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Meeting President Obama: A Farewell to Representation

01.23.17

BY ELORM AVAKAME, PANGYRUS One day last fall, at a small campus in the heart of New England, I stood on an arena floor no more than 20 feet from the front of the stage on which Barack Obama would speak. Hundreds of people stood on the floor around me. Hundreds more were packed into […]

Politics

An Open Letter from Undocumented Immigrants: Why Comprehensive Immigration Reform Matters to All of Us

01.21.17

While on a recent trip to the Ellis Island museum, I had an opportunity to reflect on the 12 million immigrants that shaped and continue to define this great nation we call America. I am always disappointed when critics pose the dueling question why do we need Comprehensive Immigration reform? Seldom do I argue with […]

Human Rights

“Repeal and Delay” of ACA is a Dangerous Policy for America

01.20.17

BY ANN CRAWFORD-ROBERTS & SIDRA BONNER Congressional Republicans have vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as their first priority in the new Trump administration. Even before Trump takes office, the Senate and House have voted to initiate the process to gut major parts of the law commonly referred to as Obamacare. Following the […]

Mr. Xi Goes to Davos

01.19.17

BY HAIYANG ZHANG In Europe, when the daughter of an aristocratic family reached the age of maturity, a debutante ball was traditionally the perfect occasion for a girl to present herself to the society as an adult. On Tuesday, January 17, President Xi Jinping became the first Chinese head of state to address the World […]

Tunisia flags

Tunisia’s long path to democracy

01.17.17

Six years ago, Tunisians succeeded in changing the course of history – but low trust and political participation could thwart its democratic transition.

Democracy and Governance
Qatar website blocked

Out of sight, out of mind? Blocking Doha News in Qatar

01.12.17

For nearly eight years, one of the few sources of meaningful journalism about life inside Qatar – as opposed to the the gas- and oil-rich country’s dealings abroad – has been Doha News. Yet since the close of November, the online site’s articles on cultural, economic, and policy developments have been blocked in the one […]

Media

A False Bargain: Does financing autocrats bring about development?

01.11.17

BY GRANT TUDOR A World Bank country manager referred to Uganda’s progress in reducing poverty as “an African success story.” This was a common refrain a decade ago, when extreme poverty fell sharply and the HIV epidemic ground to a near halt. Strangely, though, the comment came last year. Uganda’s income inequality is now among […]

UAE air force

Power play: The United Arab Emirates’ new approach to geopolitics

01.9.17

The United Arab Emirates’ increased use of hard power could corrode diplomatic ties and weaken its position vis-a-vis regional adversaries.

Globalization

Policy Matters: On the Necessity for the NYC Cultural Plan to Address Equity Among City-Funded Arts Groups

01.6.17

 In Fred Wilson’s Guarded View, four black headless mannequins dressed in iconic museum guard uniforms from the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Jewish Museum provoke visitors to consider the unequal power relations and stereotypes that structure our experiences of cultural institutions. First shown […]

Social Innovation and Philanthropy
Michel Aoun

President Aoun has no quick fix to Lebanon’s challenges

12.28.16

The Syrian refugee crisis, corruption, and unraveling political coalitions are among the many problems facing Lebanese President Michel Aoun.

Human Rights

Seasons Greetings from Uncle Sam – Your Tax Dollars Made an Impact

12.26.16

BY MARIE LAWRENCE Every year around this time, when we are happiest to open our wallets, NGOs overwhelm our inboxes with slick year-end infographics. Retailers launch multi-media campaigns to push their gotta-have-it widget of the season. Nonprofits and businesses spend millions proving their worth to would-be donors and consumers. Yet from the federal government, which […]

Why We Need to Stop Talking About “Ethnic” Conflict

12.23.16

The atrocities in Rwanda, we are often told, were an ethnic conflict: a genocide that not only fell along racial lines, but one fueled by intractable differences separating two distinct peoples. Indeed, much coverage from 1994 onward implied a degree of inevitability to the world’s fastest genocide. After all, “ethnic tensions [had] existed in Rwanda […]

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