In recent weeks, US President Joe Biden has boldly referred to the United States as the world’s “indispensable nation”. But when the term was first coined – by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in the 1990s – the world was a markedly different place. The Cold War had just ended,
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Disease risk spreads in Gaza amid overcrowded shelters
After more than a month of being subjected to sustained bombing, the besieged people of the Gaza Strip are now confronted with another threat to life: disease. Overcrowding at shelters, a breakdown of basic sanitation, the rising number of unburied dead and a scarcity of clean drinking water have left the
Middle-income country trap?
In recent decades, failure to sustain economic progress has been blamed on a supposed middle-income country (MIC) trap. Such blaming obscures as much as it supposedly explains. The ‘middle-income trap’ fable began as a World Bank story about why upper MICs in Latin America failed to become high-income countries (HICs) after
What will tomorrow’s world order look like?
Ukraine, the Caucasus and the Middle East. The latest eruptions of violence mark the end of Pax Americana. The rise of new powers is shifting the global balance of power. Whether tomorrow’s world will be bipolar or multipolar still remains to be seen. If the Sino-American system rivalry escalates into a
With hope and courage, they inspire us
“My dream is to become a teacher,” says 13-year-old Alia. A small glimmer of hope can be traced in her beautiful, almond-shaped, brown eyes. Together with her mother, siblings and aunt, Alia has fled the conflict in Sudan to Chad. With extraordinary courage to survive, she made the harrowing journey
Will the UN ever be able to eradicate systemic racism within?
In the midst of the Israel-Hamas conflagration, a significant anniversary at the United Nations –October 24th was the 78th year since its founding–went unremarked by the larger world. But the work of–and significant problems with–the UN continues. Among the problems is embedded institutional racism. It’s time that it be deeply
UNICEF, WFP confront growing dissent in ranks over Gaza
Catherine Russell, executive director of UNICEF, visited Gaza this week in a show of solidarity with the agency’s staff, who have endured weeks of Israeli bombardment and the death of family members. She got a rough reception. Local staff faulted the agency’s leadership, during a tense private meeting, for mounting what
Hamas isn’t the first military group to hide behind civilians as a way to wage war
The Israeli military said on Nov. 15, 2023, that it had found weapons and a Hamas command center at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, after sending troops into the medical facility. Shifa has become the epicenter of Israel’s ground invasion into Gaza, as the Israeli military says that Hamas has strategically
Myanmar’s military junta appears to be in terminal decline
Myint Swe, the acting president of Mynamar’s military government, has warned that the country “will be split into various parts” after his armed forces suffered huge territorial losses to resistance fighters recently. His response was to call on Mynamar’s people to support his military forces, a call that is likely,
Antibiotic Resistance: Scientists turn to new tech to find solutions
The rise of drug-resistant infections is one of the biggest global threats to health, food security and development. Antibiotic-resistant superbugs were estimated to kill 1.27 million people in 2019, and the UN projects that drug-resistant diseases could cause 10 million deaths a year by 2050. In this episode of The Conversation