Globalization wields powerful influence over societies and cultures. Business travelers and tourists both observe and distribute new ideas. New ideas, interactions, foods and products are tried, then embraced or discarded. With the internet or satellite television, films, publications, photographs, news reports and cartoons can travel instantly, entertaining or angering audiences around the globe. With social media like Facebook or Twitter, individuals offer news and own instant pronouncements on trends. Whether slowly through immigration or immediately online, these connections bring about some convergence of norms on fashion to human rights while also provoking challenges from traditionalists. A global society has emerged, and it’s tightly linked.

American Universities Eye Chinese Students

Chinese undergraduates pay top tuition rates – and don’t clamor for US jobs
Hassan Siddiq
November 12, 2013

African Art on the Move

Zimbabwean sculptors travel to overseas gardens, balancing tradition and new creativity
Susan Froetschel
November 7, 2013

South Korea: New Beacon for Refugees

Accustomed to North Korea escapees, South Korea enacts law that aids refugees
Steven Borowiec
September 12, 2013

Why Is Prosperous China So Anxious?

China’s quest for global respect starts at home with good governance and soft power
Orville Schell
September 5, 2013

Syria Is Dying

A dictator, inability to compromise and resurgence of the Sunni-Shia divide threaten Syria
Azeem Ibrahim
August 29, 2013

Winners and Losers After Arab Spring

Surveys in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia show variations in who’s empowered or sidelined
Lindsay J. Benstead, Ellen M. Lust, Dhafer Malouche, Gamal Soltan, Jakob Wichmann
August 27, 2013