European Union’s (EU) austerity measures have divided Europe as many member states are calling for relaxing these to address domestic concerns. While the goal of austerity is to reduce government debt through reduction of government spending, their effectiveness remains controversial. But with EU economies once again facing stagnation and unemployment persisting at record highs while Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in ...

With Eurasian economic troubles showing no signs of abating, the government in Turkmenistan is casting about for public proclamations of plans to stanch the slowdown. Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has begun shuffling members of his administration and, a few weeks ago, publicly castigated a senior Cabinet official. That official is now reportedly jailed. In an administration as opaque as Berdymukhamedov’s, ...

From February 15-16, U.S. president Barack Obama will host Southeast Asian leaders as well as the ASEAN Secretary-General for a special summit at the historic Sunnylands Center in Rancho Mirage, California. While observers may be looking for headlines on big-ticket items such as the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea, the true significance of ...