Global Challenges

Recently, two very powerful and damaging storms have wreaked havoc in the Western Pacific: Cyclone Pam and Typhoon Maysak. These were two of the most intense storms to impact this region in the past 15 years, by some metrics, the...

We may be delighted or depressed that the UK general election delivered an unexpected Tory majority, but does it really make a difference? Most of the decisions that affect our lives, our environment, our working conditions and the products and...

Images of children working in hazardous and abusive conditions naturally provoke strong emotional reactions. For this reason, measures designed to stop children from working, and make sure they go to school, attract little opposition or debate. Yet the reality is...

The relationship between China and India will be one of the most important of this century. Their ability to cooperate will be crucial on international issues ranging from climate change to multilateral trade negotiations. Yet for all of its future...

After decades of international isolation, Iran is eager to enter its post-sanction era, while Washington is divided about Iran’s future and Brussels remains apprehensive. Recently, Peter Wittig, German Ambassador to the US, said that alternatives to a deal to curb...

Greta Gabaglio / Shutterstock.com Greta Gabaglio / Shutterstock.com Expo 2015 opened in Milan on May 1 – the latest of the five-yearly world’s fairs where the nations of the world build pavilions to showcase national wealth, culture and enterprise. Expo...

John Bartle, Nigel Bogle and John Hegarty were the mad men of the 1980s. Their BBH ad agency was the marketing genius behind Levi’s jeans, Audi cars and Lynx male deodorants. John Bartle, Nigel Bogle and John Hegarty were the...

Economic sanctions and divestment campaigns are attractive but often flawed tactics for accomplishing international political goals. The social stigma the campaigns create often fails to match the economic pain these campaigns inflict, making the costs of resisting them for governments...

The relief operation is underway in Nepal – under extremely difficult circumstances. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play a crucial role in disaster management in the 21st century – and this will be especially true in Nepal following the devastating recent earthquake. The...

The European Commission has issued a statement of objection to Russian energy giant Gazprom, formally accusing it of abusing its dominant market position in the central and Eastern European gas market, in violation of EU competition law. The European Commission has issued...

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) are negotiating with their coalition partner, Komeito, to introduce legislation recognising a limited exercise of collective self-defence. There is rising anxiety about Japan’s neighbours’ perception of this endeavor and...

With the Six Party Talks — the main multilateral mechanism to negotiate North Korea’s denuclearisation — moribund since December 2008, the North Korean nuclear issue appears increasingly intractable. North Korea has proceeded with its nuclear program and enshrined its nuclear...

Saudi Arabia’s demand that Pakistan joins its coalition against the Houthi uprising in Yemen has put Islamabad in a catch-22 between joining the Saudi alliance and not antagonising its neighbour Iran. Joining the Saudi coalition would have long-term political, economic...

The Environmental investigation Agency uses the techniques of investigative journalism to document evidence of illegal wildlife trade. It is one of the most effective easy of stemming the global tragedy that is wiping out treasured species. The Environmental investigation Agency...

An element links the terrible human tragedy in the Mediterranean and the ongoing Greek crisis.  It is Europe's over-emphasis on moral hazard.  Moral hazard is the idea that people will act irresponsibly if they do not have to bear the...