With a cup of hot coffee held securely in one hand and a large laminated name tag dangling from the other, we trekked through the “Boulevard of Flags” in Boston’s World Trade Center as the morning sun peeked through the surrounding skyscrapers. It was April 7, 2018, and we were headed to the opening ceremony … Read more
While most outside reporting on Mexico is currently focused on its upcoming presidential election, the country is currently undergoing a major economic transition. Namely, major supply chain issues are barring the country’s approximately one million micro-businesses, or tienditas, from reaching profitability and sustainability in their efforts to service the over-100 million citizens that rely on … Read more
The Nile is commonly considered to be the longest river system in the World. Originating in Lake Victoria and the Ethiopian Highlands, it covers about 6000 kilometers before reaching Mediterranean Sea. Although it is not naturally navigable, the Nile provides fresh water to its riparian states for irrigation and domestic use. For this reason, however, … Read more
Every September, the annual Labour Party Conference is held in the United Kingdom. One of the largest and highest-profile political events in Europe, it was most recently hosted in the Labour-controlled city of Brighton with over 13,000 attendees and 450 fringe events. For the United Kingdom’s Labour Party, the conference often serves as on opportunity to … Read more
“I woke up late that day and … saw the riot police beating people up. It was really tense and scary … I was really dubious about voting after seeing it all.” Yago is one of many people living in and around Barcelona who describe scenes of tension and sometimes outright clashing in Catalonia, a … Read more
There is a meme circulating on the Moldovan internet that ironically describes the country’s capital, Chișinău, as a “European city.” Although it is true that Chișinău is a city in Europe, it bears little resemblance to Berlin, Paris, and Rome. Its historical buildings lie abandoned, its citizens have little respect for traffic laws, and its … Read more
Recent shifts in the upper echelons of Chinese leadership have attracted international attention. Chinese President Xi Jinping became the first leader since Chairman Mao Zedong to be addressed with the honorary “lingxiu,” or revered leader. He was also named “the core” of the Chinese Communist Party and his political philosophy was entered into the Chinese … Read more
Within the West, the recent rise of right-wing populist parties has heightened concerns about the potential for foreign interference in the democratic process. In a common telling of events, parties like the National Front in France, Alternative for Germany, and the Austrian Freedom Party function as a Russian fifth column, the frontline in a conflict … Read more
Marco Polo’s visit to the court of Kublai Khan irrevocably changed the way the Venetian merchant perceived the world. While residing in the court of the Khan, Polo likely learned that the name of the Khan’s dominion, ‘Zhongguo,’ translated into ‘Middle Country.’ “I tell you,” Polo wrote, “no day in the year passes that there … Read more
Since the Iron Curtain fell, numerous Central and Eastern European nations have enjoyed freedom and independence impossible under Soviet rule. Poland is among the most successful of these countries, compensating for the inefficiencies of its old centrally-planned economy, and recently achieving market classification as a developed nation. Even with this newfound prosperity, the current Polish government, led … Read more