Paanch-mishali

Five assorted links that may or may not lead to future pieces.

Scorching and surrounded by water, Singapore is on climate’s front lines

Jeevan Vasagar, 27 August 2021

The tropical city-state is rethinking its design and could become a model for other Asian metropolises

https://www.ft.com/content/2da2e876-3f80-4130-86b9-10488f20e991

Back to the Seventies?

Kenneth ZRogoff, 31 August 2021

In fact, the roots of sustained inflation mainly stem from political economy problems, and here the long list of similarities between the 1970s and today is unsettling.

https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/america-facing-1970s-style-stagflation-threat-by-kenneth-rogoff-2021-08

Students and scholars as agents of coercive force in the populist and resurging authoritarian states

Mubashar Hasan and Julian Kuttig, 16 August 2021

Populism and authoritarianism surged not despite growing middle classes but also because of them.

https://shuddhashar.com/students-and-scholars-as-agents-of-coercive-force-in-the-populist-and-resurging-authoritarian-states/?fbclid=IwAR2NpoxzruvfNB32uXHjijwJRys8nvZCUFD_STnIag9liYQY5RhbdubBB00

Cryptocurrencies: developing countries provide fertile ground

Jonathan Wheatley and Adrienne Klasa, 5 September 2021

Sometimes dismissed as a fad in advanced economies, crypto holds more appeal in countries with a history of financial instability

https://www.ft.com/content/1ea829ed-5dde-4f6e-be11-99392bdc0788

Taliban victory signals a defeat for global jihadism

David Gardner, 7 September 2021

But western intervention has left countries trapped in despotism, making continued instability likely

https://www.ft.com/content/bb9e9b5d-cd37-4c38-a218-15060e309610