In The News

Greece's Referendum: The Price of Five Years of Cowardice

Christian Rickens July 1, 2015
Europe’s rescue measures for Greece have failed. The nation is on the brink of bankruptcy, threatening default on International Monetary Fund loans that would trigger an end to additional bailout funds. Greek leaders stunned the rest of Europe by refusing to decide on a proposed deal and instead putting the matter before voters. Europe missed three windows of opportunity to curtail the ongoing...

Can China Save Greece – And the EU?

Shannon Tiezzi July 1, 2015
China is the EU's second trading partner behind the US, and the EU is China's biggest trading partner. “The EU is committed to open trading relations with China. However, the EU wants to ensure that China trades fairly, respects intellectual property rights and meets its WTO obligations,” notes the European Commission. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang attended a China-EU summit in Brussels,...

The New South and the Economics of Taking Down the Confederate Flag

Micheline Maynard June 29, 2015
The Confederate flag was flown in battle by a general for the losing side during the US Civil War, the nation’s bloodiest war, with more than 620,000 deaths. Many throughout the American South have defiantly raised the flag, long regarded as a symbol for states’ rights including slavery, over official and unofficial venues since the war’s end in 1865. After the murder of nine black people at a...

Desperate Millions Flee Poverty, Persecution and Inequality

Joergen Oerstroem Moeller June 11, 2015
The world confronts an immigration challenge as vast numbers flee conflict and religious persecution in the Middle East and South Asia along with stark poverty in Africa and South America. The world has 50 million forcibly displaced people, and millions more leave their homelands in search of opportunity. Widening inequality and demographics, with low fertility rates in wealthy nations and high...

China’s Global Governance Challenge

Stephen S. Roach June 9, 2015
China is preparing for a broader role in leading Asia on economic development and world affairs. The nation has long been an active member of global organizations including the United Nations, the World Trade Organization and others, and now is “engaged in global institution building of its own” with the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, or AIIB, writes Stephen S. Roach, author, former...

China's Unprecedented Investment Offensive in Latin America

Juan de Onis May 29, 2015
The United States is paralyzed by partisan divide, particularly over the Trans-Pacific Partnership that could boost trade with Asia. Meanwhile, China continues to build trade ties, including “an unprecedented investment offensive in South America,” as described by Juan de Onis for World Affairs Journal. Li Keqiang, China’s premier, signed 35 bilateral agreements with Brazil totaling $53 billion...

The Age of Disruption

Nayan Chanda May 13, 2015
Awareness of new patterns, discoveries and inventions can revolutionize entire industries or economies. Others quickly adapt or struggle. Richard Dobbs, James Manyika and Jonathan Woetzel are authors of “No Ordinary Disruption: The Four Global Forces Breaking All the Trends,” and “By combining data from disparate fields, they make a compelling argument about the disruptive forces that are re-...