Topic Category: World

Greece’s parliamentary elections could reshape Europe. In voting for the radical left the Greek people have reinvigorated home rule and democracy across the continent. Greece has been in economic crisis seemingly for eternity. Even in the Euro the system could not generate the growth necessary to repay the debt: the economy was hamstrung by enervating work rules, corrupting political influences, profiteering economic cartels, and debilitating cultural norms.

Since the People’s Republic of China (PRC) began to open its economy in 1978, its relationship with Latin America and the Caribbean has passed through four phases. Prior to its 2001 entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), it conducted limited engagements through principally diplomatic and cultural vehicles, aimed at building relationships and winning diplomatic recognition among countries of the region.

Stock markets are up then down. The value of the dollar is soaring, while the ruble and many other currency values plummet. Are we headed back to another recession? Didn’t we just get out of a recession? Are we doomed to decades of slow growth? These are just some of the questions being asked these days. Nevertheless, what is going on now is risky.

Many common perceptions foreign investors have about Brazil are misplaced. By all rights, given its size, location, and natural resource base, Brazil should be an economic juggernaut. But the truth is that Brazil should never have been designated a BRIC because it is a poorly managed economy that has rarely lived up to its potential.

As a rising global power, and being the largest and most important economy and military power in Asia, China has had the luxury of being able to do more or less whatever it wants in challenging its neighbors over disputed land and sea claims — knowing that in all likelihood, it would not be challenged. That has changed in recent years.

Security will remain high on the Saudi agenda amid concerns over the rise of ISIL, a Sunni jihadist group that has gained control over large sections of Syria and Iraq. ISIL militants overwhelmed Iraqi military forces following the launch of major offensive in June. And while the advance was largely halted with the help of Shiite militias and foreign air support, the occupation of significant territory in northern and central Iraq poses a threat to Saudi unity and regional stability.

It’s easy to be pessimistic about the future of freedom. At home, government grows ever larger. The expansion may occasionally slow, but it never stops. Abroad, the state is even more oppressive in such countries as China, Russia, Venezuela, and North Korea. Yet, sometimes liberty advances with extraordinary speed. Like 25 years ago in Europe.

Being a big believer in the lessons taught by history, I’m inclined to think that the current ‘love fest’ between China and Russia probably will have a limited shelf life. Natural resource acquisition and the gyrating geopolitical chess board are the primary reasons why both countries are enjoying a bilateral rapprochement. This is unlikely to last.

In March 2014, the 612-member National Assembly approved an overhaul of the 1995 foreign investment law. This was a key step forward in the program of economic liberalization initiated by President Raúl Castro as part of a strategy for laying the foundation for a smooth transfer of political control to a younger generation of leaders from the PCC in 2018.