YaleGlobal

Article written by Tom Ascott; read by Zachariah Postle Conspiracy theories are a security challenge. As local news media deteriorate, tales crafted to incite fear and tarnish achievements flourish online.

Article written by Joseph Chamie; read by Zachariah Postle Globalization ensures that the global threat of a severe influenza pandemic is inevitable. The world, while informed, is poorly prepared.

To sustain economic growth, central banks in advanced economies have steadily reduced interest rates, encouraging consumers to spend. Negative rates are harmful for pension funds and the retired who rely on interest income. US reliance on negative rates could destabilize the banking system, and new ways to spur economic activity are needed. Article written by Will Hickey and read by Zacharia Postle.

Kazakhstan’s adjusts to transition after resignation of a president three decades in power and prepares for an election in 2020. Worries emerge about great power rivalry in Central Asia. Diversifying the economy and foreign ties could give Kazakhstan and its Central Asian neighbors more influence over how a changing global order plays out in the region. Article written by Agnia Grigas and read by Zacharia Postle.

The UAE economy relies on inequality and migrant workers, 90 percent of the population, who come from elsewhere in Asia. The UAE fears the loss of Arab culture, but that battle has already been lost. Article written by Riaz Hassan and read by Zacharia Postle.

Article by Joan Johnson-Freese Read by Susan Froetschel Too often, gender equality is designated as a low priority; inclusion of women in decision-making ensures economic and national security.

Article by Mike Chinoy Read by Hira Jafri Failure to compromise and police over-reaction in Hong Kong and Northern Ireland transformed one-issue protests into movements for sweeping change.

Article by Samir Nazareth Read by Susan Froetschel Paradoxically, far-right leaders use globalization and the democratic process to destroy longstanding institutions that deliver prosperity and justice.

Article by Michael Kugelman Read by Hira Jafri India tests Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts to gain international support with Article 370 repeal that changes the status of Jammu and Kashmir.

Art is a means of soft power for persuading and attracting global attention. China and India, both fast-growing economies, take different paths on nurturing art. In recent years, China’s government has encouraged creation of thousands of museums, demonstrating enduring Chinese culture and signaling the nation’s cultural centrality. Museums play a less central role in India, where government’s role is less than that of individuals and corporations. Asia offers new ground for thrilling competition in art’s soft power.

World’s aging trends, powerful and irreversible, require serious rethinking of pension, health and long-term care programs.

A characteristic of the Trump presidency is disdain for scientific evidence, historical perspectives, educated opinions and traditional alliances. These attitudes are not Trump’s own and represent longstanding mistrust of elites, experts and foreign ties. The essay questions the purpose of a society that prioritizes its comfort over the very real survival of refugees fleeing war in Syria or poverty in Central America. Americans are exhausted and manipulated, and even great wealth cannot protect them from alienation and perhaps catastrophe. The US could rise again as global leader, but only if the nation takes stock of how far it has fallen.

In a YaleGlobal article, Bruce Riedel urges the United States and the United Kingdom to sanction arms sales to Saudi Arabia after a journalist's disappearance from a consulate in Istanbul.

William Nordhaus, winner of a Nobel Prize in economics, laid the groundwork for what is now an entire field on the economics of climate change. His research analyzes how climate change can be mitigated at the lowest-cost possible and how society's choices about climate mitigation can influence long-run well-being. Writing for YaleGlobal, his colleague Kenneth Gillingham concludes that Nordhaus' work is global in scope and visionary, dedicated to preparing societies for what may be the most pressing challenge of our time.

The US launched a zero-tolerance policy on undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers crossing the southern US border, resulting in mass arrests. The administration rationalized that such arrests justified separating children from parents and placing them in makeshift shelters. The anti-immigration stance is part of a political struggle for the Republican Party to win mid-term elections and a battle against Western liberal order and European Union unity.

Asian allies and partners are working overtime in response to America"s rejection of traditional diplomacy and shifting regional power dynamics. writes Atman Trivedi, managing director at Hills & Company, International Consultants. And the United States cannot afford to take such allies for granted.

Foreign powers find the region hard to control, writes military strategist Ehsan Ahrari for YaleGlobal. The most significant uniting force for Iran, Turkey, and Russia is a resolve to safeguard their respective regional strategic interests

The United States must convince India that a sustainable strategy for the Indo-Pacific region is in place. Marc Grossman, a vice chairman of The Cohen Group and former US under secretary of state for political affairs, suggests that energy relationships and Quad cooperation present two options.

Consumers have a choice on how much data to share and with whom, and technology companies are generally upfront about their hunger for data. Big-data analysis is shaping communities, and even the most cautious cannot escape the consequences.

Values are a uniting force around the globe, slowly replacing an era of industry and economics, and soft power is more enticing than hard power for a global audience. National leaders may try to set new conditions for universal standards of justice, known as the moral high ground, but they can anticipate a struggle in justifying extreme and unreasonable claims for informed citizens in their own nations and elsewhere. Increasingly, cities, states and other entities reject the foreign policy stances of their own governments to work with likeminded people overseas, explains author and economist Joergen Oerstroem Moeller.

Sand is indispensable for construction, roads and oil recovery even as nations try to protect coasts and supplies.

Disasters no longer seem like rare events with the internet and smartphones delivering instant, compelling stories for a global audience that is curious, observant and active on social media. Most odious are false reports drafted to misdirect responsibility and create an atmosphere of mistrust.

