China has rich potential to develop soft power through language, culture, and the creativity and wit of its now-thriving civil society. Openness, transparency, and tolerance of debate are crucial for liberating this potential, but would…
The Belt and Road Initiative represents an opportunity to internationalise the Chinese model of state-led economic growth supported by massive infrastructure rollouts. With prudent strategy and thorough monitoring, the initiative could herald a departure from…
Plastic bags and bottles have been an obvious menace for decades, but the emergence of microplastics will test the policy capacity of governments in new ways. Adopting elevated standards for water quality, improving treatment technologies,…
Following Berkeley’s example, governments should apply soda tax revenue to nutrition and physical education programmes, and include information about sugar in school curricula. The approach should consider local conditions, enhance education, and provide access to…
The frontier of possibilities presented by cloud computing is just now being fully realized, and governments must be forward-thinking in understanding and embracing these trends. The implications for economic growth are immense: cloud computing has…
China has an opportunity to strengthen its emerging global leadership role in urban sustainability. However, it must first implement an effective vision for how sponge city initiatives complement broader environmental governance efforts. Improving regulatory enforcement…
Elevating the groundwater crisis to the national policy agenda is essential, and the federal government must oversee a system that is at once distributed, standardized and robustly monitored. National un-governability of water can no longer…
In an era when political parties around the world are turning inwards, embracing populism, and behaving irrationally, the rationality of durable state institutions should supersede the self-preservation interests of a single dominant party. Vietnam has…
Addressing the groundwater depletion problem – and in broader measure the growing crisis of water scarcity amidst rapid urbanisation – will require a multi-pronged approach that includes unequivocal political will, transparency, and support for technical…
The economically vibrant cities of the Four Asian Tigers are a palimpsest of statist developmentalism. While the influence of industrial planning is deeply embedded in their institutions, globalisation, economic liberalisation and democratic reforms have combined…
