The Bernard L. Schwartz Fellows Program: Publications, Events and More

Inheriting the World

Stephanie Gunter — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:45:00 -0500

A New America Event
12/02/2009 - 12:15pm

For nearly half a century, the Cold War dominated U.S. foreign policy. Encompassing some of America's greatest successes and failures, its legacy has shaped U.S. debates over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and relations with Russia, China and Iran. What are the right and wrong lessons to take from America's long "twilight struggle"? And how has the reality of the Cold War been distorted in public memory in the years since?

Shadow Elite

Kirsten Gilbert — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:45:00 -0500

A New America Event
12/01/2009 - 12:15pm

Please join New America in a conversation between Janine Wedel and Michael Lind about her new book Shadow Elite. Governments and administrations come and go, but not so a new breed of power brokers, who always seem to pop up just where the action is. Wearing different hats, they press their agendas in venue after venue. According to award-winning public policy scholar and anthropologist Janine Wedel, these are the "shadow elite," the prime movers in a vexing new system of power and influence.

Engaging Cuba on Human Rights

Erin Drankoski — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:19:00 -0500

Normalization of U.S. relations with Cuba was widely seen as exactly the kind of high-value, low-hanging fruit that would be ideal for a president elected under the banner of "change." But a scathing new Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, "New Castro, Same Cuba," will make lifting sanctions against the Castro regime -- on travel, remittances, trade -- more difficult for President Obama.

The Right Role For Sarah Palin

Erin Drankoski — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:33:00 -0500

When Sarah Palin resigned on July 4th weekend, it certainly looked as though she had decided to abandon politics, or at the very least given up on running for president in 2012. And despite the saturation coverage of Palin's Going Rogue book tour, it's not obvious that she hasn't. As Republican political strategist Patrick Ruffini has observed, a Palin presidential run would have profited from releasing the book a year from now, maximizing media exposure in the crucial year before Iowa. Granted, John McCain also capitalized on his political

Small Cable, Online Video Companies Warn of Anticompetition in Comcast, NBC Merger | Washington Post

Cecille Isidro — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:35:00 -0500

That's when all worst things happen," said Tim Wu, a professor at the Columbia University School of Law who is writing a book that chronicles the history of ...

Colleges Need a Lemon Law

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:24:00 -0500

The College Board reports tuition is up 9 percent this year in inflation-adjusted terms, despite declining prices throughout the economy and stagnant median family income. Parents want to know why the rise and why college costs so much in the first place.

The answer, in a word, is demand. Until we channel the demand for higher education in a more rational direction, tuition will continue to outpace inflation, grant aid, and family income.

Where Stupak Leads

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:24:00 -0500

Last week, the debate over the Democratic health reform effort took a brief and unexpected philosophical turn. Bart Stupak, a pro-labor Catholic Democrat representing Michigan's 1st congressional district, managed to pass the Stupak amendment as part of the House health bill. Sensing that an insurrection among anti-abortion Democrats threatened to derail the legislation, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who ardently opposes restrictions on abortion, allowed Stupak to offer the amendment, and it passed by a wide margin thanks to Republican votes.

China's Upper Hand

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:48:00 -0500

To hear the Obama administration tell it, the problem with American foreign policy towards China is that we haven't been paying enough attention. In the weeks and months leading up to the President's arrival in Beijing, a bevy of administration officials implied that the Bush administration had become so preoccupied with the Middle East that it gave China free reign to expand its influence in Asia. Now, by sending Obama to the continent in his first year -- after sending Hillary Clinton there on her first foreign trip-Team Obama is trying to signal

Obama's Townhall in Shanghai

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:39:00 -0500

This afternoon in Shanghai, U.S. President Barack Obama held a townhall-style meeting with university students. It was an event that his staff had worked hard to include on his China trip itinerary. After a brief speech extolling the importance of core values to the success of the United States as a nation and Americans as individuals, Obama took questions from the audience and online.

Pro-Choicers Backing Down? Fat Chance | The Nation.

Cecille Isidro — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:56:00 -0500

"If you want to rebuild the American welfare state," Peter Beinart writes in the Daily Beast, "there is no alternative" than for Democrats to abandon ...

Think Again: Green China

Erin Drankoski — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:42:00 -0500

Two years ago, the New York Times reported that China was "choking on growth," with rapid economic development ravaging its environment. But in a recent column, the Times' Tom Friedman declared that "Red China [has] decided to become Green China," writing that the developing country now outpaces the United States in its pursuit of alternative energy.

Time for Men to Make a Sacrifice | guardian.co.uk

Cecille Isidro — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0500

"If you want to rebuild the American welfare state," Peter Beinart writes in the Daily Beast, "there is no alternative" than for Democrats to abandon ...

Dobbs Praised for Stand | Politico

Cecille Isidro — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:18:00 -0500

... a serious news network was never a fitting venue for his nativist, anti-immigrant pep rallies,” wrote Andres Martinez of the New America Foundation. ...

China Confronts Global Warming Dilemma

Erin Drankoski — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:27:00 -0500

China awoke to climate change with a storm. It was late January 2008, a time when people across the country were busily gathering recipes, stocking fireworks, and preparing to welcome relatives to celebrate the Lunar New Year. But suddenly, severe ice storms brought much of the nation to a standstill. For two weeks, fierce winds, sleet, and snow downed power lines, shuttered businesses, and razed more than 200,000 homes across southern and central China.

Healthcare and Abortion | HardBall (MSNBC)

Erin Drankoski — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:22:00 -0500

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News,

Caijing Editor Resigns

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:41:00 -0500

The editor of China's most influential financial muckraking journal, Hu Shuli, has resigned. For several months, Hu had been under pressure to tone down the aggressive, investigative tone of the magazine from Caijing's business partners, who in turn had come under pressure from government officials. Hu will assume a new post as dean of Sun Yat-sen University's School of Communication and Design, and is expected to launch another editorial venture, likely involving several of her top editorial staffers, who quit alongside their editor-in-chief.

China's Race Problem

Erin Drankoski — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:44:00 -0500

Is racism universal? Since the end of the colonial era, the rising powers of the developing world have been quick to condemn Western racism. Ethnocentrism and color prejudice can be found in virtually all human societies, going back centuries if not thousands of years.

Soldiers Wary of Often Corrupt Mexican Police | The Associated Press

Cecille Isidro — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:01:00 -0500

"It's humiliating," said Jorge Castaneda, a 23-year veteran of the Monterrey police. "They pull you from your patrol car. They take away your cell phone, ...

The Myth of the Wall's Fall

Erin Drankoski — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:47:00 -0500

Chile’s Big Surprise

Erin Drankoski — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:34:00 -0500

Latin America has seen independent candidates run for office before. They have won in countries like Peru, with Alberto Fujimori and then Alejandro Toledo, and Colombia, with Álvaro Uribe. Caudillos like Venezuela's Hugo Chávez and Ecuador's Rafael Correa have bucked entrenched but sclerotic party systems. And leaders of broad movements have brought an end to decades-long single-party rule, as Fernando Lugo did with his victory in Paraguay over the Colorado Party. But something unusual is happening in Chile. In its upcoming presidential election,