[Philippe Legrain] Brexit into Trumpland

British Prime Minister Theresa May is leading the United Kingdom toward a very “hard” Brexit in 2019 -- and potentially off a cliff, if the UK leaves the European Union without an exit or trade deal. In her Tuesday speech, May outlined her objectives for negotiating with the EU, and made it clear that she will prioritize hard-line Brexiteers’ demands over the country’s economic interests.It isn’t surprising that May would choose a Brexit variant whereby Britain leaves both the EU’s single market

Jan. 22, 2017

[Jonathan Bernstein] President Obama‘s Great Strength and Biggest Weakness

Some of what Barack Obama was as President of the United States of America is beyond my expertise, beginning with what it means to the nation to have had a black president, and how he handled that burden -- on top of the already-impossible burden of the presidency. I’ll settle for three points that seem important to me from my perspective as someone who studies political institutions.A lot of what Obama did in office had little to do with him personally. He was, in many ways, a generic Democrati

Jan. 20, 2017

[Bloomberg] Trump’s trade plan is a looming disaster

Even by his standards, President-elect Donald Trump’s statements on trade have been stunning in their recklessness. His proposals essentially amount to the repudiation of a system that has fostered global stability and lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty over the last several decades -- and if he actually intends to execute his radical agenda, there’s little to stop him.In other areas of economic policy, such as budget matters, Congress will make the crucial choices. On trade, t

Jan. 20, 2017

[David Ignatius] Russia‘s information warfare is on the rise

Last February, a top Russian cyber official told a security conference in Moscow that Russia was working on new strategies for the “information arena” that would be equivalent to testing a nuclear bomb and would “allow us to talk to the Americans as equals.”Andrey Krutskikh, a senior Kremlin adviser, made the startling comments at the Russian National Information Security Forum, or “Infoforum 2016,” held Feb. 4 and 5. His remarks were transcribed by a Russian who attended the gathering and trans

Jan. 20, 2017

[Other View] Mideast chat in Paris: two-state solution aired without players

Senior officials of some 70 countries and international organizations gathered in Paris on Sunday to try, one more time, to move forward the project to divide the area shared by Israelis and Palestinians into two states, living side by side in peace.The putative hopelessness of the effort was underlined by the fact that neither the Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor the Palestinian Authority led by acting President Mahmoud Abbas was represented at the Paris conferenc

Jan. 19, 2017

[Bae Su-kyeong] South Korea stands at crossroads 　

Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson’s “Why Nations Fail” argues that the reason nations fail or succeed rides on political and economic institutions. According to the book, there are two types of institutions -- “extractive” institutions and “inclusive” institutions. The first is one where group of individuals exploit systematically the rest of the population for their own private interests. The second is one where many people are included in the process of governing and this results in economic i

Jan. 19, 2017

[Tom Orlik & Michael Pettis] Debate: Can China survive Trump?

This week, President Xi Jinping attends the Davos forum for the first time -- a sign of how concerned China is about a possible retreat from globalization. Till now, easy access to world markets has underpinned the country’s remarkable expansion. How badly Chinese growth could be hurt by new trade barriers may be the most pressing question facing the world economy. Beijing University professor Michael Pettis, one of the best-known China skeptics, is gloomy; Bloomberg Intelligence economist Tom O

Jan. 19, 2017

[David Ignatius] Keep CIA on path to ‘modernization’

CIA Director John Brennan’s biggest concern the past few years hasn’t been Russian hacking, or even the wars in the Middle East, but what he calls “modernization” of the agency. In an effort to improve performance of this notoriously siloed organization, Brennan moved to fuse operations (the agency’s vaunted spies) and analysis (its less glamorous but no less essential sifters of information).To outsiders, this move may sound like a minor bureaucratic shuffle. But inside the CIA, with its fierce

Jan. 19, 2017

[Tom Ferrick Jr.] Which news media should we rally around?

After Donald Trump’s rant at Buzzfeed and CNN at his news conference last week, there were calls for the news media to unite against the president-elect’s bullying. The theory was that if we don’t present a united front, Trump will outflank reporters who have legitimate questions by signaling them out for abuse.　“United we stand, divided we fall” is a nice sentiment, but I trip over the particulars. Who is the “we” in that statement? Is it the weak, sad “lamestream” media of Trump’s Tweets? Is i

Jan. 18, 2017

[John M. Crisp] Getting ready for a different kind of president

On Friday, the US will inaugurate Donald Trump as our 45th president. Please note that I’m using the pronoun “our.”　I didn’t support Donald Trump. But immediately after his election, I made in writing the same concession that his opponent Hillary Clinton made, and that President Barack Obama made a few days later in the White House: Donald Trump won the election and that means he will be the next president of the entire country. And as long as we in the US are a nation, that includes me.　Neverth

Jan. 18, 2017

[David Ignatius] Trump can’t easily undo progress on climate change

If you’re worried about climate change, it’s scary to think that the incoming Trump administration could reverse gains made in recent years. But a recent conversation with departing Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz convinced me that the progress is probably irreversible. “There’s no question that we are moving to a lower-carbon economy,” Moniz said in an interview in his office here. “What’s happening is largely a market-driven phenomenon. ... There is no status quo ante.” Moniz cited a range of ec

Jan. 18, 2017

[Editorial] What Park has to do

It seems that President Park Geun-hye and other major players in the Choi Soon-sil scandal are making concerted efforts to dig in their heels as the independent counsel zeroes in on Park and the Constitutional Court moves into full swing for its impeachment review. There have been news reports that Park, impeached by the National Assembly on Dec. 9, is considering meeting Blue House correspondents again. Park’s aides were quoted as saying that she hopes to hold a news meeting before the Lunar Ne

Jan. 17, 2017

[Adam Minter] China’s latest innovation? The ballpoint pen

Last week, China announced that it had mastered the art of making ballpoint pens. Don’t laugh: It was a yearslong effort that cost millions of dollars and required the leadership of a state-run corporate colossus. It was front-page news, widely discussed on talk shows and celebrated on social media.And it was no one-off stunt. China hopes such government-mandated “innovation” will finally revive its economy and catapult it into the front rank of technologically advanced nations. Unfortunately, s

Jan. 17, 2017

[Eric Planey] Korea should ease restrictions on overseas adoption

Last year was a great year for my wife Jakyung and I, with the highlight being nearly 3 weeks in summer to reconnect with family and friends in South Korea. With the exception of the high smog in Seoul, we had a delightful time immersing ourselves in the beauty of the people, culture, and nature. For myself, in both my connection to South Korea through my wife, and with my business endeavors there over the years, I truly feel like an adopted son of the country. Unfortunately, when it comes to ad

Jan. 17, 2017

[Albert R. Hunt] Myths and truths about the Trump presidency

To liberal Democrats and a few Republicans: Get over it. Donald J. Trump will become president of the United States this week. Accept it.As unsettling as the prospect may be, it’s better to go in open-eyed, recognizing realities and dispelling myths, including: Trump is unpredictable. He likes to convey this notion, and he is mercurial and unconventional. Most presidents-elect don’t attack a renowned actress or belittle a Republican senator. But almost nothing he has done since Nov. 8 really is

Jan. 17, 2017