Category: OPINION

Viewpoint by Dominick A. DellaSala, William J. Ripple, and Franz Baumann* This article is being re-published by courtesy of The New Republic, which carried it first on April 20. NEW YORK (IDN) – The butterfly effect is a thought experiment about how a small change in a system— a butterfly flapping its wings — can […]

Viewpoint by Vijay Prashad* This article was produced in partnership by Indian Punchline and Globetrotter, a project of the Independent Media Institute where it first appeared. This is the first part of a two-part series. The second is available here. ‎KOLKATA‎, India (IDN) – On April 14, 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump addressed a news […]

Viewpoint by John McCarthy * MELBOURNE (IDN) – Australia’s decision to spearhead an international enquiry into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic — read China’s lack of transparency and the WHO’s mistakes — is a nice hoary bellow from the domestic political ramparts, but it is a policy mistake. The Australian opposition’s support for the […]

Viewpoint by M.K. Bhadrakumar The writer is a former Indian diplomat. This article was produced in partnership by Indian Punchline and Globetrotter, a project of the Independent Media Institute where it first appeared. NEW DELHI (IDN) – A perfect deal is where all protagonists get something out of it. All oil-producing countries stand to gain […]

Viewpoint by Dr P. I. Gomes The writer is former-Secretary-General of the African, Caribbean & Pacific Group of States (now known as Organisation of Africa, Caribbean & Pacific States – OACPS) PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (IDN) – As the curve flattens in the trajectory of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in some countries, or […]

Viewpoint by Alison Mountz* This article was originally published on openDemocracy. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of IDN-InDepth News. WATERLOO, Ontario (IDN) – We are living a sudden, seismic acceleration of bordering. This acceleration unfolds not only along national borders but within them: […]

Viewpoint by Gwilym David Blunt* LONDON (IDN) – The coronavirus pandemic has produced a surge in philanthropic giving from some of the world’s wealthiest people. Bill and Melinda Gates, longstanding champions of global health, have committed funds to research the disease and manufacture a vaccine when one becomes available. Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter, has […]

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN) – The greatest American foreign affairs columnist since Walter Lippmann was William Pfaff of The International Herald Tribune. He wrote in his path-breaking book, “Barbarian Sentiments” that the US political atmosphere was full of “exhausted ideas, like a dead star”. Nevertheless, “these ideas remain central to the way […]

Reflections on the International Day of Multilateralism Viewpoint by Dumiso Gatsha The writer is a human rights defender, feminist and part-time PhD (Law) candidate. GABARONE, Botswana (IDN) – 75 years of cooperation, mutual engagement and improving lives. Heralding the decade of action, 2020 has brought many challenges and opportunities for relooking how the systems we […]