Articles

Visegrad Group and Eastern Partnership meeting in Budapest 14 / J. Cieślikowska

Political Cacophony in the East: Višegrad Fraying at the Seams

By Arthur de Liedekerke Nov 10, 2014

Poland’s recent announcement that it would move thousands of troops from the country’s western border to its eastern one—a historic realignment—highlights the consternation that the Ukrainian crisis has sparked among countries in the region.... more

Extortion in Mexico: Why Mexico’s Pain Won’t End with the War on Drugs

By Benjamin Locks Oct 6, 2014

The Mexican employer’s association, COPARMEX, estimates that 37 percent of businesses have been direct victims of crime—largely extortion—costing them $5.8 billion per... more

Port of Poti, Republic of Georgia/Wikimedia Commons

New Silk Roads in the Southern Caucasus: Chinese Geopolitics in a Strategic Region

By David Babayan Oct 6, 2014

China’s relationships with key Southern Caucasus states as well as with other non-recognized states will help give us unique insight into China’s two-pronged strategy in the... more

YJIA in Print

Interviews

Renegotiating the Nature of Citizenship: Constitution Making in South Africa

An Interview with Albie Sachs, Former Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa Nov 22, 2014

YJIA: So for those who may not be as familiar with the historical formation of South African democracy, I wonder if you could describe the specific role that you played in creating what was then a new national constitution in 1996. What role did... more

Investigating Contemporary Issues in Indian Society and Film: A Conversation with Nandita Das

An Interview with Nandita Das, Actor, Filmmaker, & Social Activist Nov 9, 2014

With over 40 feature film credits to her name, Nandita is an award-winning Indian film actor and director who has leveraged her international profile to campaign on social issues concerning women, children and marginalized communities.... more

Copyright World Economic Forum/Photo by Aly Ramji/Mediapix

Cautious Optimism: A Realistic Approach to African Development

An Interview with Raila Odinga, Former Prime Minister of Kenya Oct 28, 2014

Yale Journal of International Affairs: You are here at Yale to deliver the Coca-Cola World Fund Lecture entitled “Afro-Optimism, Has the Pendulum Swung Too Far?” Could you describe for us what you mean by the pendulum swinging too far,... more

Op-Eds & Reviews

Protest at Ratchaprasong, Thailand 2010 (Wikimedia Commons)

Book Review: Mapping Contradictory Democratic Experiences in Asia

By Faizah Zakaria Nov 20, 2014

Incomplete Democracies in the Asia-Pacific: Evidence from Indonesia, Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand Edited by Giovanna Dora Dore, Jae H. Ku, Karl D. Jackson Palgrave Macmillan, 2014, 304 pp. After the advent of Indonesia Sukarno’s... more

PM_and_Chinese_President_Xi_Jinping_witness_signing_of_3_MoUs_in_Ahmedabad_(15089330590)

Book Review: Uneasy Interdependence – Rivalry across the Himalayas

By Isaac S. Medina Nov 3, 2014

For centuries, the great civilizations of India and China have been separated by the natural barrier of the Himalayas, largely keeping the two civilizations from encroaching on one another’s sphere of influence. However, as close neighbors, both... more

Azaz_Syria_during_the_Syrian_Civil_War_Missing_front_of_House

The Evolution of Islamic Militancy: Military Developments and the Implications for State Actors

By Jack Miller Oct 29, 2014

Introduction Since the late 1990s, a comprehensive discussion relating to changes in the nature of warfare and the military development of conventional state actors has been progressing in U.S. policy circles. Yet a similar discussion regarding the... more

Photo Essays

Umam is 32, but his deep-lined face looks well over forty. Having worked in the mine since his teens, he says that he does not care to use protective masks as they slow him down in his work.

Sulfur Miners of Kawah Ijen

By Sugato Mukherjee Dec 12, 2014

Kawah Ijen is one of the many volcanoes that dominate the landscape of East Java in the Indonesian archipelago. But Ijen is markedly different from the others—it is home to the largest acidic crater lake on Earth. The beautiful lake is the site of... more

Caught between Poverty and Politics: Undocumented Migrants in Greece

By Stephen Boyle Sep 25, 2012

In Greece, mismanaged immigration policies, an incompetent and sluggish asylum system, a catastrophic economic crisis, and continuing instability in nearby Africa and Asia have resulted in high levels of undocumented immigration in recent... more

Growing Up Cambodian: Childhood and Crisis Three Decades after the Khmer Rouge

By Nathan William Meyer Aug 14, 2012

Three decades after the Khmer Rouge was driven from power Cambodia is struggling with few resources and severe challenges. These candid photographs show Cambodia’s children as they grow up in the enduring shadow of a national... more