Science & Technology

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Comment, Jan/Feb 2012
Francis Fukuyama

Stagnating wages and growing inequality will soon threaten the stability of con­temporary liberal democracies and dethrone democratic ideology as it is now understood. What is needed is a new populist ideology that offers a realistic path to healthy middle-class societies and robust democracies.

Snapshot,
Andrei Soldatov

In the wake of Sunday's contested parliamentary elections, the Russian security services have made obvious and clumsy efforts to shut down independent news sources. But controlling information online will prove impossible, and continued attempts to do so will only backfire.

Snapshot,
Ronaldo Lemos

Brazil's leaders expect a $12 billion iPad manufacturing deal to boost the country's technology sector. It may. But Brasilia should be turning out cheaper, low-end technology, which would be more profitable.

Essay, Nov/Dec 2011
Ernest Moniz

The world cannot let the March disaster at Japan’s Fukushima power plant scare it into forgoing the benefits of nuclear energy -- a cheap, reliable, and safe source of electricity. Still, writes a former U.S. undersecretary of energy, the United States does need to update its safety standards and reform its handling of nuclear waste.

Snapshot,
William J. Lynn III

More destructive cyberweapons are being created every day, and an increasingly sophisticated technology black market virtually guarantees that they will eventually land in the hands of the United States' enemies. Robust defenses are no longer a luxury, they are a necessity.

Snapshot,
Sheri Fink and Rebecca Rabinowitz

Non-communicable diseases have rapidly become a global concern: The World Economic Forum has identified NCDs as one of the top threats to worldwide development.

Response, Mar/Apr 2011
Malcolm Gladwell and Clay Shirky

Do the tools of social media make it possible for protesters to challenge their governments? Malcolm Gladwell argues that there is no evidence that they do; Clay Shirky disagrees.

Essay, Jan/Feb 2011
Clay Shirky

Discussion of the political impact of social media has focused on the power of mass protests to topple governments. In fact, social media's real potential lies in supporting civil society and the public sphere -- which will produce change over years and decades, not weeks or months.

Essay, Nov/Dec 2010
Ian Bremmer

A favorite view of the Internet holds that the democratization of communications will bring about the democratization of the world. In fact, the relationship between cyberspace and political liberalization is far more complex.

Essay, Nov/Dec 2010
Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen

Increased connectivity allows for the spread of liberal, open values but also poses a number of dangers. To foster the free flow of information and challenge authoritarian regimes, democratic states will have to learn to create alliances with people and companies at the forefront of the information revolution.

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