After three unusually tough years, a US-centric global economy is awaiting sustained revival with bated breath. There are hopes that the great American job machine, central to any growth spark, is finally revving up. But these hopes are not likely to be realized – and the revival is unlikely to conform to the hiring-led upturns…
The Aids epidemic is perhaps the greatest global challenge of our generation. It is an epidemic without precedent that is still spreading rapidly. In November 2003, UNAIDS and World Health Organization (WHO) published our annual estimates for the spread of HIV in the world. The findings are staggering. There were more infections than ever: five…
Building a robust and reliable business infrastructure is key to ensuring that China achieves its vast commercial promise. As Bill Parrett explains, the new business infrastructure must be based on two foundations: accountability and corporate governance It is common wisdom in the business world that China is a country of immense promise. The basic facts…
Progress without change has a certain attraction as a philosophy and it gained currency in much of the Middle East throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The notion was that we in the Arab world could adopt many of the trappings of the modern west and in some senses modernize, but not really change. We would…
Business leaders in almost every industry sector and country face a complex and often contradictory set of stakeholder expectations. They are under pressure to demonstrate outstanding performance, not just in terms of competitiveness and market growth, but also in their corporate governance and their corporate citizenship. They are being called on to engage with activists…
It is becoming increasingly clear that a unilateral or “monarchical” arrangement of the global order – centred on the military, political and economic dictation of the United States – is undesirable and unsustainable. The crisis of this arrangement presents the opportunity for the proposition of a new global order by the “global aristocracies” – that…
Civil society organizations (CSOs) have historically played a crucial role in tackling issues of transparency, legitimacy and accountability within governments and businesses, with many positive results. Citizen groups often ask difficult questions, holding governments and corporations to account for their actions and demanding that institutions behave in ways that promote the public good. In many…
GLOBAL AGENDA You have just narrowly escaped an assassination attempt, which many are speculating is the work of either al-Qaeda or domestic radicals. You have said that this has only strengthened your resolve to crack down on radical groups and terrorists. How do you intend to do that, while preventing the further radicalization of your…
The outsourcing boom in India is raising political hackles in the United States and other developed economies. But, as Kamalakshi Mehta reports, the economics are simply too good to resist. This boom still has a long way to go. It is truly the face of the future – both for India’s bright young IT generation,…
The problems of public healthcare are too complicated for any one group to solve alone. Fighting the health problems that threaten global security and prosperity will require the broadest possible coalition of public and private interests. Henry McKinnell looks at the progress being made, the new partnerships that are forming and the pitfalls that lie…
