With one more year before the 2015 deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals, the 2014 Global Hunger Index report offers a multifaceted overview of global hunger that brings new insights to the global debate on where to focus efforts in the fight against hunger and malnutrition. The state of hunger in developing countries as a group has improved since 1990, falling by 39 percent, according to the 2014 GHI. Despite progress made, the level of hunger in the world is still “serious,” with 805 million people continuing to go hungry, according to estimates by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The global average obscures dramatic differences across regions and countries. Regionally, the highest GHI scores—and therefore the highest hunger levels—are in Africa south of the Sahara and South Asia, which have also experienced the greatest absolute improvements since 2005. South Asia saw the steepest absolute decline in GHI scores since 1990. Progress in addressing child underweight was the main factor behind the improved GHI score for the region since 1990.

The 2014 Global Hunger Index (GHI) report—the ninth in an annual series—presents a multidimensional measure of national, regional, and global hunger. It shows that the world has made progress in reducing hunger since 1990, but still has far to go, with levels of hunger remaining “alarming” or “extremely alarming” in 16 countries. This year’s report focuses on a critical aspect of hunger that is often overlooked: hidden hunger. Also known as micronutrient deficiency, hidden hunger affects more than an estimated 2 billion people globally. The repercussions of these vitamin and mineral deficiencies are both serious and long-lasting. Where hidden hunger has taken root, it not only prevents people from surviving and thriving as productive members of society, it also holds countries back in a cycle of poor nutrition, poor health, lost productivity, persistent poverty, and reduced economic growth.

At the 2013 Nutrition for Growth Summit in London, 96 signatories (governments, civil society organizations, donors, United Nations’ agencies, and businesses) agreed to support the creation of an annual report on global nutrition that would be authored by an independent expert group, in partnership with a large number of contributors. The first edition of this report, the Global Nutrition Report 2014, puts a spotlight on worldwide progress by the 193 member countries of the United Nations in improving their nutrition status, identifies bottlenecks to change, highlights opportunities for action, and contributes to strengthened nutrition accountability on country and global levels.

The developing world has made progress in reducing hunger since 2000. The 2015 Global Hunger Index (GHI) shows that the level of hunger in developing countries as a group has fallen by 27 percent. Yet the state of hunger in the world remains serious. This marks the tenth year that IFPRI has assessed global hunger using this multidimensional measure. This report’s GHI scores are based on a new, improved formula that replaces the child underweight indicator of previous years with child stunting and child wasting. This change reflects the latest thinking on the most suitable indicators for child undernutrition, one of three dimensions of hunger reflected in the GHI formula. Across regions and countries, GHI scores vary considerably. Regionally, the highest GHI scores, and therefore the highest hunger levels, are still found in Africa south of the Sahara and South Asia. Despite achieving the largest absolute improvements since 2000, these two regions still suffer from serious levels of hunger. Levels of hunger are alarming or serious in 52 countries. Most of the eight countries with alarming GHI scores are in Africa south of the Sahara. While no countries are classified in the extremely alarming category this year, this high level of hunger could still exist. Due to insufficient data, 2015 GHI scores could not be calculated for places that recently suffered from high levels of hunger, including Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan. 2015 Global Hunger Index Interactive App: http://ghi.ifpri.org

India is home to the world's largest hungry population and has a long way to go before it is anywhere near the mammoth task of achieving the United Nations' goal of ending hunger in 2030. It is ironic that this book raises the issue of "Hunger" in a state where it is least expected. Punjab is a state with mountains of food grains and overflowing godowns, with highest yields, and largest area under irrigation. Not only that, it is the Green Revolution state of India, that has played the most prominent role in helping India achieve its goal of food self-sufficiency. By investigating the hydra-headed concept of food security in Indian Punjab, this book brings to fore the different dimensions of the deprivation of human capabilities and the intricate relationship between food security and economy, ecology, and state policy. Moreover, it is a wakeup call for India; for if, this is the state of affairs in one of the more prosperous primarily agrarian states, what would be the situation in the poorer ones? The primary objective is to divert urgent attention to the issue of food security, as an important ingredient of human resource development. With a strong commitment to achieving the primary goal of human resource development, India's biggest burden could well become India's greatest asset in the path to inclusive development.

In order to maintain the strong progress achieved since 2000 and meet Africa's longer-term challenges, it is important for both African governments and their international partners to meet their development commitments and to monitor and evaluate their results.

