In The News

India’s Foreign Policy Crisis

Harsh V. Pant October 29, 2013
As finance minister for India from 1991 to 1996, Manmohan Singh prevented economic collapse by opening the nation’s economy. When he became prime minister in 2004, many anticipated great promise for India as an emerging economy. Over the past decade, India could pursue economic growth and strategic partnerships while the United States invested in policing and maintaining balance. India’s leaders...

Human Rights Groups: Drone Strikes Kill More Civilians Than US Admits

Craig Whitlock October 22, 2013
Human Rights Watch investigated six US drone strikes in Yemen and reports that 69 percent of 82 killed were civilians – undercutting claims that drone technology targets specific threats. “[T]he human rights groups said they were able to shed further light on the incidents by interviewing survivors, other witnesses and government officials in both countries,” reports Craig Whitlock for the...

Cambodians Refuse to Accept Rigged Elections

Elizabeth Becker October 15, 2013
Cambodians are connected to the world through trade, investment, tourism, cultural events, social media and dual citizenship. The connections influence how the citizens deal with their long-running authoritarian regime. With a per capita income less than $1000, many Cambodians refuse to support the government of Hun Sen, who has been in office for 28 years. The prime minister no longer convinces...

India Seeks to Regulate Booming “Rent-a-Womb” Industry

Nita Bhalla, Mansi Thapliyal October 2, 2013
India legalized commercial surrogacy in 2002 and is one of the few countries where women can be paid for carrying another’s child. Women’s rights groups criticize the $400 million industry for exploiting poor women and endangering their health to produce babies for rich clients, mostly from other nations: “The low-cost technology, skilled doctors, scant bureaucracy and a plentiful supply of...

Labor Pains

Nayan Chanda September 30, 2013
Good intentions can go awry if they don’t tackle a problem’s roots and long-term conditions. India has launched an ambitious program to feed its poorest citizens, but the costly program will require tax revenue from working citizens, explains Nayan Chanda, YaleGlobal’s editor, in his column for Businessworld. Instead of developing intricate subsidy programs, he urges that India tackle inequality...

Currency Conundrum

Nayan Chanda September 17, 2013
India’s dysfunctional political system has exacerbated the currency crisis, argues Nayan Chanda, YaleGlobal editor, in his column for Businessworld. Officials blame Indian investors’ keen interest in gold, over-exposure to global markets and over-reaction to reports of a strengthening US economy. Chanda suggests that Indian officials – whose country has benefited so much from globalization –...

The Politics of Palm Oil

Pavin Chachavalpongpun September 17, 2013
Palm oil is Indonesia’s most valuable agricultural export and the industry employs nearly 2 million people. Indonesia has laws prohibiting the slash-and-burn method of clearing fields for large plantations, explains Pavin Chachavalpongpun, of Kyoto University’s Centre for Southeast Asian Studies. Yet allowances for small farmers and a regional culture of patronage politics may hamper enforcement...