In The News

The Great Wall of Sand

Jonathan Fenby May 20, 2016
The United States challenges China’s broad claims to the South China Sea and the buildup of small islands claimed by other nations. Each country dispatches military vessels to the area, and exchanges between crews could be cast as friendly or taunting. “The friendly conversation obscured a chilling fact: that these were crews of ships from two nations which, in some scenarios, are heading for an...

Japan Trains Others to Enforce Law in East, South China Seas

Yoichi Funabashi May 19, 2016
China has emphasized a bilateral approach on disputed claims in the East and South China Seas and fragmented the opposition. A united regional front could uphold the rules-based order and reduce the potential for conflict, argues journalist and author Yoichi Funabashi. “Mindful of its own tensions with Beijing in the East China Sea, and the importance of avoiding a split between Asia and the...

The Ghost of Kyoto Still Lurks

Nayan Chanda May 19, 2016
Representatives of more than 170 countries have signed the Paris agreement, pledging to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and stem climate change – conceding “that climate change is a global problem and needs a global solution,” writes Nayan Chanda, founding editor of YaleGlobal Online in his column for Businessworld. But Chanda also expresses concern that the agreement may be a symbolic act and...

American Apathy: Voters’ Aversion to Foreign Entanglements Bodes Ill for Stability in Asia

Nayan Chanda May 18, 2016
During the US presidential primary season, voters have signaled a preference for candidates who will refrain from costly military interventions and instead focus on domestic policies to improve the employment outlook and lift stagnant wages. “The political churning during the primaries will do more than just force the next administration to reconsider established policies,” notes Nayan Chanda,...

Fighting the Next Global Financial Crisis

Robert J. Shiller May 18, 2016
Investors hunt for news from many sources and assess the reliability. Investor attention can focus on surprising trends, and regulators must adapt to shifting narratives and moods, explains Robert Shiller, Yale economics professor and the 2013 Nobel laureate in economics. Shiller details the history of money-market funds and the threat of mass withdrawals during the 2008 global financial crisis....

Can Assad Keep Crossing the “Red Line”?

David Ignatius May 17, 2016
Major international powers have intervened in Syria’s civil war with the hopes of ending atrocities, extremism and a flow of refugees. But countries disagree about a role for Syria’s Bashar al-Assad. Unconfirmed reports allege that Syria did not eliminate all its stockpiles of chemical weapons, as agreed in 2013, and Assad’s troops have since used nerve gas against Islamic State fighters. “...

Bangladesh Accommodates Extremism, Spelling Danger for the Region

Sumit Ganguly May 17, 2016
The Islamic State extremists have claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in Bangladesh on journalists, educators, atheists and religious minorities. Unfortunately, “the present regime, in denial about religious extremism, finds this trend to be politically expedient,” writes Sumit Ganguly, a professor at Indiana University and also a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute...