Toward a generative economy
“What kind of economy is consistent with living inside a living being?” This was a question posed under a leafy canopy, deep in the woods of southern England, not far from Schumacher College where I’d...
View ArticleWhy a ‘water war’ over the Nile River won’t happen
Is northeastern Africa heading for a bloody "water war" between its two most important countries, Egypt and Ethiopia? Judging by the rhetoric of the past two weeks, one could be forgiven for thinking...
View ArticleThe European Commission is wrong about Romania’s Rosia Montana mining project
For the past seven weeks, Romanians have been leading one of the largest environmental protest movements in the world. Around 200,000 Romanians have taken to the streets in cities across Romania and...
View ArticleRare-earth metals: anticipating the new battle for resources
Natural resources are pivotal in international politics. They create patterns of cooperation, dependencies and alter balances of power. The battle for resource is most commonly associated with energy...
View ArticleDoom and gloom won’t do it: here’s how to sell the climate change message
Each of the 125 leaders attending the New York climate summit last week has been given four minutes to speak to the world. They (or their aides) may well have dipped into the climate literature to add...
View ArticleWhen the mafia acts like the state. Quantifying the (bad) effect of Italian...
The phenomenon of organised crime in Italy is intrinsically connected with social development and is a powerful brake on institutional performance. The power of the organised crime lies in its...
View ArticleTrading Water: Could Markets Be One Solution to California’s Water Woes?
Drought-stricken California is taking unprecedented measures to address its water challenges. In April, the governor issued the first mandatory statewide water use restrictions in California history,...
View ArticleIs Water a New Flashpoint for Asia’s Rising Giants?
In the past, India and China have disputed numerous issues, from trade to territory. Notably, in 1962, disputes over their Himalayan border regions sparked the brief Sino-Indian War. In the 21st...
View ArticleAngola’s Perfect Storm
In a new article for Foreign Affairs, I discuss the perils of Angola’s reliance on declining oil revenues. Here are the first few paragraphs. In early 2014, Angola, sub-Saharan Africa’s second-largest...
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