In The News

China Winning Resources and Loyalties of Africa

FT Correspondents February 28, 2006
In the early 15th century, well before Europeans set foot on the continent, Chinese traders and explorers landed along the coast of Africa. Centuries later, China and Africa continue to renew these ancient ties. Since 2000, China-Africa trade has quadrupled in volume, signaling a mutually-beneficial relationship. The continent offers China both a market for its goods and vast supplies of untapped...

Cartoons and the Globalization of Protests

Paul Reynolds February 28, 2006
Violence bred by the infamous Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad has spread to sub-Saharan Africa. The ubiquity of such protests, and not simply their ferocity, has surprised many commentators. The cartoon controversy is not without precedent. In 1989, Salman Rushdie’s “The Satanic Verses” incurred the wrath of Iranian ayatollahs who regarded it as a heretical vision of Islam. But the...

Truly a World Wide Web

February 24, 2006
As modernization of the world accelerates, access to computers and the internet are also increasing. A recent Pew Global Attitudes poll reveals more people using computers and spending time online than in 2002. Some of the poll’s specifics are surprising: For example, in many countries, new computer use is most prominent among people over 50. However, in countries with low internet use, young...

American Ports in a Storm

Thomas L. Friedman February 23, 2006
New York Times foreign affairs columnist Thomas L. Friedman criticizes politicians in Washington for their opposition to a proposal to turn management of six US ports over to a state-run Dubai company. In an interview with YaleGlobal editor Nayan Chanda, Friedman argues that a far greater danger than any perceived threat to US security is thinking that holds it untenable for the US to cooperate...

Managing Globalization

February 22, 2006
Experts agree that globalization is inevitable, offering both positive and negative effects, and that the major problem is the world’s lack of institutions to contain the negative effects. In 2003, the private-sector arm of the World Bank created the “Equator Principles” in an attempt to fill the missing role. The guidelines cover the social and environmental impact of major projects such as...

Marketing Humanitarian Crises

Clifford Bob February 21, 2006
In an era of human rights accords and global benefit concerts, international tribunals and rubber wristbands for any cause, attention to humanitarian crises seems both pronounced and profuse. Yet, as political scientist Clifford Bob writes, the world has far more crises than what catch the proverbial eye, and he questions why certain “hot zones” receive more attention than others. An entire...

¿Vender crisis humanitarias?

Clifford Bob February 21, 2006