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Afshin Molavi explains the "Four Disruption-proof Trends for Our Disruptive World"

“Everyone has a plan,” the American boxer Mike Tyson once quipped, “that is, until you get punched in the face.” Policy-makers, strategic planners, corporate leaders, and analysts from all industries would do well to remember “Tyson’s Law”. Once you add Moore’s Law – the doubling of computing power every two years or so – to Tyson’s Law and you throw in a dash of geopolitical uncertainty, regulatory risk, and Fourth Industrial Revolution technological advances, it becomes evi

Francis Fukuyama says, "Populism is poisoning the global liberal order"

Whether springing up in the U.S., Europe or Asia, populists are predictable. Immigrants and elites are usually the first to be targeted by these groups. Populists appeal to "true" citizens to reclaim their homeland, through border walls and trade protectionism. The free press will also come under assault, described by populists as "fake news" and enemies of the truth. Next, the populist will turn his fire on the judiciary and legislative mechanisms responsible for checking ex

Dean Vali Nasr quoted in International Business Times: "Government Shutdown Means Trump May Not

“It’s confusing,” said Vali Nasr, dean of Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. “Here you have a populist president who stands in opposition to everything Davos stands for. It’s not easily understood why he’s going. Is it just perennial vanity because he’s heard over the years it’s where the billionaires hang out? Or is it because there’s a larger economic, political, and ideological message at play?” ... Continue reading at International Business

Jenny Town quoted in USA Today: "North and South Korea agree: Neither wants defections during O

“That would be a diplomatic incident that would work in no one’s favor,” said Jenny Town, assistant director of the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C. ... Continue reading at USA Today

Randa Slim quoted in The National: "Washington looks increasingly dysfunctional as shutdown goe

However, not everyone abroad understands understands the concept of shutdown or its implications, said Randa Slim, director of Track II dialogue at the Middle East Institute. Some twitter users in the Middle East are interpreting the shutdown as a complete termination of US government activities. ... Continue reading at The National

Souad Mekhennet reports in Washington Post: "German officials believe rapper-turned-militant De

BERLIN — German rapper-turned-militant Denis Cuspert is most likely dead, according to three German security officials and one person close to him. Also known as "Deso Dogg" and later by the nom de guerre "Abu Talha al Almani," Cuspert was one of Germany’s most notorious Islamic State members and a high-profile figure behind the group’s propaganda efforts. ... Continue reading at The Washington Post

A new therapeutic approach is needed for North Korea

This piece was originally published by Gulf News on January 19, 2018. View it here. Positive reinforcement towards its private sector could alter Kim Jong-un’s conduct The world has marvelled that South Korea and North Korea have had their first dialogue in two years, paving the way for the North’s participation in the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang County, South Korea. But few seem struck by the obvious lesson: a dose of incentives alongside the disincentives of sanctions ch

Souad Mekhennet tells Washington Post, "A German hacker offers a rare look inside the secretive

LONDON — The passengers stepping off the Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt, Germany, last month head straight for the passport-scanning machines that allow European residents to enter Britain quickly and without any human interaction. ... Continue reading at The Washington Post

Dean Vali Nasr tells The Atlantic "What the Iran Protests Were Not"

Recent protests in numerous Iranian cities and towns caught the world by surprise, and embarrassed Iran’s government and ruling political establishment. But the expectation that the protests would escalate into a popular uprising and unravel the Islamic Republic did not come to pass. Iran’s rulers could take heart from that, but they cannot avoid the broader debates about the future of the Iranian economy and politics that the protests have set in motion. ... Continue reading

Afshin Molavi tells The National: One of the defining features of our century will be the rise of th

If you were a newly married couple in China in the early 1980s, there were three aspirational items on your wedding list: a bicycle, a radio and a sewing machine. Today, replace the bicycle for a car, add a couple of upgraded smartphones, and possibly a foreign travel honeymoon. The wedding will also likely be live-streamed. Welcome to the new China. ... Continue reading at The National

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