What can a 1907 novel teach us about contemporary terrorism? The modernist author Joseph Conrad "can be read," British philosopher John Gray provocatively argued, "as the first great political novelist of the twenty-first century." The case set out for this agonistic view in his 2002 "Joseph...
On which issues do Americans and Canadians converge and diverge the most? Regions Apart: The Four Societies of Canada and the United States, by Dr. Edward Grabb, professor emeritus of sociology at Western University and the late Dr. James Curtis of the University of Waterloo, redefined and...
Why taxing property for accountable local government in India is essential. In our last piece, we had argued that taxation is the economic glue that binds citizens to the state in a necessary two-way relationship. A citizen's stake in exercising accountability diminishes if he or she does...
Fair Observer's five best articles of March. This has been a historic month with ramifications that will reverberate throughout the rest of the century. Russia has annexed Crimea. That was to be expected. Russia spent blood and treasure to secure access to warm waters in the 19th century. It...
Eventually, democracy will take on a unique tailor-made character for Afghanistan. The upcoming months hold several changes for Afghanistan. They can be categorized under politics, security and economics, with implications for both country and region. This article assesses the political aspects...
Duolingo's push to "translate the web" is not as straightforward as it seems. Luis von Ahn, creator of the reCAPTCHA verification system that helps digitalize books, has set out to "translate the web into every major language." In this TED talk, he reminds us the Internet is fragmented into...
What does the shale revolution mean for European energy security? The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts the United States will surpass Russia as the world's largest gas producer and Saudi Arabia as the world's largest oil producer by 2015 and 2020, respectively. The catalyst in...
Jihadi groups propagate an anti-Shia narrative to mobilize Indonesian militants to fight in Syria. A hate speech regulation is desperately needed in Indonesia to contain the damaging effects of jihadi propaganda, as this narrative is increasingly used to mobilize Indonesian Muslims against the...
The search for Flight MH370 has resulted in cooperation between countries locked in maritime disputes. By Sukjoon Yoon Since the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines MH370 on March 8, several countries have been participating in extensive Search and Rescue (SAR) and Humanitarian...
