With the American market in the midst of the consumerist joys of the holiday season, other countries have paused for a moment of reflection on domestic consumer spending habits. In Poland, the conservative Law and Justice government has taken a decidedly regulatory approach. On Sunday, November 24, the government approved a law to ban Sunday … Read more
It’s the ‘70s, and you’ve taken the B train to Brighton Beach, Brooklyn and now find yourself transported to the Soviet Union without having paid for airfare. You see old Russian women standing in scarves, selling potato pierogies, and yelling at you in Russian. You find Russian bookstores, pharmacies, groceries, and restaurants that serve up … Read more
Recent unrest in Zimbabwe has been unpredictable, but not unforeseen. Robert Mugabe, the now the country’s former president, long dominated the Zimbabwean political sphere with his divisive and authoritarian perspectives and politics. However, with his recent resignation and the reshuffling of the government, there is a tangible absence at the government’s helm. With the ascension … Read more
The days when the Italian financial system was on the brink of collapse are not long gone. Not a year has passed since Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the world’s oldest surviving bank and once Italy’s third-largest lender, failed to recapitalize itself in the private market, and had to be bailed in by the Italian … Read more
While the world’s eye is turned towards Syria and Iraq, the planet’s largest humanitarian crisis rages just to the south: the Yemeni Civil War. With the World Food Program reporting that two-thirds of Yemenis—almost 17 million people—are in a “crisis” or “emergency” food situation, the breadth and severity of the issue transcends the bloodshed on … Read more
Foreign agents have been in the news a lot recently—but not the James Bond kind. The Russian TV channel RT (formerly known as Russia Today) and news agency Sputnik were recently required to register as foreign agents under U.S. lobbying law; Russia promptly retaliated by expanding its own “foreign agent” law, forcing Western news outlets … Read more
2017 marks the centennial anniversary of one of modern world history’s seismic events: the October Revolution. On November 7, 1917, the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, took over the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg and seized control of the country from the provisional government set up after the deposition of Tsar Nicholas II in February … Read more
Outsiders often identify the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as feminist utopias. Compared to other parts of the West, these countries have low gender pay gaps, generous parental leave policies, and provide women with equal access to education. Yet in this Utopia, not all is well. According to a study published … Read more
“I am full of despair. I have no hope. No expectation for life.” These are the words of Domine Ndabazaniye, as recorded by journalist Amanda Sperber. Ndabazaniye fled her home after her husband was killed, her daughter was raped, and her country was overrun by war. Ndabazaniye, however, is a refugee not from Syria or … Read more
It all started with the graffiti. Teenage boys sprayed “The people want the fall of the government,” onto a wall in Dara’a, an ancient city on Syria’s southern border. A month later, 1,000 civilians had been killed by government forces, and people were taking up arms against the brutal regime of longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad. … Read more