In The News

Yingluck’s Out. Now What, Thailand?

May 7, 2014
Polarization and a rural-urban divide are paralyzing Thai politics. A court removed Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, opening “a new and dangerous chapter in the implacable eight-year struggle between an amalgam of royalists, businessmen and the Bangkok elite, on one side, and the political empire headed by Yingluck’s brother, fugitive tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra, on the other,” reports Asia...

Differing Approaches to Immigration on Two Sides of the Atlantic

Michael Mandelbaum April 24, 2014
Politicians opposed to immigration are making electoral gains throughout Europe, and legislators in the United States are also polarized over immigration reform, especially the status of an estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants. Michael Mandelbaum, author and international studies professor, argues that “immigration has become a major and contentious political issue in the world’s...

Testing Times for Globalization

Nayan Chanda April 21, 2014
Results of the upcoming European Parliament elections will reveal if rightwing, anti-immigrant, anti-globalization parties are on the rise in Europe or if a few discontents are making noise. Anti-immigrant parties have made gains in Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands and France – and such victories force centrist parties to retreat on inclusive policies, assess citizen sentiments and appeal to...

“Partner for Russia”: Europe's Far Right Flirts With Moscow

Charles Hawley April 16, 2014
Members of the far right want to put a chokehold on government power in Europe, a goal shared by Russia. “Skepticism of immigration and a keen worry about the threat posed by Islamist extremism make Putin a natural ally for a xenophobic right whose political bread and butter is their vociferous attacks on European immigration policy,” reports Charles Hawley for Spiegel Online. “His heavy-handed...

Non-Resident Supporters Prop Up AAP's Lok Sabha Campaign

Himanshi Dhawan April 9, 2014
People who relocate do not leave behind an interest in the politics of their homeland – and use the internet and global financing to support candidates: “A motivated band of non-resident Indians (NRIs) are pitching in from across the globe to lend a helping hand to AAP's ambitious Lok Sabha campaign through the party's ‘support a state’ (SAS) initiative,” reports Himanshi Dhawan for the...

Relief in Afghanistan After Largely Peaceful Landmark Election

Mirwais Harooni and Jessica Donati April 7, 2014
More than 7 million, 58 percent of 12 million eligible Afghan voters, defied Taliban threats and headed to the polls to begin a transition of power. “This could be the beginning of a potentially dangerous period for Afghanistan at a time when the war-ravaged country desperately needs a leader to stem rising violence as foreign troops prepare to leave,” report Mirwais Harooni and Jessica Donati...

Of Climate and Political Change

Nayan Chanda April 3, 2014
The threat of climate change – which poses an array of economic consequences – is missing from the political debate as Indians prepare for April-May general elections. “The impact of climate change has become more urgent and definitely more evident than it was five years earlier,” suggests Nayan Chanda, YaleGlobal editor, in his column for Businessworld. The “monstrous cyclone Phailin that took...