GLOBAL ISSUES – Page 184 – IDN-InDepthNews

PLANET EARTH2014-01-142023-07-10

Austerity Generates Gigantic Costs

By Jutta Wolf | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

BERLIN (IDN) – Austerity policies in several countries around the world are denying work to millions of people and leaving vast production opportunities unused, says a new study by the German-based World Future Council (WFC), which places the value of lost production at 2.3 trillion U.S. dollars annually. This corresponds to Britain’s gross domestic product. Losses in the 18-nation Eurozone triggered by public austerity alone are estimated at a minimum of 580 billion Euros each year.

ECONOMY2014-01-132023-07-10

Uncertainty Haunts World Economy In 2014

By David Dapice* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

MEDFORD (IDN |Yale Global) – As the year that saw the world’s strongest economy brought to the precipice of a default comes to a close, and many wonder if 2014 promises more stability? Judging by most forecasts, including that of the International Monetary Fund, the global economy may grow about 3.5 percent, but confidence in that forecast is subject to more than usual hedging due to several policy unknowns and uncertainties.

As unemployment in the developed world remains steady and growth in the emerging economies dependent on lackluster performance of the industrialized economies, a question mark hangs over economic prospects worldwide.

Latin America & the Caribbean2014-01-092023-07-12

NATO Interests Colombia

By Peter Tase* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (IDN) – Over the last two years, the Colombian government has given high priority to diplomatic efforts meant to shore up its immediate security situation, actively pursuing bilateral, trilateral and multilateral agreements with various governments in the region and beyond.

Colombia occupies a strategic position in the western hemisphere: it has a large territory connecting North America with the South, and it has enormous shores on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. This geostrategic advantage allows Colombia to act as a gate of entry for South America, and its network of sea ports processes a large volume of commodities and other shipments coming in and out of the United States and Europe on a daily basis.

GLOBAL ISSUES2014-01-072023-07-10

Today’s World Atlas Is A Map Of Injustice

By Julio Godoy* | IDN-InDepth NewsViewpoint

BARCELONA (IDN) – If you take a careful look at the world map of today, and compare it with that of, say, the mid 1960s, you will at least notice one thing: The number of sovereign states has augmented drastically. In the 1960s, depending on the year you are looking at, the number of states amounted to some 170. As of today, there are 206 states: Judging by the membership at the United Nations, there are now 193 undisputed sovereign nations, and additionally there are two observer states, and 11 other states, which are not recognised by several or numerous other member states.

GLOBAL ISSUES2014-01-062023-07-10

Forward To The Future With Legacy Of The Past

By Roberto Savio* | IDN-InDepth NewsViewpoint

SAN SALVADOR (IDN | Other News) – As a new year begins we are inclined to take a long-term view, so let’s see why we should have patience with our hopes for world peace. While proper analysis of this would require a book, not an article, I take the liberty here of presenting some very raw sketches for reflection.

First of all, we should agree that we are still the victims of a cycle of post-war adjustments. The cycle started with the end of the First World War, continued with the end of the Second World War, and concluded with the end of the Cold War. But while the end of the First World War saw the idea of the League of Nations, and the end of the Second World War saw the birth of the United Nations, nothing similar has surfaced following the end of the Cold War.

GLOBAL ISSUES2014-01-042023-07-10

Al Qaida Far From ‘On Path To Defeat’

By Manish Rai | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

NEW DELHI (IDN) – Throughout 2012 and much of 2013, the Obama administration has toed the line that Al-Qaida is on the path to defeat and with it, terrorism is no longer the threat it once was. Nothing could be further from the truth.

During his landmark counterterrorism speech in May 2013, President Barack Obama all but declared an end to the global war on terror. He said that Al-Qaida was “on the path to defeat” the White House touted the death of Osama bin Laden as the death knell to it. Pre-9/11, Al-Qaida maintained large-scale operations in South Asia, complete with training camps and operational capabilities. Surely that capability of Al-Qaida is questionable but it is far from over. Today, Al-Qaida is a complex, adaptive, and resilient organization. The administration’s successes against high-value targets have fostered a false sense of security.

USA and Canada2013-12-302023-07-12

Middle East: Obama Between Rapprochement and Resignation

By Anthony Rusonik* | IDN-InDepth NewsEssay

TORONTO (IDN | Geopolitical Monior) – US President Barack Obama’s foreign policy driver, at times fuzzy, appears in sharper focus as the president confronts the challenges of his second term.

What began in 2009 as global rapprochement and retrenchment grounded in realpolitik, in stark contrast to President George Bush’s over-extended messianic interventionism, now seems to have mutated into resignation, or at least hesitation and indecision. If the United States is not resigned under Obama, friends and foes alike can be forgiven for thinking otherwise.

ECONOMY2013-12-202023-07-10

Developing Economies’ Myths and Realities

By World Economy Desk | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

BERLIN (IDN) – The South Centre, an intergovernmental organization of developing countries, has good news about developing economies. Contrary to the view promoted by ‘establishment institutions like the IMF’ (International Monetary Fund), recent events show that major developing countries have not “decoupled” their economies from those of advanced ones, avers Yılmaz Akyüz, chief economist of the Geneva-based organization.

GLOBAL ISSUES2013-12-192023-07-10

Revisiting Nine-Eleven Twelve Years On

By Eric Walberg* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

Congressmen Walter Jones and Stephen Lynch introduced a resolution early December 2013 urging President Barack Obama to declassify the legendary “28 redacted pages of the Joint Intelligence Committee Inquiry of 9/11” issued in late 2002, which point to official Saudi involvement in a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. After much lobbying, and under an oath of secrecy, Jones was allowed to read the censored document: “I was absolutely shocked by what I read. What was so surprising was that those whom we thought we could trust really disappointed me.”

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT2013-12-182023-07-10

Local Knowledge Vital For Global Experts

By Pranab Bardhan* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

BERKELEY (IDN |Yale Global) – For quite some time the economic development profession has gone global in a rather grandiose way. Those quick with pronouncements on global development issues get the maximum attention, rise to the top of the profession, and may even get to hobnob with international celebrities and philanthro-capitalists.

The premium has been on finding global patterns in fighting poverty – in promoting comprehensive development strategies meant for a broad range of countries, with the Washington Consensus or alternatively the so-called Beijing Consensus – and pronouncing overarching policy judgments on the hot issues of the day on a global scale, including austerity or stimulus, free trade, capital flows, global inequality, migration, intellectual property rights, the development NGO movement and the like.