industries. “The bigger reason why the region’s writers and artists – and indeed chefs and game designers –...

Portuguese Flee Economic Crisis

January 30, 2013
Struggling with debt, Portugal is losing its youngest, most educated citizens. More than 2 percent of the country’s population have emigrated during the past two years, reports the BBC News. The emigrants head to Switzerland or Angola rather than France, once a traditional destination. Other destination countries include Germany, Mozambique, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The Portuguese...

Europe in North Africa – Recolonize or Rescue?

Jonathan Fenby January 23, 2013
Amid a severe currency crisis and other economic struggles, cooperation of the European Union, the very union itself, is being tested with the rise of Islamist radicalism in North Africa. France has forcefully intervened to assist Mali troops against extremists who have taken over the northern half of the country, demonstrating a willingness to attack civilians, destroy cultural icons and lash...

The Al Qaeda Menace in Africa

Bruce Riedel January 21, 2013
Throughout 2011, protests that came to be known as the Arab Spring swept through Northern Africa and the Middle East. NATO stepped in on the Libyan protests, restricted to civilian protection. But the US gave a nod to Qatar sending machine guns, ammunition to rebels in the Libyan rebels; France provided guns and grenades, too. Because of looting and trade, weapons intended for rebels and civilian...

How Chinese Economic Policy Could Save Club Med Countries

Mohnish Pabrai January 7, 2013
Deep in debt, desperate to borrow for reduced daily operations, Mediterranean countries contemplate unloading valuable properties. Instead of selling desirable properties, investor Mohnish Pabrai urges Greece, Spain and Italy to create special economic zones that bypass stringent national labor regulations and lease these properties to skilled managers who could then hire millions of unemployed,...

The French Connection

Nayan Chanda December 12, 2012
Steadfast national sovereignty and global trade don’t mix so well, warns Nayan Chanda, editor of YaleGlobal Online, in his column for Businessworld. Traders and investors appreciate flexibility. So when steel demand in Europe declined and ArcelorMittal announced plans to close two blast furnaces, the French government responded by threatening temporary nationalization and sale of the firm’s...

Europe, Not Euro, May Break Apart

Joergen Oerstroem Moeller November 2, 2012
Scotland, Catalonia, Flanders and other regions in Europe mull breaking away from their respective nation-states, but that doesn’t necessarily signal an insular outlook. Instead, Scotland is opening offices in Washington and Brussels, nurturing ties and exploring dissociating from British inclinations to exit the European Union. Cultural traditions became low priority during an era of empires,...