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TechCrunch: WeChat Censors Users Ahead of China’s National Party Congress

October 18, 2017
China’s leaders are convening for the National Congress, held every five years for outlining policy priorities, and government censors are taking no risks. The goal is to prevent internal protests or external disruptions from outside trolls who used social-media messages to influence the 2016 US...

Threat to US Dollar’s Global Dominance: Bloomberg

May 20, 2020
Before Covid-19 emerged, the US dollar’s fundamentals were strong, but imbalanced: The dollar’s share of global transactions grew as the country’s share of worldwide gross domestic product declined. Some analysts suggest that US policymakers abuse the dollar’s dominance with overspending and...

Iran's Security Dilemma

October 27, 2003
Thanks to the deal that three EU foreign ministers struck with Iran last week, Iran's nuclear program will be more open to outside observers from the UN's atomic watchdog agency. But, says nonproliferation expert George Perkovich, it isn't clear whether the deal will satisfy Iran...

Is Islam to Blame for Freedom Deficit in Middle East?

July 5, 2012
The fury of the Arab Spring, with widespread demands for freedom quickly followed by a re-emergence of authoritarian ways, has renewed debate about Islam and democracy in the Middle East, notes sociologist Riaz Hassan. Circa 1000 AD, the Middle East represented 10 percent of global GDP, as compared...

Russian Civil Society Will Find It Harder to Breathe

December 8, 2005
Since 1991, hundreds of thousands of non-governmental orgnanizations (NGOs) have sprung up in Russia, enjoying a level of freedom unthinkable in the Soviet years. Yet following the pro-democratic revolutions in the former members of the Soviet Union, that freedom may be disappearing, says Liliana...

China’s New Economic Plan Tackles the Rebalancing Puzzle

November 10, 2015
Early reports on China’s Five-Year Plan outlining the government’s strategic priorities for 2016 to 2020 indicate preparations for slowed yet more sustainable economic growth. The plan involves ongoing transition toward an economy that promotes service industries, private consumption, innovation...

India: Poverty Retreats with Globalization’s Advance

February 1, 2007
As globalization gained speed during the latter part of the 20th century, so too did India’s integration with the world economy. Baldev Raj Nayar, emeritus professor of political science at McGill University, counters critics who suggest that globalization has increased instability or poverty. By...

Ban for Omar-Tlaib and Democracy: Times of Israel

August 16, 2019
Polarization and fear of criticism erode democracy. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu banned two American Democratic congresswomen from visiting the Israeli-occupied West Bank soon after US President Donald Trump suggested as much. The ban on the two representatives reveals the extent of...
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