In The News

TNI: Unused Citizen Power and Public Collateral

Ann Pettifor January 26, 2019
Citizen majorities who support action on climate change or a tax system that reduces inequality must find political courage to battle moneyed interests. Citizens in nations with sound taxation systems hold more power than they realize. Taxpayers can demand that public debt target the public interest – as former US President Franklin D. Roosevelt accomplished during the Great Depression and some...

Wall Street Journal: US Criminal Probe Targets Huawei

Dan Strumpf, Nicole Hong and Aruna Viswanatha January 18, 2019
The United States is investigating China’s Huawei Technologies for theft of trade secrets from US partners, reports the Wall Street Journal. “The investigation grew in part out of civil lawsuits against Huawei, including one in which a Seattle jury found Huawei liable for misappropriating robotic technology from T-Mobile’s Bellevue, Wash., lab, the people familiar with the matter said,” the...

Spiegel: Germany Prepares for Economic Downturn

Christian Reiermann January 15, 2019
International Monetary Fund analysts warn that the global economy confronts multiple risks, and the global banking system is not prepared for a downturn. Stock markets are losing value, and trade disagreements reduce efficiency and heighten uncertainty. Tightening US monetary policy and rising interest rates pose problems for emerging economies that have borrowed in dollars. Brexit, populism and...

Japan Times: How Will AI Change Global Politics?

Kuni Miyake January 15, 2019
Japan is a leader in developing artificial intelligence and robots. While other countries explore military applications for artificial intelligence, Japan does not. High-tech innovations can determine dominance and allow less developed countries like China to leapfrog over more advanced nations, including the United States and Japan. Due to AI technology, China is catching up and even surpassing...

Foreign Affairs: The Crisis of Peacekeeping

Séverine Autesserre January 14, 2019
More than 100,000 UN blue-helmeted soldiers and civilians are based in 14 nations as peacekeepers to maintain security. “Peacekeepers set out to protect civilians, train police forces, disarm militias, monitor human rights abuses, organize elections, provide emergency relief, rebuild court systems, inspect prisons, and promote gender equality,” explains Séverine Autesserre for Foreign Affairs....

Financial Times: Why World Economy Feels Fragile

Martin Wolf January 9, 2019
The livelihoods and routines of more than 7 billion people depend on a stable global economy, and there are always reasons to worry, including long-term structural and cyclical challenges, explains Martin Wolf for the Financial Times. Global growth has slowed, led by a slowdown in the Chinese economy, but central banks and global markets can and do adjust to cyclical changes. While severe...

Book Review: The Sustainable State

Susan Froetschel January 8, 2019
Survival of the world’s livable habitat depends on 6 billion people living in developing nations to resist the lifestyles practiced by 1 billion people living in the world’s wealthiest nations. Reckless consumerism has become more threat than comfort, wasting limited resources and poisoning water and air, and government intervention is required. The only solution, author Chandran Nair concludes,...