News - Institute of Current World Affairs

Rescuing Girls, Investing in Girls: a Critique of Development Fantasies

Posted on October 9, 2015 (October 9, 2015) by Cynthia M. Caron

Past Fellow Cynthia Caron’s recent academic article, written with Shelby A. Margolin, has been gaining media attention for its findings on girl-centered development initiatives. The research paper, “Rescuing Girls, Investing in Girls: a Critique of Development Fantasies,” delves into the effects of campaigns designed to foster economic growth by empowering girls and critiques the “failed development narrative that economic […]

Best Bad Idea for America in Syria

Posted on October 6, 2015 (October 6, 2015) by Andrew Tabler

CNN – In his latest article, Andrew Tabler writes about the deteriorating situation in Syria. Four years after the crisis began Syria is the world’s largest generator of Sunni-Shia extremism, both Russia and Iran are moving into the country militarily and the possible courses of action for the United States in Syria continue to worsen. According to Tabler, […]

To Make Love Last, What If We Should Stop Working so Hard?

Posted on October 6, 2015 (January 3, 2019) by Eve Fairbanks

The Washington Post – In a recent post at PostEverything, past Fellow Eve Fairbanks muses on making love last. She describes the rising trend of articles that serve as how-to manuals for falling and staying in love, but wonders, after a trip to Kenya, if such concerted efforts really are the key to a successful romantic life. This latest […]

Egypt’s Intellectual Situation

Posted on October 2, 2015 (September 29, 2016) by Jonathan Guyer

September 17, 2015 Painter Adel El-Siwi leads me through his workspace on the fourth floor of a downtown Cairo apartment building. His hands, cargo shorts, pink T-shirt, and Crocs are splattered with paint. Shelves of art, literature, and philosophy books reach the high ceiling. Across the corridor, massive canvases face the wall like unopened presents. Tubes of […]

It’s a Small Sea After All: La Paz to Puerto Escondido

Posted on October 2, 2015 (September 24, 2018) by Jessica Reilly

No paved roads, no power lines, no fresh water. As we set the main sail and aim north, we travel into one of the most remote areas in North America. From above, this coast looks void of human influence. A typical US coastal square kilometer contains 200 people. On average, only two souls inhabit each […]

Can Russia Make a Difference in Syria’s War?

Posted on September 30, 2015 (September 30, 2015) by Andrew Tabler

PBS Newshour – Over the past month Russia has been increasing its military involvement in the war in Syria by providing supplies and equipment, including attack aircraft, to the Assad regime. Judy Woodruff of PBS Newshour interviewed Past Fellow Andrew Tabler, now of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and Nikolas Gvosdev of the U.S. Naval War […]

The Flight of Brazil’s Expats

Posted on September 30, 2015 (September 30, 2015) by Shannon Sims

OZY – In a new piece, Shannon Sims explains how the recent economic downturn in Brazil is causing many expats to pack up and leave the country. Brazil has entered a recession and foreign investments and job opportunities for foreigners, which were once plentiful, have decreased dramatically. Read the full article here for more of […]

Assad’s Draft Drives Refugees to Europe

Posted on September 29, 2015 (September 29, 2015) by Andrew Tabler

The Daily Beast – Past ICWA Fellow Andrew Tabler is quoted in Kristina Jovanovski’s recent piece on the Syiran refugee crisis in Europe. Javanovski describes how the mounting efforts to draft young Syrian men into Bashar al-Assad’s military are driving increasing numbers Syrians to leave the country. According to Tabler, “The pressure [al-Assad] has put on everyday Syrians is one of […]

Why Brazil Is Mixing Mother Nature and the King Dollar

Posted on September 16, 2015 (September 16, 2015) by Shannon Sims

OZY – Some of Brazil’s national parks are coming under new management – that of private companies. In her latest piece, Shannon Sims investigates this trend, which has been brought on in part by the lack of resources of local governments. In the privately managed parks, infrastructure and maintenance have improved, but these changes have […]

Hurricane Linda

Posted on September 11, 2015 (September 24, 2018) by Jessica Reilly

We are still in Puerto Escondido, or more accurately Nopolo. We have been taken in by a couple I met when I drove from La Paz to San Diego to meet Josh and sail the coast. She and her husband retired here and they have been a literal port in the storm for us. Hurricane […]