Categories
Global Policy Studies & International Security

Economic Crisis or Information Failure? New Evaluation Techniques for Pakistan

Recent news headlines like these have led American politicians to worry about the stability of a Pakistan equipped with nuclear arms: Squandering US$10 billion from precious reserves in less than 10 months, the country goes begging for $10 billion more… Standard and Poors downgrades the country’s credit rating to junk… Double digit inflation shoots by […]

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Technology Policy

Make Net Neutrality a Reality

After numerous deaths in committee, failed amendments and missed opportunities, network neutrality is returning to the foreground as a key priority of President-elect Barack Obama's technology agenda. Senators Byron Dorgan and Olympia Snowe have also stated their intention to reintroduce legislation on the issue. With a new administration and a new Congress, the time has […]

Categories
Politics and Governance

The Subprime Crisis: What Happened and What Should Be Fixed?

According to the Case-Shiller Index, median housing prices doubled from 1987 to 2000 in major housing markets, including L.A., Miami, D.C. and San Diego. In less than half that time, from 2001 to 2006, housing prices in L.A. and Miami almost doubled, while prices in D.C. and San Diego shot up 1.5 times. Overall, nationwide […]

Categories
Global Policy Studies & International Security

Making Foreign Aid More Effective

As the United States forms a new government in the coming days, developing nations anticipate a change in the approach to international development. Can President-elect Obama increase the impact of foreign assistance? During the campaign, Obama said he would double the amount of U.S. foreign aid to $50 billion by 2012. Yet, the question is […]

Categories
Global Policy Studies & International Security

Being a Good Neighbor: Reassessing the Border Fence

As 2008 draws to a close, we may witness the completion of 670 miles of border fence between the United States and Mexico as authorized by the U.S. Congress. Advocates in the Department of Homeland Security and within Congress may consider this venture to be a success and merely a phase of a larger scale […]

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Global Policy Studies & International Security

Preventative Diplomacy

Diplomacy should be our nation’s first line of defense. Engaging foreign leaders and attempting to prevent misunderstandings between nations is a true preventative approach to international conflict. Diplomacy is valuable even when incapable of resolving conflicts on its own. The Bush Doctrine attempts to prevent war with war and rejects the inherent value of discourse. […]

Categories
Health & Social Policy

Mouths in Need

How often do you think about your mouth? Of course you use it to speak, eat, and breathe, perhaps to kiss loved ones. Your mouth is a pretty important part of your life. But how often do you think about how it’s doing? I never used to, until I learned how much it matters to […]

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Multimedia

Dialectica Radio: Show Eight – Leadership

This week on Dialectica: Leadership. Host/Co-Producer Rebecca Taylor sat down with one expert in leadership from each of three domains to get a good understanding of the topic from multiple perspectives. Co-produced by James Tanner. Our three speakers are: Ron Kessler, an executive coach and long time leader in the Austin business community, gives some […]

Categories
Energy & Environmental Policy

Obstacles to Amazonian Conservation in Ecuador

The most biologically diverse place on earth is a portion of the Amazon rainforest known as Yasuni. Environmentalists have targeted the region for an innovative and internationally recognized conservation project, and the populist President Rafael Correa seems to be on board. However, Correa has many obligations to social movements and businesse alike under Ecuador’s constitutional […]

Categories
Politics and Governance

Undocumented Immigrants: Supporting or Threatening Public Safety?

Austin’s Chief of Police, Art Acevedo, has made the following statement about undocumented immigrants: “The vast majority of these people are not criminal aliens, they’re economic aliens. They are not a threat to our public safety.” Chief Acevedo has a point. Over the past 15 years, the United States has experienced the largest wave of […]