In The News

Fierce Democratic Struggle Shapes Globalization

Salil Tripathi November 19, 2008
The world watches in amazement as India, with about one-sixth of the world's population and great diversity, chalks up impressive economic growth. Large-scale changes as India develops, though, are not wrought without friction. In recent decades an entrenched bias has favored city growth, argues journalist Salil Tripathi, while two-thirds of the country's billion-plus people remain...

A Sea of Unwanted Imports

Matt Richtel November 19, 2008
Even as US automakers plead for government bailout funds, millions of dollars worth of foreign cars pile up at US docks. US Dealers decline the new vehicles because of a global credit crunch and consumer wariness about job loss. Japanese and German car companies resort to leasing space in US ports, and “They are turning dozens of acres of the nation’s second-largest container port into a parking...

China’s New Foray Into Latin America

David Shambaugh November 17, 2008
The world’s most populous nation is rapidly forming trade, investment, technology, security, and cultural ties with developing nations around the globe and in particular Latin America. Latin America is “no longer content being the ‘backyard’ of the United States,” explains David Shambaugh, director of the China Policy Program with George Washington University and also with the Brookings...

Not a Bad Weekend’s Work

November 17, 2008
The Group of 20 meeting of world leaders did not offer solutions on the global economic crisis, but did produce a detailed plan for financial reform, including reviving the Doha Round on trade and pledging to avoid protectionism. “This was the first time that the leaders of all these rich and emerging economies – which between them represent almost 90% of global GDP – had gathered for an economic...

Renewal or Irrelevance: With Asia's Rise, Global Governance Must Be Reformed

Hitoshi Tanaka November 14, 2008
Existing global governance systems have foundations in the consequences of World War II and the Cold War, and Asia's recent emergence necessitates a shift in the power structure of these global institutions. Hitoshi Tanaka, former deputy minister of Japan and senior fellow at the Japan Center for International Exchange, sees Asia's rise as a departure from the postwar recoveries of...

Industrial Policy Puts Global Cooperation at Risk

Patricia Wruuck November 14, 2008
Leaders gathering in Washington DC for a G20 summit to discuss the global financial crisis recognize that a global response is required. Any new financial architecture also requires international cooperation – even as the economic slowdown increasingly triggers calls for protectionist measures at the domestic level. For example, US carmakers clamor for government aid to resolve problems – such as...

When Nobody Understands

November 13, 2008
Most of the languages spoken around the world, up to 90 percent, could disappear by the end of the century, and debate ensues on what to do: Language conservationists pose a range of arguments, including “multilingual children do better academically,” but policymakers find that educating children in a dominant language, such as English, Mandarin or Spanish is more practical than a regional tongue...