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US Intelligence, Inc.

Simon Chesterman Jun. 19, 2013

Edward Snowden's leaks of US classified information have demonstrated how little control there may be over individuals within the intelligence community. More important, Snowden's revelations have highlighted the extent to which the US government has handed over responsibility for highly sensitive programs to for-profit entities…
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The Rowhani Front

Mehdi Khalaji Jun. 19, 2013

Hassan Rowhani’s election as Iran’s next president has inspired hope of reform in his country, and of a more pragmatic relationship between Iran and the world. But the hard-liners who control the Islamic Republic's nuclear and regional policies have not gone away.
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Afghanistan’s Unavoidable Partition

Brahma Chellaney Jun. 19, 2013

The US, still mired in a protracted Afghan war that has exacted a staggering cost in blood and treasure, has formally opened peace talks with the Taliban, its main battlefield opponent. The most important question is whether Afghanistan's fate will be – or should be – different from that of Iraq and Libya.
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Fixing the Innovation Supply Chain

David Berry Jun. 19, 2013

Just as individual innovators must challenge conventional wisdom, so companies must approach innovation in a new way – one that resembles the logic behind manufacturing supply chains. But innovation supply chains – where they exist – tend to be characterized by inefficiency, ambiguity, and self-defeating competition.
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The Great War’s End in Syria

Jaswant Singh Jun. 19, 2013

As the centenary of the outbreak of World War I approaches, the Middle East is being convulsed as never before by the legacy of the Ottoman Empire’s breakup. Look no farther than Syria, where one part of that legacy – the agreement that divided the Levant into British and French spheres of influence – is coming to a violent end.
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The Logic of the Informal Economy

Ricardo Hausmann Jun. 19, 2013

In developing countries, an unusually large number of small, unproductive firms coexist with a small number of large, productive firms, which, according to economic theory, is inefficient. So, why do the inefficient firms survive, trapping resources in low-productivity activities?
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Why Are the Wealthier Healthier?

Clare Bambra Jun. 19, 2013

Understanding and reducing health inequalities – which are present, to varying degrees, in all developed countries – remains a major public-policy challenge worldwide. Ultimately, however, one thing is clear: more equal societies have better health outcomes.
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Insuring Immigration

Anu Bradford Jun. 18, 2013

Although open labor migration would bring massive economic benefits, it inspires fear among source and destination countries alike. A "reversible-bond" system would insure both sides against the risks and allow labor markets’ actual needs to dictate migration flows – thus unlocking the global economy's true potential.
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Four Marijuana Moments

Jorge G. Castañeda Jun. 18, 2013

Latin America and the United States have experienced what one could call a series of “marijuana moments” over the past few weeks. Given growing support for ending the senseless and bloody decades-long “war on drugs,” these signs of progress toward decriminalization and legalization should not pass unremarked.

Hans-Helmut Kotz Jun. 17

Europe’s Economic Groupthink

FRANKFURT – During the recent hearing on the constitutionality of the European Central Bank’s measures to prevent the eurozon…
Isabel Ortiz and… Jun. 14

The Austerity Pandemic

NEW YORK – At this year’s International Monetary Fund/World Bank spring meetings in Washington, DC, the IMF urged European co…
Alexander Friedman Jun. 13

Copycat Capitalists

ZURICH – It is all too easy to envy China. At current growth rates, the Chinese economy will double in size in only nine year…
Barry Eichengreen Jun. 13

Lessons of a Greek Tragedy

ATHENS – A visit to Greece leaves many vivid impressions. There are, of course, the country’s rich history, abundance of arch…
Yannos Papantoniou Jun. 12

Bismarck versus Bismarck

ATHENS – The centrality of Germany to Europe and, more widely, to world affairs has been amply, and often bloodily, demonstra…
William White Jun. 12

The Ultra-Easy Money Experiment

BASEL – The world’s central banks are engaged in one of the great policy experiments in modern history: ultra-easy money. And…
Dani Rodrik Jun. 12

Europe’s Way Out

CAMBRIDGE – It seems that austerity is out of fashion in the eurozone – at least for the moment. The European Commission has …
Jeffrey Frankel Jun. 11

All Quiet on the Currency Front

CAMBRIDGE – The term “currency wars” is a catchy way of saying “competitive devaluation.” In the wake of the sharp fall in th…
Zhang Monan Jun. 10

China’s Cold Eye on Hot Money

BEIJING – With China feeling the pressure from large-scale inflows of short-term capital, the State Administration of Foreign…
Kemal Derviş Jun. 10

Taksim and the Left

ISTANBUL – The small park in Taksim Square in the sprawling metropolis of Istanbul is one of the few green spaces left in the…

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Daoud Kuttab Jun. 18

The New Arab Censors

AMMAN – The Internet has proved to be a powerful tool for overcoming media restrictions and cen…
Johan P. Mackenbach Jun. 17

Only the Poor Die Young

ROTTERDAM – People who are lower on the socioeconomic ladder (indicated by their level of educa…
Bjørn Lomborg Jun. 17

The Limits to Panic

COPENHAGEN – We often hear how the world as we know it will end, usually through ecological col…
Shashi Tharoor Jun. 14

India’s LBW

NEW DELHI – A casual reader of India’s newspapers for the last several weeks would be forgiven …
Alpha Condé Jun. 12

Africa’s Transparency Agenda

CONAKRY – In December 2010, I became President of Guinea following the country’s first truly op…
Kandeh K. Yumkella Jun. 11

The Power of the Prize

VIENNA – The world faces two looming, interconnected energy challenges: how to provide reliable…
Bob Ward Jun. 11

Climate Change by the Numbers

LONDON – Governments around the world have just received one of the most important scientific r…
Sami Mahroum Jun. 11

Democracy in Arabia?

PARIS – In Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville argued that the public’s trust alleviate…
Peter Singer Jun. 10

A Moral Theory’s Immoral Outcome

PRINCETON – Is it always wrong to take an innocent human …
Tony Blair Jun. 10

The Trouble Within Islam

LONDON – There is only one view of the murder of the British soldier Lee Rigby on a south Londo…