Latvia is usually quite unremarkable: in the words of The Economist, “Even Latvians’ fans rarely call them exciting.” Yet the obscure Baltic nation has recently drawn attention, along with its neighbors Estonia and Lithuania, for its quick recovery from the financial crisis through strict austerity and internal devaluation. Indeed, Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director, has … Read more
It is not every day that half a country secedes, but that is exactly what happened in Mali earlier this year. On April 6, after months of fighting, a representative of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) formally declared independence for Azawad, a region in north Mali. The rebel group drove the … Read more
“He created a bipartisan debt commission. They came back with an urgent report. He thanked them, sent them on their way, and then did exactly nothing.” In many ways, this quote from Paul Ryan’s speech at the Republican National Convention encapsulates deficit reduction efforts over the past two years. Ryan was criticizing President Obama for … Read more
The 2012 election, fraught with bitter rhetoric, has finally passed. Yet, for the billions that were spent by the two parties and their respective allies, this campaign was largely devoid of details and vision, leaving major questions unanswered about the country’s future. My fellow Republicans especially must face political reality heading into the 113th Congress. … Read more
Dear Readers, This November has been a month of momentous change. The world’s two largest economies chose their newest leaders. At home, 131 million people went to the polls and cast ballots, an event unique only in its ordinariness. For the 1.3 billion Chinese citizens, such an occurrence is unfathomable. Instead, the Central Committee of … Read more
Most college students can hardly remember a time when America was not at war. To many of us, it may seem unfathomable, if the words of President Obama hold true, that the final withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan in 2014 will conclude the first chapter of the War on Terror. Even if potential conflicts with … Read more
Extremist groups like Al-Qaeda are no strangers to the African continent with operations in Sudan, Nigeria, and Somalia, most notably through the militant group Al-Shabaab. Their growing prowess, especially in Northern Africa, was illustrated by Al-Qaeda’s recent involvement in the Malian coup d’état. Al-Qaeda’s naturalization in Africa has been perceived as a threat to not … Read more