Category Archives: Featured
Following the opening and liberalisation of the economy under Deng Xiaoping, China has grown impressively at a rate of around eight per cent per year, with GDP per capita also increasing precipitously. In his recent article Foreign Policy, Robert Fogel has predicted the Chinese economy to be worth US$123 trillion in 2040. China’s weathering of the recent financial crisis, retaining high levels of growth, is seen as further evidence of China’s economic strength. See more images of China on Gao’s Flickr photostream There is no doubt that the growth of … Continue reading
As the ninth largest member economy of the OECD and the dominant regional economy, Australia is ideally placed, economically and geographically, to play a key role in the alleviation of global poverty. But its policies don’t always live up to its status. Continue reading
Climate change is an issue that is affecting people and states from every corner of the globe. While it is true that wealthy countries such as the US, Australia and many European nations from the Global North have been the primary contributors to global warming, the rest of the world will not be immune to its effects. Every nation will suffer the consequences of global warming and it is therefore illogical for wealthy countries to be lumped with the sole responsibility for fixing the problem, writes Daniel Weekley Continue reading
Forty-five years, two months and one week after Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech came the most significant shift in the racial landscape of American politics. Barack Obama was elected as the 44th President of the United States of America and the first African-American to hold, arguably, the most powerful position in the world. In a country whose history is tainted with violent and shameful abuse, exploitation and the severe oppression of African-Americans, Obama’s election provided a beacon of hope for change. But does Obama’s election signify that Americans have transcended the issue of race? Or is Obama’s Presidency simply another unique step in improved race relations rather than meaningful and absolute change. Continue reading
Floating off Australia’s north coast, a small island, known as West Papua by Indonesia and Papua New Guinea by the people who live there, is presenting challenges for citizens and world leaders. Kylie Pointen spent four months trekking through its contested wilds. Continue reading
