Many economies in the developing world exhibit a dual structure: the formal sector and the informal sector. While large firms operate in the formal sphere, a majority of small- to medium-size firms operate informally. Estimates of the size of the informal econ... More »
The 2016 hacking of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) provided an urgent and long-overdue wake-up call: U.S. balloting systems are not secure. In the run-up to the 2018 midterm elections and the 2020 presidential race, election security and cyber hygiene... More »
Globalization and structural changes in African economies are contributing to rapid urbanization—with 50 percent of the population predicted to live in urban areas by 2030, compared to 36 percent in 2010. Simultaneously, climate change is projected to have sig... More »
Gauging developed countries’ motivations for providing development assistance is complex. One theory suggests that governments of developed countries see foreign aid as a tool of realpolitik, using foreign aid to improve relations with recipient countries and ... More »
Given the preponderance of violence and civil conflict in Africa, development practitioners are eager to understand the relationship between economic conditions and conflict. Conflict can negatively impact education, health, and state capacity—all important co... More »
Literature on development aid ranges from analyzing the effectiveness of aid to assessing foreign policy attitudes. However, as many members of society scrutinize government spending and demand transparency, it becomes increasingly necessary to justify a forei... More »
Roger Thurow has served as a senior fellow on the global food and agriculture team at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs since January 2010. Before joining the Council, he reported for the Wall Street Journal where he wrote a series of stories on famine in ... More »
Dehumanization is the process through which we come to believe that a person cannot think, feel, and behave intentionally, nor experience right and wrong. A substantial body of literature from the social sciences posits that dehumanization may be the psycholog... More »
North Korea conducted three nuclear tests between 2006 and 2013, but this rate has intensified to three tests in the past two years alone. This threat of unchecked nuclear escalation has led to an all-time low in U.S.–North Korea relations and turned East Asia... More »
War! What is it good for? Civil war dissolves social structures and threatens personal livelihoods, domestically displacing both combatants and civilians. Even after hostilities cease, individuals and communities face a long and daunting recovery process. Reco... More »
Thousands, perhaps even millions, of successful cyberattacks occur each year across governmental and commercial sectors in the U.S., and attempts at cyber infiltration and hacking recorded by state and local governments often exceed a million cases each day. A... More »
People and nations worldwide cannot be assured of their safety as long as nuclear warheads remain ready for launch. How do we address the unspeakable dangers of nuclear war in today’s political climate? Dr. Kennette Benedict speaks about current and future nuc... More »