On July 09, 2012, the Republic of South Sudan celebrated its first year anniversary. The previous year, on November 11, 2011, it submitted an application to formally join the East African Community (EAC), a regional organization consisting of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania. South Sudan, a landlocked country in East Africa, emerged from four […]

Abstract Delivering health services to vulnerable populations is a significant challenge in many countries. Groups vulnerable to social, economic, and environmental challenges may not be considered or may be impacted adversely by the health policies that guide such services.We report on the application of EquiFrame, a novel policy analysis framework, to ten Namibian health policies, […]

BY ALISON LAPORTE-OSHIRO How the Obama Administration handled the Bengazi attack in September—and whether it provided sufficient security—were fiercely debated issues during the Presidential election. Three months later, the election is over but the controversy smolders on. The current target is U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, who is believed to be one […]

Abstract: Public policies to boost economic development in low-income countries or communities (LICs) are focused on either outward-oriented strategies (e.g. foreign technology transfer, tax incentives to attract foreign MNEs) or inward-oriented strategies based on expensive R&D expenditures. But such strategies are generally not viable in the context of LICs. This paper proposes an innovation strategy based […]

BY JOHN VRAKAS Standing in the heart of a village in northwestern Rwanda, a farmer named Eusebe faces a dilemma. Traders have offered him 36,000 Rwandan francs (RWF), or about US $60 per ton, for his plantains. He hesitates; the farmer knows this is a profitable price, but he has no idea if it’s a […]

BY MARKUS SCHIMMER AND SVEN KUNISCH The primordial gods—along with the world economy—must be sitting at the edge of their seats right now as they watch a very Greek drama unfold in the European Union (EU). As public debt in the EU’s most vulnerable countries has reached higher and higher levels, several now face a […]

BY BEN BEACHY AND JUSTIN ZORN What did the BP oil spill in 2010 mean for the U.S. economy? Progress. At least that’s the conclusion of the economy’s de facto benchmark—gross domestic product (GDP). As the massive oil slick seeped into the Gulf Shore, J.P. Morgan representatives noted that economic activity generated by cleanup efforts […]

BY SIMON ROWELL On the night of 10 February 2011, Tahrir Square in central Cairo was seething with people inspired by the prospect of unprecedented political change. Transformed from a busy, dirty transport hub, the square had become an oasis of calm and cleanliness, organized by voluntary systems for recycling, compost, lost-and-found items, and even […]

BY HANNA SIEGEL The American political system is exhibiting cracks. The approval rating for Congress has reached a record low of 13 percent, and more than 2.5 million voters have left the two major parties since the 2008 election (Washington Post-ABC News Poll 2012; Wolf 2011). Yet many Americans want change, and they are organizing […]

BY KATIE FROST A 10-kiloton nuclear blast in New York City’s Times Square would instantly annihilate everything within half a mile. The shockwave would crumble buildings from Union Square to Central Park, breaking windows up to ten miles away from ground zero. Fires would rage for at least a mile in all directions, indiscriminately destroying […]

BY NATALIE BLACK “Tell me this,” Mohammad says. “Why, when NATO has the best technology in the world, does it allow its bombs to kill innocent Afghan civilians?” I do not get the chance to answer. He continues, “Why does NATO go into people’s houses at night? Why does it kill people when they are […]