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Global

Population & Society

DNA and the Globalization of Humanity

Thursday, January 17, 2019

Two questions that have occupied the human mind since the beginning of civilization are “Who am I?” and “Where did I come from?” Today, with just a swab of saliva, millions of people worldwide have been able to take a peek into their genetic past, thanks to DNA testing. In most cases, such testing reveals a complex global and regional circulation of bloodlines.

Environment

Why the “Anthropocene” Is Not “Climate Change” and Why It Matters

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Humans have altered the planet to such an extent that it has entered a new age. The Anthropocene requires a new way to think about how humans relate to the planet.

Economy

Personal Business: Why Nigerian Traders Travel to China

Thursday, January 3, 2019

The internet has taken much of the human interaction out of international trade. But many commercial buyers continue to emphasize face-to-face communication with sellers.

Inclusiveness

More Women in Boardrooms Means Greener, Better Business

Thursday, December 20, 2018

Growing media and societal attention on environmental issues has prompted researchers to examine factors that contribute to making companies greener. New research has found that corporations with more women in their leadership teams are less likely to be accused of breaching environmental law.

Health

Mind Games: The Effects of Air Pollution on Cognition

Thursday, December 13, 2018

Air pollution has countless victims—nearly nine out of ten people across the globe breathe polluted air, according to the World Health Organization. New research suggests that it even reaches the unborn, moving from a mother’s lungs to the placenta and fetus. Not only does it cause health and economic ill-effects, but it also impacts human cognition.

Geopolitics

China in Africa: Practicing Diplomacy as a Great Power

Thursday, December 6, 2018

China’s strategic approach to foreign policy has changed, and governments need to reorient to this new reality. A look at its actions in Africa reveals how China is employing its status as a great power on the diplomatic stage.

Economy

A Fair Society or a Fare Society?

Thursday, November 29, 2018

The global economy is currently organized in an environmentally damaging way: goods are produced, used, and discarded. The shared economy and the platform economy offer alternatives, but not solutions. The key to a more sustainable economy could lie in the combination of the two.

Technology

How to Regulate Internet Platforms Without Breaking Them

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Anticompetitive practices are rife in the internet-enabled economy, and lawmakers have struggled to keep up. Authorities must find a balance between regulation and fostering an open, healthy environment for this economy to thrive.

Geopolitics

Overlapping Regionalism in the Asian Order

Thursday, November 1, 2018

As multiple actors compete for influence in Asia, some analysts anticipate an intensification of rivalries. However, overlapping regionalism leaves room for potential cooperation and shared governance in the future regional order.

Security

Farewell to Nuclear Arms Control?

Thursday, October 25, 2018

The United States has affirmed strategic competition with both Russia and China as the central organizing principle of its national security policy. The announcement on October 20 by President Donald Trump that the U.S. would withdraw from the 30-year-old Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty because of alleged Russian violations might be a key plank of that policy.

Population & Society

Global Effects of High-Skilled Immigration

Thursday, October 25, 2018

The free flow of labor across national borders has been one of the defining facets of globalization. In recent years, concerns over the effects of increased migration on domestic workforces have led political leaders to consider tightening borders, dramatically altering patterns of human movement. In Asia, this could reverse the brain drain.

Economy

Trump, China, and the Future of the Global Trading System

Thursday, October 11, 2018

The United States, under President Donald Trump, has found a favored target of criticism in the World Trade Organization. While there is no doubt that the W.T.O. needs urgent reform, the framework it provides—offering the certainty and predictability inherent in a rules-based system—should not be abandoned.

Economy

The New Economic Nationalism

Thursday, September 13, 2018

Following World War II, the global economy moved rapidly toward further integration. Now, this process has stopped, and is in fact reversing itself. With countries increasingly engaging in economic nationalism, massive changes are coming, for economies big and small.

Environment

U.S. Left Behind as China Takes Lead in Carbon Pricing

Thursday, September 6, 2018

Carbon pricing has been widely considered for the past 25 years as a useful tool to help combat climate change. Adoption has progressed, but the pace has been glacial. As the U.S. retreats from climate change leadership, China, as shown by its embrace of emissions trading, is stepping in to fill the vacuum.

Technology

Trolls for Sale in the World’s Social Media Capital

Thursday, August 30, 2018

Before the world learned of Cambridge Analytica and Russian trolls, there was Rodrigo Duterte’s presidential campaign in the Philippines. Regarded as “patient zero” in our current era of disinformation, the Duterte campaign and the culture that made it possible provide valuable insight into the psychology of disinformation workers.

Geopolitics

China, Venezuela, and the Illusion of Debt-Trap Diplomacy

Thursday, August 16, 2018

China has often been accused of practicing “debt-trap diplomacy”—miring supposed partners, particularly developing countries, in unsustainable debt-based relationships. But this is a misreading of the issue, and nowhere is this more apparent than in China’s dealings with Venezuela.

Technology

The Science and Sensibilities of Smart Cities

Thursday, August 9, 2018

As Asian countries develop smart cities, residents must contend with their benefits and drawbacks.

Geopolitics

Technology and Maritime Imperialism in Southeast Asia

Thursday, August 2, 2018

In light of the fierce technology-fueled geopolitical battles being waged on the world stage today, it is time to examine how technology facilitated imperialism at the turn of the 20th century. Specifically, in Southeast Asia, the Dutch and the British used telegraphs, lighthouses, and more as instruments of empire.