In The News

Corporations as Good Global Citizens

Susan Ariel Aaronson April 8, 2003
Global corporate social responsibility (CSR) is often agreed about in theory, and has informed the policy of some governments. However, its implementation is still far from ideal. While some countries make no effort to promote CSR, even the ones that do have left the terms of compliance uncertain. CSR principles are often mandated, but corporations are rarely monitored. A number of European...

Agency Wages Media Battle

Bob Kemper April 7, 2003
If you think the Bush administration's spokespeople sound just like the US military officials speaking about the war on Iraq, there's a reason. When the Pentagon tried to launch an Office of Strategic Influence last year, the idea was shot down after cries of media manipulation from a broad spectrum of the US public. But since January, the White House has been running a similar...

Chinese Tourists Touch Down in Germany

Hugh Williamson April 6, 2003
Until recently, the Chinese middle class was able to visit only a few countries due to strict travel regulations by the Chinese State. A recent bilateral agreement between China and Germany that gave Germany the "approved destination status" has implications for tourism industries in both countries. This is the first such agreement between China and a European Union State. The...

Yale Discusses the Implications of the Iraq War

April 4, 2003
Whether one is for or against the war in Iraq, one cannot underestimate the immense significance of the event to world affairs.. Hosted by the interdisciplinary program in Ethics, Politics and Economics at Yale University, six professors reflected on the war in Iraq, its buildup, and its aftermath. All felt that this would be a watershed event in world order and in the ways in which war is...

A War Against Eurocrats

Ranvir Nayar April 3, 2003
This article from Outlook India suggests that one of the Bush administration’s objectives in the war on Iraq may be to maintain the dominance of the US dollar in the global economy. The Euro in recent years has been an attractive alternative to the US dollar for many countries around the world, including oil producing countries in the Middle East. Gaining control over Iraq’s oil fields would...

Doha Round in Deadlock

April 1, 2003
The latest failure of the WTO's Doha round centered on a predictable culprit – agricultural subsidies. This editorial in the Financial Times argues that the failure of discussions on agricultural protection could not only be the death knell of the Doha round, but, worse still, could provoke member countries to actually increase protectionist barriers. "By removing pressure on WTO...

Why Epidemics Still Surprise Us

Andy Ho April 1, 2003
The world is not prepared for an outbreak of something like SARS, which has been plaguing much of Asia and is quickly spreading around the globe writes physician-turned-columnist David Ho. In this opinion piece in the New York Times, Ho says "the World Health Organization has been [ineffective] in creating and enforcing a public health policy suited for a global outbreak like this one....