Interview
The Challenge for Rio+20: Countering Two Decades of Inaction
To mark the 20th anniversary of the 1992 Earth Summit, the United Nations is holding its Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012. For a better understanding of the issues at play and a sense of what to expect from “Rio+20,” we talk to CIGI Distinguished Fellow David Runnalls.
2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit: Seizing the High Ground
Last week, more than 50 world leaders convened in South Korea to attend the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit — a forum for discussing nuclear security. At the end of the conference, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak stated “we have now set a new milestone for creating a safer and more peaceful world free from nuclear terrorism.” To understand more about the summit’s implications, we speak to the author of a forthcoming major report on the International Atomic Energy Agency, CIGI Senior Fellow Trevor Findlay.
Reform in China and the 18th Party Congress
Leading China expert Joseph Fewsmith offers insight on political reform in China and what the 18th Party Congress will bring.
North Korean Announcement Shows Policy Continuity with Past Regime
North Korea agreed recently to suspend its nuclear activities, announcing a freeze on nuclear tests, long-range missile launches and uranium enrichment at its Yongbyon plant. It also invited back international nuclear inspectors expelled in 2009, presumably in a bid to restart the six-party talks. To better understand the significance and possible ramifications of North Korea’s announcement, we talked to James Manicom, SSHRC post-doctoral fellow at the Balsille School of International Affairs.
Reports of Cheap Oil's Death Are Not Greatly Exaggerated
With new sources and methods of global petroleum production coming on stream — shale fracking, ultra-deepwater drilling and new fields in Africa, to name a few — some energy analysts have argued that reports of the death of cheap oil have been greatly exaggerated. In this week's CIGI Interview, Thomas Homer-Dixon takes issue with these "oil optimists," saying that the petroleum our global economy can afford to consume is indeed running out, and that we need to be much more aggressive in developing alternative energy sources.
Searching for Disruption, Sustainability and Transformation at Davos
Heads of state and leading figures from business and academia gather this week in Davos, Switzerland to “shape global, regional and industry agendas,” as part of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual meeting. With this year’s conference entitled "The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models," we talk to WEF Sustainability Adviser and CIGI Senior Visiting Fellow Simon Zadek on what the forum’s unique composition can offer in terms of economic recovery and a move toward green growth.
Leaner and Meaner? Exploring the Global Security Implications of US Military Reform
CIGI's Vice President of Programs and global security expert David Dewitt discusses what a leaner US military will mean for global security.
CIGI Experts Predict Global Governance Challenges for 2012
This week, CIGI experts David Runnalls, Eric Helleiner, Gregory Chin and Mark Sedra share their thoughts on what 2012 will bring in terms of environment and energy, the global economy, global development and global security challenges.
Cooler Heads Shall Prevail as Diplomatic Pressure Mounts on Iran
In light of recent developments involving the United Kingdom and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), we speak to CIGI Distinguished Fellow Paul Heinbecker to learn more about how the West is dealing with Iran.
Egypt's Election: So Far, So Good, But Huge Challenges Remain
With Egypt’s parliamentary elections starting this week, the largest country involved in this year’s mass Arab protests has gone to the polls for its most meaningful vote in decades. To find out what impact the results may have on Egypt’s contentious political dynamics and across the region, we talk to CIGI Senior Fellow and Middle East economic expert Bessma Momani.
Examining Religious Diversity and Influence in the Arab Spring
This week, we speak to the CIGI Chair in Religion and Politics in Global Context Paul Freston to gain more insight on the role of religion in the Arab Spring.
Mexico needs to work on getting G20 back on track
CIGI Distinguished Fellow and former Canadian G7-8 Sherpa Gordon Smith critiques the final communique from the 2011 G20 Summit in Cannes, France, and offers a a few predictions for the G20 under the Mexican presidency.
Measuring and Improving Governance Across Africa
Since its inception in 2006, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation has been tracking indicators of African governance. In addition to providing this rich source of data at the country level, the foundation also selects recipients for the Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership. Following the announcement of this year’s recipient earlier this month, we sit down with Thomas Tieku, CIGI’s lead researcher at the Africa Initiative, to discuss the state of governance across the continent and whether the foundation is having a positive impact on how African governments rule.
Refocusing development goals will help alleviate global poverty
As the world observes the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, Barry Carin discusses a new approach to development goals.
Better advice – not political will – key to solving sovereign debt crisis
In this week’s CIGI Interview, CIGI Senior Visiting Fellow Manmohan Agarwal, a former senior economist at the International Monetary Fund, suggests the problems facing the global economy rest not with the actions of our elected officials, but with the economic prescriptions that led to the current situation.
Understanding the Significance of Palestine's UN Bid for Statehood
Dominating the news over the past week has been Palestine’s bid at the 66th United Nations (UN) General Assembly Debate to become the 194th member state. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has passed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s request on to the UN Security Council, and now the 15 member countries face difficult deliberations on how to proceed. This week we speak to CIGI Distinguished Fellow Louise Fréchette and CIGI Chair of Global Security and Director of the Balsillie School of International Affairs David Welch on why this historic political situation developed now and how it might play out.
9/11, 10 Years On: How the Attacks Changed Global Governance
As the United States and the world prepare to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks this weekend, the milestone is also an occasion to reflect on why the profound events of that day have affected how – and by whom – the world is currently governed. From the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq to today’s protest movements across the Arab world, we ask CIGI’s vice president of programs, David Dewitt, to explain how 9/11 has changed global governance.
Despite "dysfunctional" democracy, Japan can tackle debt, security issues
Japan's ruling Democratic Party elected a new leader this week, making former Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda the country's sixth prime minister in five years. Despite sluggish growth in recent years, Japan remains a major global economy and is key to Asia's continued recovery from the 2008 financial crisis. To get a better sense of the state of Japan's democracy and the significance of last week's credit downgrade by Moody's, we talk to CIGI Senior Visiting Fellow Paul Blustein, who is a former Washington Post and Wall Street Journal writer now based in Kamakura, outside Tokyo.
CIGI experts discuss governing Libya after Gadhafi
As Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) forces continue their invasion of Tripoli, we speak to CIGI experts Gordon Smith, Bessma Momani and Mark Sedra about what steps the rebel alliance, and global governance bodies, should take to create a more peaceful and democratic order after the seemingly inevitable demise of the Muammar Gadhafi regime.
Long-term commitment needed to help Haiti "lift itself by its bootstraps"
Nineteen months after Haiti was hit by a devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake, the Caribbean country remains in a state of uncertainty and flux. Haiti is the poorest and least developed country in the Western Hemisphere. Despite the promise of a new president, there remains great international skepticism about the country’s ability to resolve its complex social, political and economic problems. To learn more about what’s happening in Haiti and the international community’s response, we speak to CIGI Distinguished Fellow Jorge Heine, the co-editor of Fixing Haiti: MINUSTAH and Beyond.