Showing 1 - 10 of 32
How G20 can help curb inequality
Oped, Published on 01/12/2025
» This month's G20 Summit in Johannesburg marked several historic firsts. For starters, it was the group's first-ever summit in Africa, and the first to include the African Union as a full-fledged member. It also set less encouraging precedents: it was the first meeting boycotted by a key founding member -- the United States -- on spurious grounds, and the first in which that same country tried to prevent the host from issuing a final declaration. Equally unprecedented was South Africa's decision to ignore the American threat and issue one anyway.
Can world weather another crisis?
Oped, Published on 07/11/2025
» As stock markets hit record highs, rising financial fragility is setting off alarm bells across the United States and Europe. The International Monetary Fund has recently echoed these concerns, stoking fears of a looming crisis.
A Faustian bargain for the Global South
Oped, Published on 05/08/2025
» US President Donald Trump's tariff policies have unleashed global economic turmoil and a wave of protectionist measures. While many of his frequently changing tariffs may prove short-lived, their use as geopolitical weapons is poised to reshape international trade for years to come.
Can financing for development talks succeed?
Oped, Published on 17/06/2025
» It is easy to be pessimistic about multilateralism nowadays. Recent international gatherings have yielded only unfulfilled promises. At a time when US President Donald Trump is abandoning America's international commitments, rejecting multilateral initiatives, and sowing chaos and confusion in global trade, can the Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) at the end of this month go any better?
Global South will pay for trade war
Oped, Published on 22/04/2025
» US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs have unleashed economic chaos, roiling stock and bond markets and triggering panic around the world, especially in lower-income countries that rely heavily on exports to the United States. The result could be an entirely manufactured global recession, with the developing world bearing the brunt.
Will the United Nations survive Trump 2.0?
Oped, Published on 22/03/2025
» Of all the geopolitical stunts Donald Trump has pulled since returning to the White House, the United States' votes at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on March 4 stand out as some of the most revealing.
Time to decommodify electricity
Oped, Published on 05/02/2025
» The international community has long recognised the urgent need to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and shift to renewable energy, and in recent years many governments have pledged to reach net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions, albeit over extremely long timeframes. But they will never get there so long as they treat electricity, which is central to the clean-energy transition, like any other market good.
New IMF debt deal needs a rejig
Oped, Published on 03/10/2024
» Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sri Lanka's president, recently lost his re-election bid after voters overwhelmingly rejected the debt-restructuring deals he negotiated with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other creditors. Instead, Sri Lankans elected Anura Kumara Dissanayake, leader of the left-wing National People's Power (NPP) alliance and a vocal critic of IMF-imposed austerity measures, who has vowed to renegotiate the country's agreement with the fund.
Is there new hope for India's democracy?
Oped, Published on 14/06/2024
» Voters have pulled Indian democracy back from the brink. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi won a third consecutive term, the failure of his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to secure a simple majority in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, will force Mr Modi to rely on several unpredictable allies to promote his legislative agenda.
The 'billions to trillions' charade
Oped, Published on 23/05/2024
» The international development sector has become fixated on calculating financing gaps. Hardly a day goes by without new estimates of the funds low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) need to meet their climate targets and achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).