Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Welcome! Log in to stay connected and make the most of your experience.

Input clean

Unease, Uncertainty, and Strife: Global Inequality and Instability

Unease, Uncertainty, and Strife: Global Inequality and Instability

At his final United Nations address on Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama focused much of his time on what he called “the paradox that defines our world today.” By almost every objective measure, this is the best time in human history be alive. People are richer, safer, healthier, and enjoy more individual freedoms than ever before. “Yet,” the President noted, “our societies are filled with uncertainty, and unease, and strife.”

The reasons for this disconnect are varied, but to many, the steadily rising rate of global wealth and income inequality is the main culprit. From the revolts of the “Arab Spring” in 2011 to the sudden rise of populist political movements in the United States and Europe, wealth and income inequality is seen as a political tinderbox, generating angst and instability wherever it manifests. However, concrete evidence for such a link has been difficult to produce.

Keep reading...Show less
Access all of The Cipher Brief’s national security-focused expert insight by becoming a Cipher Brief Subscriber+ Member.

Related Articles

Report for Friday, July 18, 2025

9:03 America/New_York Friday, July 18 [...] More

Dead Drop: July 18

IN THIS WEEK’S EDITION: CIA’s existential threat might not be what you think it is, the CIA’s EXDIR is back in business, a warning to be careful of [...] More

Does the CIA Have a Trust Problem?

Does the CIA Have a Trust Problem?

In a recent opinion piece published in The Cipher Brief, former senior CIA Executive Mark Kelton suggests that the country’s leading intelligence [...] More

Expert Q&A: Putin Overplayed His Hand with Trump on Ukraine

EXPERT Q&A — President Donald Trump has offered a strong hand of support to Ukraine in recent days, pledging new weapons and threatening Russia with [...] More

Report for Thursday, July 17, 2025

9:03 America/New_York Thursday, July 17 [...] More

A Nuclear Day of the Jackal

BOOK REVIEW: The Moldavian GambitBy Brad Meslin / Manhattan Book GroupReviewed by: James LawlerThe Reviewer — James Lawler devoted more than half of [...] More

Ukraine’s Defense may Hinge on Offensive Operations

Ukraine’s Defense may Hinge on Offensive Operations

CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING – Russia has been bombarding Ukrainian cities with massive aerial assaults, two days after U.S. President Donald Trump pledged [...] More

Report for Wednesday, July 16, 2025

8:45 AM America/New_York Wednesday, July 16 [...] More

China Can Do More to Improve Relations with the U.S.

OPINION — Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, at the ASEAN Summit. Rubio described the [...] More