A new fight over higher education is brewing in Texas, where a decline in contributions from the state government has prompted the University of Texas’ flagship Austin campus to propose a tuition hike on in-state students that would push tuition above $10,000 per year. The school’s president, William Powers, Jr., has been leading the push […]

Via Meadia has been closely watching the rollout of Washington’s new Asia-Pacific policy, somewhat awkwardly called a “pivot.” All in all, we have noted, the focus on Asia is an ambitious foreign policy project that could come to rival the Marshall Plan in its impact on global geopolitics. Pundits and politicians across the political spectrum have […]

Things haven’t been going so well for the BRICs lately. China’s growth numbers are down considerably from their highs of a couple years ago, and China’s central bank has been taking seriously the dual threats of slowing growth and rising inflation from expansionary policies. Economic woes in India, meanwhile, have transformed it from a potential […]

It is too soon to tell if sanctions against Iran will lead to a peaceful end to its nuclear program, but it is not too soon to acknowledge progress Washington’s economic battle against Tehran. Every week, it seems, a success story pops up in the news: Japan, China, South Africa, and India have all agreed […]

In yet another indication of the widening cracks in China’s political system, 16 former Communist Party officials signed a petition calling for two of the country’s top leaders to step down. The gang of 16, all of whom are retired mid-level officials, demanded the resignation of Zhou Yongkang, head of internal security, and Liu Yunshan, a […]

The North Korean merry-go-round keeps on spinning. The website 38 North, run by the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University, reports that the DPRK has resumed construction of a nuclear reactor that, once completed, can provide plutonium for nuclear weapons. While it may take another one or two years before the reactor is operational, it is a clear […]

The leadup to the fateful meeting this past Tuesday between Francois Hollande and Angela Merkel was billed as a make-or-break moment for the foundering European Union. The European commentariat worked overtime to heighten the drama. “Berlin officials had worked feverishly behind the scenes to create the best possible impression of harmony before the visit, and […]

The academic world has gone into high dudgeon this week thanks to proposals from Arizona Congressman Jeff Flake to cut nearly $11 million in federal funding to political science programs throughout the country. Via Meadia friend and esteemed colleague Roger Berkowitz weighs in on the matter in a post at Bard College’s Hannah Arendt Center blog: […]

This should be counted as a win in Washington’s economic war against Iran: India is set to sign an agreement on the long-discussed TAPI pipeline, which will carry natural gas from Tajikistan to India.The Times of India has the story: The 1,680-km pipeline from Turkeministan’s South Yolotan field, now renamed as Galkynysh, will run to […]

Via Meadia has talked about Illinois Governor Pat Quinn before as one of the blue-state democrats forced by fiscal reality to take on blue orthodoxy. Last month, Quinn announced new proposals that would increase state employee contributions to benefit plans, lower increases in pension payouts, and raise the age at which workers become eligible for […]