South America’s Political Rebalance: The Potential of a Mercosur-U.S. Free Trade Agreement

By Luis Ferreira Alvarez

Mercosur — a free trade and custom union formed in 1991 between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay (and later joined by Venezuela) — promotes the free movement of goods and people across the zone. Mercosur’s members have benefited from having integrated markets that expand their commerce. The South American bloc, like the European Union, can sign free trade agreements only as a bloc.

Read More
How a Mining Disaster is Helping to Overhaul Impunity in Brazil

By Michael Darden

On November 5, 2015, a tailing dam in the state of Minas Gerais (in the southeast of Brazil) ruptured. It released an estimated fifty million tons of iron ore waste into neighboring areas. It has quickly become the country’s worst environmental disaster. Seventeen people were killed and entire towns were submerged by the thick toxic sludge, which seeped into the Rio Doce river basin, traveled downstream, and has begun to spill into the Atlantic Ocean.

Read More
Europe’s Chief Diplomat Talks Brexit, Feminism and the Future of the EU

By Joshua Jacobs

In a wide-ranging interview with the Yale Journal of International Affairs on the one-year anniversary of her departure from office, Ashton reflects on the vicissitudes of her term. We talk of the more frustrating foreign policy challenges that she faced, the possibility of her own country voting to leave the European Union this summer, and how she felt as the only woman in a room with the European Union’s twenty-eight male foreign ministers.

Read More
Peace in Colombia: The Tale of Bojayá

By Sofía del Carril and Míriam Juan-Torres

May 2002 - After days of fighting between the paramilitaries and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the inhabitants of Bojayá, in the department of Chocó, sought refuge in the town’s church. The Colombian army was fully aware of what was happening, but nowhere to be seen. In the crossfire, a cylinder bomb fired by the FARC hit the church, killing seventy-nine civilians, including forty-five children, and leaving dozens injured.

Read More
Banking on a Mission: Pursuing Profits and Social Impact in Indonesia

By Allison Cordell

YJIA met with Jerry Ng, Bank BTPN’s CEO and president director, for a conversation about the bank’s mission and successful business model. Mr. Ng told us about the bank’s strategy for its microfinance portfolio, the plans for adapting BTPN’s model for other emerging markets in Asia, and the books that helped him become a more effective leader.

Read More
Will Iran Cheat? The Reliability of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action

By Sven-Eric Fikenscher

For the time being, JCPOA-related restrictions will keep Iran relatively far away from the nuclear weapons option, but Iran could undermine those restraints by cheating. U.S. policy vis-à-vis Iran should be informed by the likelihood that cheating takes place and should endeavor to decrease whatever incentive Iran might have to cheat.

Read More
The Need for Risk Stratification in India’s Healthcare

By Zenna Johar

The United Nations recently called for its member states to show increased commitment to building sustainable and inclusive societies through the implementation of seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The third goal is to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages” by reducing premature mortality from non-communicable diseases.

Read More
The Trans-Pacific Partnership: Can an Asian Trade Pact Survive Without China?

An interview with David Dollar

In this interview, David Dollar, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and former World Bank country director for China and Mongolia from 2004 to 2009, speaks with the Yale Journal of International Affairs (YJIA) about the TPP’s relevance to the Asia Pacific region, also touching on Vietnam’s growing strength and China’s future role in global trade.

Read More
Governing the Arctic: Finding Consensus in a Region of Increasing Interest

David Biette spoke with the Yale Journal of International Affairs in April 2015, several weeks before the United States assumed the chairmanship of the Arctic Council. The interview reflects the wide-ranging set of issues facing the region, including security posturing, new frontiers in international law, and environmental considerations.

Read More