Dear Readers,
Welcome to the first issue of The Yale Review of International Studies. Begun by a group of undergraduates in the fall, YRIS was established to publish and celebrate undergraduate scholarship on international affairs, to create a space where commentary on pressing international questions could intersect with what we learn and discuss in the classroom. Those aims were codified in the following mission:
The Yale Review of International Studies shall be dedicated to publishing both opinion and long-form scholarship on contemporary global issues: their origins, present effects, and the future they will shape. In order to address the many questions of present international interest, The Yale Review of International Studies will seek to stimulate broad and multi-faceted debate on issues ranging from foreign policy to international trends in law, culture, and the environment.
The current issue marks our first attempt to realize that vision. We begin with a comment on recent upheavals and intervention in the Middle East, and later Jeffrey Kaiser spells out leading thinking before the crisis on democratization in the region. John Ettinger delves into the economics behind the much-demanded Chinese surplus reversal and concludes that Chinese caution is well grounded. Juilo Garzon investigates the complicated relationship between terrorism and poverty, and Della Fok analyses the conflict and the connectedness of two other global forces—religion and the movement for gender equality. Global norms and law-making have proliferated in recent years, and Thomas Smyth characterizes their unique qualities and applies his discussion to the case of a Sri Lankan apparel factory. Finally, two book reviews grapple with emerging forms of nationalism in Europe and predictions of a new order in global politics.
It is our hope that The Yale Review of International Studies will contribute to a rigorous discourse on international affairs among the students of Yale College. As we continue to observe the unfolding international events of our times, may this journal be a place for thoughtful and thought-provoking exchange.
Best wishes,
George E. Bogden, Editor in Chief