[Christopher Balding] China bets on more state control for 2018

As 2017 wraps up and 2018 beckons, it‘s worth reviewing what we forecast for China in the year now ending, and to cast ahead for what themes might play out over the next 12 months. After this week’s meeting of Communist Party leaders at the Central Economic Work Conference, we can expect their targets and objectives for 2018. And these meetings have great import: It was the 2015 meeting that started the ongoing “supply-side reform” campaign.Last year we focused on a couple of points. First, watc

Dec. 27, 2017

[Jago Russell and Christophe Deloire] Has Interpol become a tool of oppression?

Arrests of journalists in Spain and Ukraine on the basis of Interpol notices have raised serious questions about the methods of the international police agency. For media professionals in particular, the trends are deeply worrying.The cases in Spain and Ukraine are not isolated incidents. Countries opposed to a free press are increasingly using Interpol’s “wanted person” alerts to target and silence journalists who have fled. Since July, Fair Trials and Reporters Without Borders have responded t

Dec. 26, 2017

[Noah Smith] Suddenly, America’s trade deficit isn’t so awful

It’s possible that more than half of the US’ trade deficit is a mirage -- an artifact of corporate shenanigans designed to avoid taxes.　Official statistics say that the US trade deficit is about 3 percent of gross domestic product -- smaller than in the 2000s, but still historically large.But a recent Goldman Sachs note about tax reform makes the startling claim that the real trade deficit is much smaller -- less than 1.5 percent. If this claim is right, the trade deficit has shrunk by more than

Dec. 26, 2017

[John Yoo, Saikrishna Prakash] Trump’s great power has its limits

Our 18th-century constitution causes confusion in the 21st century by granting the president great power but also demanding great accountability. US President Donald Trump’s defenders believe his authority forges an impenetrable shield that deflects criminal charges. His critics find wrongdoing in every presidential action, order or tweet, especially on law enforcement. Both camps are mistaken.　The framers established an executive more formidable than many 18th-century monarchs. As James Madison

Dec. 26, 2017

[Nicole Brodeur] ‘Feminism’ is the word of the year. Should we be celebrating?

In the days since the Merriam-Webster dictionary named “feminism” the word of the year, I haven’t been sure whether to celebrate, or scream.　It’s great to see that the word was the most-searched on Merriam-Webster’s website, and that look-ups for the definition increased by 70 percent over last year.　That means people are curious, that they want to learn. They want to be sure that the term isn’t so much a salvo as a sensibility.　But it also feels as if people are just now realizing the need to s

Dec. 25, 2017

[Markos Kounalakis] Christmas comes early for Russia’s Putin

Christmas came a little early for Vladimir Putin this year. Russia usually celebrates the holiday on Jan. 7, but President Putin’s present arrived a month early when he announced his intention to remain in office via a national voting process. He has unofficially already won.　“Election” formalities are scheduled for March 18, 2018, and the legitimizing process will cost $300 million. The leading opposition candidates are already dead or disqualified. The handful of colorful and credible also-ran

Dec. 25, 2017

[Ann McFeatters] Stupid things politicians said this year

It’s time to recall absurd, bizarre and downright stupid things said by politicians this past year.We’re ignoring Trumpisms because he said something ridiculous daily. There would be no room for anybody else.Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, topped all the profiles-in-courage lists for announcing he would not vote for the GOP tax bill because it adds $1.5 trillion to the national debt. Then an 11th-hour provision gave real estate moguls a huge benefit, such as about $11 million to Donald Trump and r

Dec. 22, 2017

[Leonid Bershidsky] Maybe the free world doesn’t need a leader

Who is the leader of the free world? Important as the question sounds, I’m beginning to wonder if it’s better left unanswered.The US president is no longer the obvious choice. Even the new US National Security Strategy, filled with bombastic statements such as “the whole world is lifted by America’s renewal and the re-emergence of American leadership,” acknowledges growing competition among powers. And of course “America first” is the slogan of a national, not a global, leader.So who, if not Don

Dec. 21, 2017

[Michael Schuman] Japan has figured out factories

Reviving manufacturing has become a prime policy objective for national leaders from Washington to Beijing to New Delhi. We can debate whether chasing factories is worth the effort in the 21st century, but not the difficulty of building and maintaining a robust industrial sector in the face of relentless global competition and technological change.At least one country seems to have figured out how to do just that, however, and a highly unexpected one: Japan.Factories churning out cars, chips and

Dec. 21, 2017

[Andrew Malcolm] Trump’s national security plan: Iran threat is the sneaker issue for 2018

For years, Iran has been accurately labeled as the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism. Now, quietly with little notice beyond the region, the militant regime in Iran has established a major land force in Syria effectively threatening the existence of Israel.　Using the cover of helping Syrian President Bashar Assad against domestic insurgents, Tehran now has stationed an estimated 125,000 troops in that country, outnumbering the Syrian army, and enhanced by Russian forces. This is in addi

Dec. 21, 2017