Intrepid Saudi women are defying the ban on female drivers, putting themselves at risk and calling into question Saudi Arabia’s interpretation of Sharia law.
Archives for December 2013
Food Security
You hand a man a fish and he eats for a day. You teach a man to fish, maybe hand him a fishing pole and some waders, and he will eat for a year. So sayeth the logic of knowledge-sharing and technological inputs –the prevailing understanding of international development work as it is now enshrined […]
The Violence of Climate Change
In the popular imagination, global climate change is often portrayed as a force that brings with it chaotic, violent human responses. Societies are thrown into disarray. Countries go to war over water or food shortages. To many people, the prospect of global warming is apocalyptic. But what will actually happen? The scientific debate over the […]
Leftover Women
Since last year, my childhood friend Huang has been avoiding her mother’s phone calls. At 25, Huang has only been out of college for three years, yet she has worked hard enough to achieve the position of HR manager at a large real estate development firm. However, Huang’s success at work does not seem to […]
An Argument for Drones
Over the past thirteen years, America’s “War on Terror” has raised concerns about the Executive Branch’s actions in waging such a war. As the war moves into its second decade, American military actions have become increasingly clandestine. Never has this been more clear than the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones. Highly debated for […]
Run to the South: The Story of Two North Korean Defectors
On its one side, a rainbow of flowers lines the trails of lush green peaks; on the other, raw dirt blows from abandoned fields. North Korea’s Tumen River is a natural boundary between two vastly different worlds. Flowing northeast from the summit of Mount Baekdu towards the Sea of Japan, the Tumen is more than […]
Don’t Cry for Me Argentina
On November 18, 2013 the president of Argentina, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, returned to work after a six-week leave of absence following an emergency surgery to remove a blood clot in her brain. This polarizing and once-all powerful leader has dominated Argentine politics with a populist zeal comparable to the country’s beloved political legend, Eva […]
Chemical Weapons Attacks in Syria
Chemical weapons use is often described in broadly referential terms by politicians who take positions on it and news sources that report it. By itself, the term chemical warfare is vague – it can describe anything from the use of a stink bomb to the dropping of a nuclear warhead. Because of this massive range […]
Roast Busters: Rape Culture in New Zealand
New Zealand police are being fiercely criticized as details surface that officials responded ineffectually to allegations against a self-styled rape club, going so far as to ask victims what they were wearing when they were attacked. The so-called “Roast Busters” are a group of high school boys in the Auckland area whose goals are to […]
An Unexpected Broker
Russia rarely plays the peace broker. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, it lost its superpower status and fell under the shadow of the now-dominant United States. Unwilling to play junior ally to Washington, Moscow has since 1991 assumed the role of the spoiler. In the past decade alone, it has fought American-led plans […]