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Book Reviews Economics Energy & Environment North America Policy & Politics

Review: Robert Vitalis’ Oilcraft: The Myths of Scarcity and Security that Haunt U.S. Energy Policy

Of all the myths and fabrications that exist in political discourse, few are more stubbornly persistent than the scarcity of resources and the policies supposedly needed to control them. Today, that discourse has converged around one definitive commodity: oil. The omnipresence of oil in the modern economy is eclipsed only by the persistent belief in […]

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Economics Policy & Politics Security & Conflict

Beyond MIRVs and SCUDs, the Newest Global Weapon Is ESG

Introduction In the weapons world––loaded with the likes of Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicles (MIRVs), Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), and SCUDs––an emerging global weapon is Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG).         The current ESG target is Russia, and the payload is an economic siege designed to isolate and strangle the Russian economy. Driving that siege are global […]

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Economics North America Policy & Politics

Domestic Policy Is Foreign Policy: Wage Stagnation and Income Inequality Threaten America’s Leadership Abroad

The negative economic effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are being felt around the world. Here in the United States, Americans face rising gas and food prices, with more trickle-down consequences on the way. The majority of Americans have been supportive of the Biden administration’s response to the Ukraine crisis.[1] The latest Russian invasion has […]

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Economics Editors' Updates Events

Book Launch: “Social Finance: Shadow Banking During the Global Financial Crisis” by Neil Shenai

Shenai presented his conventions-based theory of financial crises, and numerous current and former students participated in a wide-ranging discussion on the advantages of Shenai’s model, the overall state of academic research on financial markets, and policy implications of Shenai’s theory on financial regulation and managing risks in the global economy.

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Europe Governance & Law Policy & Politics

Franco-German Relations: Transition of Power in the EU, But the Same Message

If France and Germany are not able to maintain a pro-democratic message, the liberal world order will lose its foothold in Europe. Fragmentation in German politics is among the greatest threats to the democratic cause.

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Asia Pacific Economics Policy & Politics Security & Conflict

The Silver Jubilee of India-ASEAN Relations: A Geopolitical Rejuvenation?

To achieve its goal of deepened integration with ASEAN, India has established and continuously emphasized opportunities for economic and security partnership. All the while, it has simultaneously appealed to socio-cultural ties. Closer integration with ASEAN, India hopes, will allow the two to jointly balance China’s growing regional influence.

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Asia Pacific Economics International Development Policy & Politics

China’s Belt and Road Gamble: Can it Deliver?

At a time when China is increasing its power on the world stage, Dr. Shahid Yusuf, the Chief Economist of The Growth Dialogue at the George Washington University School of Business in Washington DC, attempts to investigate the effects of China’s Belt Initiative. In doing so, he discovered that the project will certainly increase China’s influence and economic power in Central Asia but it will also place the Chinese economy under heavy strain as Chinese growth begins to slow.

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Economics Europe International Development

Weber’s Protestant Ethic Revisited: Explaining the Capitalism We Take for Granted

Author Edmund Ruge revisits the German Sociologist Max Weber’s theory of international development to see how Weber’s theory, as expressed in his classic book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism are still relevant today in the field of international development. Edmund Ruge then juxtaposes Weber’s theory of development with two other theories of development that were proposed by Karl Marx and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.

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Editors' Updates

Supplement to the Summer/Fall 2013 Issue: Terror on the Seas: Assessing the Threat of Modern Day Piracy

Maritime piracy is a major post-Cold War challenge to U.S. and international security. While the Greater Gulf of Aden represents the face of modern maritime piracy, the threat is larger than just the Puntland region of Somalia and the Bab el-Mandeb waterway. Brandon Prins, Ursula Daxevker, and Amanda Sanford look at the current threats posed by modern-day piracy.

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Asia Pacific Book Reviews Economics Governance & Law North America Policy & Politics

In A G-Zero World, It’s Every Nation For Itself

Devin Stewart reviews Ian Bremmer’s new book, “Every Nation For Itself: Winners and Losers in a G-Zero World.”