In The News

The Seattle Times: Live With a Nuclear North Korea and Help It Feel Less Cornered

Walter Hatch August 23, 2017
The United States should not over-react to news that North Korea is a nuclear power. “While Kim [Jong Un] is clearly cruel, he is not crazy,” writes Walter Hatch for the Seattle Times. “What we often forget is that North Korea is also a cornered state, one without any real allies in the world. This is largely a function of juche, the complex policy of ‘self-reliance.’” The regime’s goal is...

Foreign Affairs: Race in the Modern World: The Problem of the Colorline

Kwame Anthony Appiah August 22, 2017
At the first Pan-African Congress in London in 1900, black American intellectual and activist W.E.B. Du Bois affirmed that the “problem of the twentieth century” was “the color-line, the question as to how far differences of race … will hereafter be made the basis of denying to over half the world the right of sharing to their utmost ability the opportunities and privileges of modern civilization...

International Business Times: Trump Reveals Afghanistan Plan

Ishani Roy August 22, 2017
The United States has been at war with extremists in Afghanistan since 2001, and President Donald Trump will send more troops to the country. In a speech, he expressed recognition that the long-running war is a divisive issue for Americans, many impatient with costs and progress, that rapid exit would leave a power vacuum. He declined to offer specifics, but said goals include “winning,” putting...

Deutsche Welle: Climate Change Sets the World on Fire

Ruby Russell August 21, 2017
Fierce wildfires rage throughout the Americas and Europe, even Greenland. The fires move swiftly and disrupt congested areas, with 64 people caught by surprise and killed in Portugal. Researchers connect the growing threat to rising temperatures of climate change and dried plant life. “With global temperatures rising, scientists say wildfires are likely to become increasingly frequent and...

Asia Sentinel: India-China Rivalry Deepens Over Border Clash

Salman Rafi Sheikh August 21, 2017
Rivalry between India and China over the Doklam region of Bhutan continued through the summer despite otherwise strong bilateral trade relations among neighbors. Bhutan is in the middle as India is determined to counter China’s hegemony. China insists in documents that the issue concerns only itself and Bhutan, describing India as a third-party intruder. “While Bhutan has maintained a critical ‘...

CBC News: US Opens NAFTA Talks With Focus on Trade Balance and Deficit of Facts

Chris Hall August 18, 2017
In opening talks with representatives from Canada and Mexico to renegotiate the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement, the US representative argued for a complete overhaul of the 23-year-old trade deal. “NAFTA has fundamentally failed many, many Americans,” insists Robert Lighthizer in an article by Chris Hall for CBC News. The United States has trade deficits with Canada and Mexico, but overall,...

Spiegel Online: Libyan Camps for Refugees Are Not the Answer

Florian Gathmann, Walter Mayr, Veit Medick, Peter Müller and Wolf Wiedmann-Schmidt August 18, 2017
Politicians in Europe seek to manage the flow of migrants from Africa and the Middle East. Proposals include funding camps in Libya, managed by EU or UN officials to prevent migrants from undertaking treacherous journeys across the Mediterranean, and “a network of safe places” to reduce human smuggling. Libya’s government and economy are unstable, and officials lack control over much of the...