As the globe's population swells from about 2 billion people a century ago to more than 7 billion today, migration numbers are on the rise, too, from about 173 million in 2000 to about 250 million today. Will Hickey, author and associate professor with the School of Government and Public Policy in Indonesia, analyzes the dilemma for countries in trying to separate refugees based on their motivation, economic or political. Refugees search for a better life, and the line between economic and political security is blurred and the stories from either side are equally heartbreaking.

YaleGlobal Article: The Futile Goal of Winning Wars - Developed nations have specific operational vulnerabilities and much to lose; the US president needs to understand the meaning of victory and defeat

YaleGlobal Article: Disrupting US-China Relations Will Incur High Costs - Efficient production lines, millions of jobs and affordable consumer products of all types depend on stable US-Chinese relations

YaleGlobal article: The Hidden Global Trade in Patient Medical Data - The goal to global trade in health data is new treatments, but government regulations do not keep pace.

YaleGlobal article: Waste Not, Want Not. Researchers develop new technologies, working with entrepreneurs and designers to recycling all kinds of waste into new products which are then sold back to consumers or scattered into the environment.

YaleGlobal: Africa's Population Growth Could Undermine Sustainability - the world's fastest growing region must aim for population stabilization to ensure peace

YaleGlobal article "Wanted: Equal Opportunity Globalization" about income inequality, technology, trade and globalization: Working class in the developed world blames Asia's high growth rates for economic woes rather than policies that reinforce inequality at home.

Many voters in the United Kingdom are having second thoughts about leaving the European Union, and not simply because of the plummeting value of currency or stock markets. The referendum's outcome instantly transformed the UK's reputation, from being open to trade and diversity to being isolated and insecure. The message contained in the decision to leave the European Union resonates with a lot of people in other countries, explains Farok Contractor, a professor at Rutgers Business School and expert in foreign direct investment, adding that the vote highlighted growing worldwide anxiety over the impact of globalization.

The world's most troublesome borders for illegal migration have one thing in common, more older people on one side than the other. Large gaps in the median age on either side show a difference of 19 years for Northern Africa and Southern Europe, and 11 years for the United States and Central America. Age differences between sending and receiving nations are a powerful force exerting migratory pressures on borders, argues Joseph Chamie, a demographer and former director of the UN Population Division.

YaleGlobal: Turkey No Longer a Democratic Model for the Middle East - Ambitions of Turkey's President Erdogan are damaging the nation's standing with regional and international partners.

YaleGlobal article "Of Two Minds on China" by Terry Lautz - One side of China pursues openness and reforms; another side insists that unity and stability are paramount.

College administrators encourage civic engagement for all students, and international students are following the US presidential race. College administrators encourage civic engagement, so international students attend rallies, write op-eds and volunteer for presidential candidates.

The nuclear security summits raised awareness and improved security, but threat of terrorists seizing fissile material is high.

To avoid marginalization and over-reliance on China, Russia should repair ties with the West

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 and entrepreneurship. The plan endorses a diversified economy, emphasizing quality rather than quantity for development and avoiding aimless pursuit of hyper-growth, explains Stephen S. Roach, a Yale faculty member. Roach maintains that a secure economy requires confident citizens. The government’s increased emphasis on a social safety net may convince Chinese households to feel more secure about their future and confident about spending, key for sustained growth. A final and detailed plan will be released in March. – YaleGlobal

Turkey's Justice and Development Party, also known as AKP, won 317 seats in the General National Assembly with Sunday's elections more than expected and more than the 276 needed for a majority, but not enough to change the constitution directly. The results confounded pollsters since AKP failed to win a majority in June elections or form a coalition government. Confronting renewed conflict with Kurdish militant groups and the devastating consequences of four years of war in Syria, Turks voted to continue current policies to manage the country's long-running conflicts, writes Chris Miller, associate director of Yale University's Grand Strategy Program. Western partners are impatient with the Turkish presidents intolerance of opposition. The decisive win, combined with increased support for AKP from ethnic Kurds, could add pressure for a peace deal with Kurdish PKK militants, Miller explains. Turkey's ruling party and the Kurds have reason to cooperate in battling Islamic State extremists that control large sections of neighboring Syria and threaten the entire region.YaleGlobal

Vladimir Putin, determined to revive Russia's status as a global power, has rapidly mobilized forces to bolster the Assad regime in Syria. He orchestrated a meeting with US President Barack Obama at the September UN General Assembly meeting, to give the appearance that he is taking charge of ending the Islamic State's expansion in Iraq and Syria, explains Thomas Graham, a senior fellow at the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs based at Yale University. The move carries risks, and the United States still has great capacity to influence the region with its response.

Investors around the world seek secure places to store assets. Chinese firms and individuals hold enormous amounts of liquid money, and many seek to diversify with non-Chinese assets. Farok J. Contractor, professor at Rutgers, suggests that Chinese firms may be creating subsidiaries to ease transfers, which explains why as much as 70 percent of outbound foreign direct investment capital from China flows to Caribbean nations and Hong Kong.

As NATO withdraws from Afghanistan, India and Pakistan must step up and cooperate on security.

Seeking global clout, China's position on sanctity of sovereignty evolves.

China, Europe, Japan, US – 70 percent of the global economy – require swift G20 intervention.

The globe may be safe from the euro debt crisis – if countries don’t join the downward spiral.

Budgetary balance and need to develop alternatives, are reasons to end fuel subsidies.

Scarborough Shoal standoff reveals blunt edge of China’s peaceful rise.

As rebels gain territory, Syrian guards could abandon chemical-weapon arsenals.

YaleGlobal article published on March 30, 2012

Article published in YaleGlobal Online April 16, 2012

YaleGlobal article published on April 4, 2012