From slaughtered schoolchildren to draconian abortion bans, there is much to deplore in our political present. Daily headlines are littered with stupidity, cruelty, dysfunction, and death. Such a disturbing picture makes it easy to dismiss less tangible issues—like the $31 trillion national debt—as mere distractions. But the government’s profligate ways are no longer a theoretical […]
Tag: inflation
Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine and The Present Global Food Crisis
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought the world to the brink of what Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has described as a potentially “apocalyptic” food crisis. The ongoing conflict has halted agricultural exports from Ukraine, a country long known as the breadbasket of Europe and Russia and the world’s largest exporter of wheat and […]
On Thin Rice: Analyzing Trade Policy in Nigeria
Of all disputes between African nations, the rivalry over jollof rice sticks out. Packed with onions, savory spices and pureed tomatoes, jollof rice is hailed by West Africans as a staple dish, sparking heated disputes between Nigerians and Ghanians over who has the better recipe. Beyond its culinary significance, rice in Nigeria is at the […]
Political Innovation: Taking a Page from the Business Playbook
We live in a world marred by uncertainty. Each day it seems that more and more crises are coming to the fore: incoming climate disaster, rampant xenophobia, growing economic discontent. Yet the approach by many political leaders to this rapidly-changing environment is the same as it has been for decades: maintain stability, keep law and […]
Barriers to Improving Our Crumbling Infrastructure
Amidst the political issues of gun control, immigration policy, and economic crises consistently dominating national headlines, the topic of fixing America’s broken infrastructure continues to be crowded out by the media’s agenda, ignoring an important problem that should be addressed more persistently. Unlike many other debatable issues, fixing our crumbling infrastructure should not be and […]
Lessons from the School of Trumpian Politics along the Venezuelan-Colombian Border
Xenophobic ideology is not new to politics. It is, however, relatively new to Venezuela, which has been one of the more welcoming South American countries to immigrants throughout the second half of the 20th century. On August 19, 2015, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced “Operation Liberation of the People” (OLP). Since then, over 1,500 Colombians have […]
#VaiaDilma: President Rousseff’s Trust Deficit
Less than five months after voting President Dilma Rousseff into office last October, the Brazilian people have demanded her impeachment. On March 15th, 2015, approximately one million Brazilians, wearing the national colors of green and yellow, took to the streets in a series of nationwide demonstrations and chanted “Out Dilma.” Sao Paulo witnessed the largest […]
Courting the Public
In democratic societies, the relationship between candidates and voters boils down to the more-than-familiar concept of courtship. Often, campaigns employ a myriad of strategies to court voters, which include winning the hearts of the people through actions or through words. Even though the conventional wisdom suggests that action speaks louder than words, the time constraints […]