February, 2010
Latin craze for regional integration
In Mexico, the country of machismo, few things are more daring than to question somebody's manhood. Should the take-away image from the summit of 32 Latin American and Caribbean leaders held in Cancún Feb. 21-22 thus be that of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe telling his Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chávez, "Be a man!"?
A modest nuclear revival is just as well
There has been much talk in recent years of a major increase in nuclear energy use to meet growing power demand and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Although many countries have expressed an interest in going nuclear, how many have the financial backbone and technical/administrative wherewithal to take on such a challenge?
Moral rebalance in global leadership much needed
From 1000-1800 A.D., Asia, Africa and Latin America--today's developing world--accounted for 65 percent to 75 percent of global population and income. Europe rode to world dominance through the Industrial Revolution, innovations in transport and communication, and colonialism, during which the developing countries suffered dramatic relative losses. According to Jawaharlal Nehru University's Deepak Nayyar, from 1870 to 1950, Asia's per capita income plummeted from one-half to one-tenth of West European levels. Since decolonization, Asia has been bouncing back in economic output, industrialization and trade.
Obama and Latin America
As we approached the first anniversary of President Obama's inauguration, all eyes were set on health care reform and its ultimate fate in the Congress. In foreign affairs, the war in Afghanistan held center stage. Less attention had been paid to his policy toward Latin America. With a global financial crisis and two wars going on, there was no reason to think the Western Hemisphere would be a priority for the White House.
What's cooking in Canadian innovation?
As Canadian governments extricate themselves from gaping deficits, they will need again to make the kind of tough choices that put us on the general path to fiscal probity in the 1990s. While these choices imply some mixture of increased taxes or spending restraints, we know that periods of strong economic growth can also make the public debt burden more manageable relative to Canadians' capacity to shoulder it.