At the height of the Cold War in the 1960s, much of anti-communist Southeast Asia aligned itself with the United States, entrenching U.S. hegemony around North Vietnam and its close allies in communist China. These countries regarded ties with the U.S. as a way to maintain and develop their economic and political strength in a […]
Tag: development
China Picks Up Where the West Has Failed
Nobody said democracy was easy, but the concept of a liberal democracy championed by the US and democratic European nations has taken a massive blow in the last year with its two biggest projects. Afghanistan and Myanmar are known as major sources of opium, and now also as failed Western experiments to try and bring […]
Who’s at People’s Park? Mutual Aid Networks on the Rise!
In April of 1969, the University of California purchased the site that is now People’s Park. Located just blocks away from the University of California, Berkeley campus, People’s Park has been a community center for refuge, recreation, and political activity since its very origin. Today, the University wants the Park gone more than anything […]
Murder and Famine: Sand’s Story in 21st Century India
In 2004, Sumaira Abdulali, one of India’s foremost environmental activists, drove to an illegal sand mining site. Upon her arrival, four men, including the son of a local Indian National Congress politician, smashed her side window, dragged her out of the car and beat her in an effort to silence her efforts to stop the […]
Development: A Dam Problem
It seems odd to juxtapose “environment” with “refugee”. The environment is a set of conditions that cultivate the life of beings. By definition, it is suited to the livelihoods of certain humans, just as humans are suited to their environments. Both participate in a symbiotic relationship, so the term “environmental refugee” indicates a very […]
Playing Fair with Stadiums
Last July, Inglewood residents received flyers in the mail from an organization known as IRATE Inglewood – Inglewood Residents Against Takings and Evictions. These mailings, as one might guess, were opposed to a new neighborhood development –– the potential construction of a new basketball arena. It was decidedly doom-and-gloom. People would lose their homes to […]
China paves the way, will Asia follow?
China’s rise as a world power has been comprehensive to say the least. Alongside its growing powerhouse of an economy comes its political ambitions to assert dominance. Nothing new, one would assume. However Xi Jinping’s soft power initiatives in Africa, Latin America and most importantly, in his own backyard, Asia, show a shift in the […]
Crossroads Blues
Crossroads Blues In 1965, the city of Singapore was kicked out of Malaysia. It was poor and isolated, with an economy wholly subsidized by Britain’s Royal Navy. To the north, Malay extremists threatened to instigate a coup and regain the island. To the south, the Indonesian military toppled the pro-communist government, killing millions and threatening […]
Are You #MakingADifference?
Over the past decade, voluntourism has become a dirty word in the world of development. You may have encountered it in updated Facebook profile pictures. Or an advertisement selling idealism through service projects to Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania Africa. Or, maybe, you watched ‘Who Wants To Be A Volunteer’; a satire of the stereotypes perpetuated by volunteers […]
El Salvador’s Mining Ban: Land Rights, Development, and Democracy in Latin America
The landmark decision in El Salvador to ban all metal mining came as a surprise to many. It passed with multiple parties’ support, with none opposing, and is considered a huge win for environmental activism in the region. El Salvador’s water sources are especially vulnerable to pollution by practices of the mining industry, and existing […]