The imposition of economic sanctions has become Washington’s preferred method of expressing disapproval over the conduct of other states. But how effective are sanctions in changing behavior or achieving desired outcomes? This week on Departures with Robert Amsterdam, we are pleased to feature the brilliant former diplomat Vali Nasr, the Majid Khadduri Professor of Middle […]
There’s an old Soviet joke that goes something like “the future is certain; it’s the past that is unpredictable” which continues to have an eerie resonance today, as revisionism seems to be on a constant assault against past events which are challenging or complex for some people to accept based on modern social mores and […]
Robert Amsterdam has published an opinion article in Spears examining the deceptive tax practices by the Spanish revenue authority which attracts foreign earners to relocate and then assaults them with waves of unfair audits and massive erroneous tax claims. Below an excerpt: Read the full article on Spears here.
Throughtout the post-colonial period in Africa, there has been no shortage of economists, non-governmental organizations, diplomats, and aid organizations flying in from the United States and Western Europe with an astonishing array of prescriptions and reform plans to dramatically transform the economies and governance structures of these young nations. With few exceptions, these interventions failed […]
A popular meme in Kenya goes something like this: everytime China visits, we get a hospital. When the US visits, we get a lecture. That’s of course not an accurate picture of the competition between the West and China in the global South, but it does highlight a certain disconnect that can be perceived widely […]
What does it mean to perceive reality? How do art, science, and philosophy converge in shaping our understanding of the world? In this episode of Departures with Robert Amsterdam, we sit down with William Egginton, acclaimed author and professor, to dive into his latest book, “The Rigor of Angels: Borges, Heisenberg, Kant, and the Ultimate […]
As this coming February will mark the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion and occupation of Eastern Ukraine, there is already a clear and tangible impact upon the geopolitical challenges faced by the United States and her allies in Europe in terms of their roles in the international system. This week Departures with Robert Amsterdam is […]
In a week in which most eyes are on the US election, there are other meaningful elections which also merit close examination. On October 27 Japanese voters expressed their pent-up frustration with the growing list of scandals associated with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and ended the party’s near 70-year long rule. LDP and […]
As the war in Ukraine grinds into yet another brutal winter, narratives are shifting in Western capitals regarding the nature of the conflict, its goals, and the longer term meaning of the war in terms of the balance of power on the European continent. Looking back to the war’s origins, it is important not only […]
Perhaps one of the most meaningful facts that illustrates the sweeping changes taking place in global affairs is the following: In 1950, nearly one in three people in the world lived in a Western country. By 2050, that number will dwindle to one in ten, bringing with it a wide variety of recalculations by companies, […]