Domestic Politics Archive

Editor’s note: This is the second in a two-part series examining the crisis of the global middle class. Part I examined the challenges facing the global middle class and the implications for international politics. Part II examines ways to strengthen the global middle class and avoid the potential dangers of economic polarization. The damage done to the global middle class, while significant, is not irreparable. The solutions are as varied as the countries themselves, but they all share several key features that influence whether a consumer-driven economy will flourish or not. First and foremost is access to capital for small […]

A new cabinet in Egypt has been sworn in during a ceremony more than a week after President Mohammed Morsi named political novice Hesham Kandil as prime minister. The new government is Morsi’s first since taking office in late June. This report produced by the Chinese government-owned Xinhua news agency examines the new cabinet. World News Videos by NewsLook

There are several reasons why American presidential candidates include overseas trips as part of their campaigning. First, and particularly important for those aspirants who lack significant foreign policy experience, it allows American voters to get a preview as to how the candidate might represent the United States on the global stage by interacting with foreign leaders and communicating with international audiences. In 2008, then-Sen. Barack Obama’s jaunt across the Atlantic, especially his “rock star” rally in Berlin’s Tiergarten and his visit to U.S. troops in Iraq, was quite successful in positioning the junior senator from Illinois as a plausible world […]

Though overshadowed by recent news coverage focusing on Iraq’s still-fragile security situation, the country’s political stalemate remains a matter of concern. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki refuses to share power with his rivals. But while Maliki’s relative influence is large, he is constrained by Iraq’s parliamentary and federal systems, a gift of the now-departed Americans. Meanwhile, his opponents are weakened by divisions over ethnicity, region, ideology and competing personal ambitions. As a result, they have been unable to remove Maliki from office or force him to yield back the powers he has steadily accrued during his six years as prime minister. […]

Officials in India are working to identify what caused the electrical grid failures that led to two massive blackouts Monday and Tuesday. Two experts who spoke with Trend Lines emphasized that the grid failures should also be seen as an opportunity for the country to figure out how to invest and innovate in the power sector so that it can meet the growing needs of the population. “The underlying issue is that there is not enough generation supply to meet the load demand,” said Anjan Bose, a professor in the College of Engineering & Architecture at Washington State University. And […]