World
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Rwanda’s Clean Cooking Challenge: Can Community Action Make the Difference?
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Asteria’s hands tremble as she strikes a match, the small flame flickering before catching onto the lump of charcoal. Her youngest daughter, Keza, stands nearby, rubbing her eyes and coughing as the smoke curls toward the low roof of their kitchen. Asteria has been cooking this way for as long…
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The Country of Perpetual Potential: Indonesia’s Barriers in Renewable Energy Transition
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Indonesia, with a renewable energy potential of 3,692 GW, is among the most resource-rich countries in the world for sustainable energy development. However, between 2020 and 2023, renewable energy usage increased only from 2% to 3%. This accounted for approximately 14.5% of the nation’s electricity generation, which falls short of…
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From Gang Rule to Iron Fist: Questioning Progress in Bukele’s El Salvador
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Significant sums from a secret government fund? CHECK. Calling for occupation of the Legislature by security forces? CHECK. Intimidation of local journalists using death threats and imprisonment? CHECK. Nayib Bukele’s reign as president of El Salvador has exhibited all the fixings of an authoritarian regime. Embracing this image, Bukele openly…
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Crisis in Cape Town: A Global Warning
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“We are now in Phase 1 of the disaster plan.” Issued by the Safety and Security department of Cape Town, South Africa, in October 2017, this grim warning indicated that the city’s freshwater dam capacity was at 25% and dropping. At 13.5%, the city would have reached “Day Zero,” triggering…
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Evaluating the Costs and Consequences of Sanctions
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The joint US, EU, and G7 allies sanctions regime against Russia is unprecedented in scope, magnitude, and timing. The ‘Western’ alliance has targeted a broad range of Russian institutions, entities, and domestic industries. Additional sanctions have been directly levied on Russian elites and their fancy toys. As a senior Biden…
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What Japanese Imports in the 1980s Can Tell Us About Employment Today
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The joint processes of industrialization and globalization have undoubtedly reshaped the United States labor market in the post-war period. The dislocation of previously prosperous manufacturing industries in the United States, particularly in what is now called the Rust Belt, has shifted the workforce towards both service sector jobs and jobs…
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Coal, Cash, Cars, and Trees: Cliff-Notes From the Glasgow Climate Summit
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In November, the United Nations convened its 26th global climate summit, the Glasgow Climate Change Conference, or COP26. Held in Glasgow, Scotland from Oct. 31-Nov. 12, 2021, COP26 saw attendance and discussion from delegates representing almost 200 countries, while 21,000 representatives from observer organizations, host city volunteers, and the general…
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A Quick-Reference Guide to Climate Change Terminology
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In November the United Nations held the 26th global climate summit, the Glasgow Climate Change Conference, or COP26. Delegates from almost 200 countries discussed items ranging from membership in the UNFCCC and compliance with the Paris Agreement to Green Finance. If you have difficulty keeping the terminology straight, check out…
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When Liberals Become Conservative: A Danish Political Culture of Islamophobia
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In June of 2021, Denmark’s parliament voted in favor of a law allowing the Danish authorities to send asylum seekers to reception centers outside the European Union. This vote was the most recent turn of events in Denmark’s policies to tighten immigration. In May of 2021, the Danish authorities announced…
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Should Policy Makers Push for Supply Chain Resilience?
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Your Christmas gifts this year may be stuck somewhere on the ocean. The latest NBER research gives some tips for policymakers to prevent this kind of supply chain disruption from happening again. Over the past two years, you may have had a hard time finding daily necessities in a supermarket,…
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Turkey and the Trump Philosophy
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The United States and Turkey have a long history of political cohesion, and no era was ever so prolific in deal-making for the allies as that of the Trump administration. After nearly two decades of carving away at his country’s democratic freedoms, Turkish President Recep Erdogan has aligned with the…