By Peter Oesterling
As anthropogenic climate change alters the world’s ecosystems, one effect has been glacial recession across the Andes, the Himalayas, the Alps, and the Rocky Mountains.
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By Yale Journal of International Affairs
An Interview with Eric Rubin, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, European and Eurasian Affairs
Read MoreBy Narayan Kaudinya
Baltistan is a mountainous region straddling the Northern India–Pakistan border, adjacent to the disputed territory of Kashmir. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, the Ladakhi Scouts, an infantry regiment of the Indian army specialized in mountain warfare, took control of several villages of the Baltistan region in Pakistan. Since then, a part of Baltistan remains under Indian control.
Read MoreBy Sugato Mukherjee
Kawah Ijen is one of the many volcanoes that dominate the landscape of East Java in the Indonesian archipelago. But Ijen is markedly different from the others—it is home to the largest acidic crater lake on Earth. The beautiful lake is the site of rich elemental sulfur, which 350-400 miners quarry manually each year.
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By Dr. Michael D. Gambone and John J. McGarry
Despite their well-documented and unsavory reputation, private military security companies (PMSCs) remain critical to U.S. foreign policy. Hard-won reform has emerged concurrently with greater U.S. dependence on private military security contractors.
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By Aiden Warren and Alexander Dirksen
This article will argue that while the Obama administration promised considerable change in the areas of transparency, intelligence gathering, and national security, it has differed very little from the Bush administration.
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By Joy Gordon
For many years, the Security Council of the United Nations was seen as paralyzed and ineffectual. But in the aftermath of the Cold War, the Council became much more active, and in some cases, was accused of overreaching. Some have argued that this puts the Council’s legitimacy into question. A series of recent European court rulings have provided support for this view, in that they find that some of the Security Council’s enforcement actions are inconsistent with international law.
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By Pia Rebello Britto, PhD and Briance Mascarenhas, PhD
Globalization presents diverse potential opportunities for expansion and collaboration. There is a need for international transformative leaders who are well-grounded in their disciplines, who have a broader vision that transcends countries and cultures, and who have a desire and ability to bring about positive change.
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By Faizah Zakaria
After the advent of Sukarno’s “Guided Democracy” in Indonesia more than fifty years ago, renowned scholar of Indonesian politics Herbert Feith asked why democracy in Indonesia failed.
Read MoreAn Interview with Albie Sachs, Former Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa
Yale Sociology PHD student Denise Lim interviews Sachs on consociationalism, the process of constitution making, the formation of the Constitutional Court, “Sufficient Consensus,” and bringing South Africa together.
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By Arthur de Liedekerke
Poland’s recent announcement that it would move thousands of troops from the country’s western border to its eastern one—a historic realignment—highlights the consternation that the Ukrainian crisis has sparked among countries in the region.
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By Isaac S. Medina
For centuries, the great civilizations of India and China have been separated by the natural barrier of the Himalayas, largely keeping the two civilizations from encroaching on one another’s sphere of influence.
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Interview by Tara Chandra
With over 40 feature film credits to her name, Nandita Das is an award-winning Indian film actor and director who has leveraged her international profile to campaign on social issues concerning women, children, and marginalized communities.
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By Jack Miller
Since the late 1990s, a comprehensive discussion relating to changes in the nature of warfare and the military development of conventional state actors has been progressing in U.S. policy circles.
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By Yale Journal of International Affairs
An Interview with Raila Odinga, Former Prime Minister of Kenya
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By Chris Lockyear
As hundreds of thousands of people in South Sudan struggle to survive the brutal conflict there, South Sudan’s labor minister recently dealt a potentially devastating blow: he ordered all international workers to leave the country.
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By Kelly Hunte
Accounting systems must be developed in both donor and recipient countries which would accurately capture non-financial aid flows in order to analyze the true impact and ensure that the aid flows are effectively linked to the national priorities of the recipient country.
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By Benjamin Locks
Since 2007, many Mexicans and international observers have blamed drug traffickers from Mexican cartels—and former President Felipe Calderón’s heavy-handed response—for the reign of violence that has left more than 60,000 people dead through 2012, according to Human Rights Watch.
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By David Babayan
While the Southern Caucasus appears distant from China both politically and geographically, Beijing has had position there. If the current trend continues, China could become one of the most influential players in Caucasian geopolitics.
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By Todd Robinson, Paul F. Diehl, and Tyler Pack
The apparent use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime in Syria and the potential development of nuclear weapons by Iran have brought “red lines” to the forefront of public discourse and policy-making. In the former, U.S. President Obama threatened retaliatory measures were Syria ever to use chemical weapons against rebels in its civil war.
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