Globalisation

Africa Moves Towards Third Industrial Development Decade

By Amina J. Mohammed
Since the turn of the century, much of Africa has achieved impressive economic growth. Sixteen African countries were among the world’s top 30 fastest growing nations. Last year, the 10 fastest growing African economies posted GDP growth rates exceeding 5 per cent.

A Trump Doctrine of Hypocrisy

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
In his first address on the global stage of the General Assembly, United States’ President Donald Trump touted an “America First” approach at the very institution that is meant to inspire collaboration between nations.

South-South trade cooperation key to sustainable and inclusive model of globalization

By Dr. Hanif Hassan Al Qassim
Thanks to globalization and trade liberalization of commodities, services and goods, global trade has reached an unprecedented level. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, world trade in goods was valued at approximately USD 16 trillion. North-North trade generates the highest trade volume at approximately 6 trillion; trade flows within and between countries of the Global South amounts to 4.6 trillion. Trade between the Global South and the Global North -approximately between 2.5 and 3 trillion - add up to less than the trade flows within the Earth’s two main poles.

Transformative Power of Literacy in Today’s Digitalized Society

By Dr. Hanif Hassan Al Qassim
The vision of a literate world has guided the United Nations in its efforts to eliminate illiteracy worldwide. According to UNESCO, the world literacy rate now stands at 91% up from 79% in 1980. In the Arab region, the literacy rate is currently at 86%; a 22% increase from 1980 where the literacy rate stood at 64%. Although world society has witnessed significant progress in eradicating illiteracy, approximately 750 million adults and 264 million children worldwide are still considered as illiterate. Thus, the cloud of world illiteracy overshadows the geography of world poverty. Nonetheless, the Sustainable Development Goals have translated the vision of a literate world into a concrete action-plan: Sustainable Development Goal 4.6 calls upon all member States of the United Nations to ensure that youth, both men and women, “achieve literacy and numeracy” by 2030. In the words of formerSecretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan

Soy Changes Map of Brazil, Set to Become World’s Leading Producer

By Mario Osava
“Our wealth lies in the climate, not in the land,” said Antonio Galván, president of the Rural Union of Sinop, a municipality created just 37 years ago, which has prospered due to the continued expansion of soy in Brazil.

Leadership Failure Perpetuates Stagnation

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram
What kind of leadership does the world need now? US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s leadership was undoubtedly extraordinary. His New Deal flew in the face of the contemporary economic orthodoxy, begun even before Keynes’ General Theory was published in 1936.

Central America Fights Climate Change with Minimal Foreign Aid

By Diego Arguedas Ortiz
Despite the fact that Central America is one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change, it has half-empty coffers when it comes to funding efforts against the phenomenon, in part because it receives mere crumbs in foreign aid to face the impacts of the rise in temperatures.

China Seeks to Export Its Green Finance Model to the World

By Daniel Gutman
Hand in hand with UN Environment and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) disembarked in the Argentine capital to prompt this country to adopt and promote the agenda of so-called green finance, which supports clean or sustainable development projects and combats climate change.

Early Death in Russia

By Vladimir Popov and Jomo Kwame Sundaram
The transition to market economy and democracy in the Russian Federation in the early 1990s dramatically increased mortality and shortened life expectancy. The steep upsurge in mortality and the decline in life expectancy in Russia are the largest ever recorded anywhere in peacetime in the absence of catastrophes such as war, plague or famine.

We Have to Reclaim the Public Policy Space for SDGs

By Jens Martens
At the High-Level Political Forum which currently takes place at the United Nations in New York several events, for instance a SDG Business Forum, are devoted to the critical role of business and public-private partnerships (PPPs) in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Global Devaluation of Work Drives Up Unemployment in Brazil

By Mario Osava
In addition to driving up the number of unemployed people to 14.2 million, the severe recession of the last two years led Brazil to join the global trend of flexibilisation of labour laws in order to further reduce labour costs.

Crisis in the Gulf: Escalation or negotiation?

By James M. Dorsey
Turkey’s parliament is this week fast tracking the dispatch of up to 3,000 troops to Qatar, home to the country’s military base in the Middle East. Certain to stiffen Qatar’s resolve to resist Saudi and UAE-led pressure to force it to change policies, the Turkish move comes amid hints that the kingdom and its allies may seek to undermine the rule of Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

In Volatile Times, the U.A.E. calls for Tolerance

By Rose Delaney
With terror attacks on the increase worldwide, there are more people today who believe that it has something to do with the religion of Islam.

Secret Companies Allow Corrupt Cash to Flood Key Real Estate Markets

By IPS World Desk
The governments of Australia, Canada, the UK and the US need to close glaring legal loopholes to prevent the corrupt elite from laundering the proceeds of grand corruption in their local real estate markets, a major anti-corruption watchdog urges.

The Robots are Coming, your Job is at Risk

By Martin Khor
Last year Uber started testing driver-less cars, with humans inside to make corrections in case something goes wrong. If the tests go well, Uber will presumably replace their present army of drivers with fleets of the new cars.

Gender Disparity at UN: Three Out of 71, Zero out of Nine

By Thalif Deen
The United Nations has frequently been accused of vociferously preaching gender empowerment and women’s rights to the outside world -- but failing miserably to practice what it preaches in its own political backyard.

In Asia Pacific, 900 Million People Pay Bribes for Public Services

By IPS World Desk
Around 900 million – or just over one in four – people living in 16 countries in Asia Pacific, including some of its biggest economies, are estimated to have paid a bribe to access public services, with governments failing to stop corruption, according to a new public opinion poll from a major anti-corruption watchdog.

Let Women Speak and Give Them a Hearing

By Farhana Haque Rahman
Basic rights always need champions, and that’s truer today than it ought to be as around the world we see an unwelcome pattern of reaction to modern complexities ranging from globalization and automation to austerity and dwindling wages. One alarming example is how the agenda of promoting women’s rights, so far from completion, is being pushed back rather than forward.

Corruption: Promises, But Not Enough Progress from G20 Countries

By IPS World Desk
Open data is a pretty simple concept: governments should publish information about what they do to fight corruption– data that can be freely used, modified and shared by anyone for any purpose, according to two major international anti-corruption watchdogs. This is particularly important in the fight against corruption.

Five Key G20 Powers Break Promise to Help Tackle Corruption

By IPS World Desk
Five key G20 countries are failing to meet commitments to publish data that helps tackle corruption, warns a new report by international anti-corruption watchdogs.

Trump Marks the End of a Cycle

By Roberto Savio
Let us stop debating what newly-elected US President Trump is doing or might do and look at him in terms of historical importance. Put simply, Trump marks the end of an American cycle!
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