After three years of Western sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis, both a tightening and a relief of the “smart” punitive measures can make the arguably bad situation even worse.
China and the IMF have had a rocky relationship ever since the Fund’s founding in 1945. Despite the IMF’s recent efforts to better reflect China’s growing economic power within its organizational structure, the future of the two entities remains uncertain. This can be explained by conflicting interests on fiscal policy, the ambiguous behavior of the Chinese economic regime, and the failure of the IMF to fully adapt to the shifting weights of the world economy.
Populism has taken an illiberal turn. Protecting liberal, pluralist societies from the threat of illiberal populism will require deep reforms to our education, communications, and political systems.
For decades, foreign aid has failed to create a pluralist democracy in Cambodia. With the upcoming election, this provides international donors and investors renewed opportunity to revisit their human rights efforts in the country.
The small country of Austria where 2016 did not entail a win for the far-right might have some lessons for liberals who fear a dire 2017.
Transnational Corporations (TNCs) play a vital role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Yet their ongoing failure to comply with Human Rights has been subject to much criticism. Establishing a legally binding framework that incorporates SDGs’ stance on Human Rights is essential to meet the goals by 2030.