The 2016 Global Hunger Index (GHI) presents a multidimensional measure of national, regional, and global hunger, focusing on how the world can get to Zero Hunger by 2030. The developing world has made substantial progress in reducing hunger since 2000. The 2016 GHI shows that the level of hunger in developing countries as a group has fallen by 29 percent. Yet this progress has been uneven, and great disparities in hunger continue to exist at the regional, national, and subnational levels. Levels of hunger are still serious or alarming in 50 countries. The highest hunger levels are still found in Africa south of the Sahara and South Asia. Although GHI scores for these two regions have declined over time, the current levels remain close to the alarming category. Africa south of the Sahara has achieved the largest absolute improvement since 2000 and South Asia has also seen a sizable reduction—but the decline in hunger must accelerate in these regions if the world is to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030. The 2016 report, with an essay from United Nations Special Adviser David Nabarro, hails the new paradigm of international development proposed in the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which envisages Zero Hunger by 2030, as one goal among 17, in a holistic, integrated, and transformative plan for the world. To get to Zero Hunger while leaving no one behind, the 2016 GHI highlights the importance of identifying the regions, countries, and populations that are most vulnerable to hunger and undernutrition so progress can be accelerated there.

Introduction to Global Politics, Fourth Edition, provides students with a current, engaging, and non-U.S. perspective on global politics. It shows students how to analyze global political events using theoretical approaches-both mainstream and alternative-and emphasizes non-state actors more than any other global politics text. Chapter-by-Chapter Revisions Chapter 1: Introduction to Global Politics -Expanded theoretical coverage introduces students to the three theoretical traditions in international relations theory: Machiavellian, Grotian, and Kantian -New Case Study: "Global Production and the iPhone" Chapter 2: The Evolution of Global Politics -Revised chapter-opening vignette addresses the goals of nation-states for survival and influence in the global system and how critical trends, such as the diffusion of power and increasing demands for vital resources, influence such goals -Expanded coverage of US-Cuba relations addresses the restoration of diplomatic ties -Further examination of the war on terrorism, including the completion of NATO's International Security Assistance Force mission in Afghanistan and its subsequent transition to the ongoing Resolute Support Mission -Updated Global Perspective "Perception, Continuity, and Change After January 20, 2009" addresses the continuing course of the Arab Spring -Updated statistics and graphics include "Estimated Global Nuclear Warheads, as of 2015," and "Number of Wars in Progress Since 1950" Chapter 3: Realism, Liberalism, and Critical Theories -Elimination of overlapping content between Chapter 3 and the first two introductory chapters, effectively streamlining the chapter and bringing its objectives of defining and describing the origins of IR theories, as well as explaining the relation among the levels of analysis and the different variations of the five schools of thought, into clearer focus -The latest on the most pertinent international relations matters including how world leaders should deal with extremist networks like the Islamic State Chapter 4: Making Foreign Policy -Further coverage and analysis of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, including the goals of the 2015 Paris Climate Change Conference -Expanded discussion of fragile states, including updates to the Fragile State Index -Discussion of foreign policy evaluation has been expanded to include criticism of the CIA's detention and treatment of prisoners taken in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -Additional examples of NGO influence on human rights (i.e. Human Rights Watch pressuring the Chinese government to abolish its re-education through labor detention system) -Updated statistics and graphics include "Top Ten Foreign Aid Donors" and the addition of a new figure "Share of World Military Expenditures of the 15 States with the Highest Expenditure" Chapter 5: Global and Regional Governance -Revised chapter-opening vignette addresses the impact of the Tunisian National Dialogue as a civil society organization and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize -Updated examples of venture philanthropy include Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg's pledge to donate 99 percent of his wealth -Updated Case Study "A Global Campaign: The Baby Milk Advocacy Network" includes recent statistics from the World Health Organization. -Updated statistics and graphics include "INGO Growth Continues" and "Distribution of Think Tanks in the World" Chapter 6: Global Security, Military Power, and Terrorism -Updated information on conflicts including the Syrian civil war, the rise of the Islamic State and their goal to establish an Islamic Caliphate, and the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic to prevent civil wars and sectarian conflicts -Condensed coverage of mainstream and critical approaches to security in order to eliminate overlapping content found in Chapter 3: Realism, Liberalism, and Critical Theories -Added examples of the importance of collective action and reliance on international/regional organization (i.e. in the case of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal) -Expanded discussion of the effects of nuclear weapons and the idea that the international community is experiencing a new nuclear age in which weapons of mass destruction are used to secure strategic advantage -Updated Case Study "US Drone Warfare: A Robotic Revolution in Modern Combat" includes recent statistics on drone strikes -Updated information on the spread of jihadists, Al Qaeda, and ISIS and the geographical extent to which the Obama Administration (and future administrations) will have to go to find them -Updated statistics and graphics include "Arms Deliveries Worldwide," "Arms Transfer Agreements Worldwide"; the addition of two new figures: "Top Locations of Islamic State Twitter Users" and "Thirteen Years of Terror in Western Europe;" the addition of a new map: "Where ISIS Has Directed and Inspired Attacks;" and the addition of a table detailing the inter-actor relationship of those involved in the Syrian civil war Chapter 7: Human Rights and Human Security -Added information on the latest human rights crises (i.e. the refugee crisis, the Syrian civil war, and South Sudan) -New Case Study "A Failed Intervention" on the genocide occurring in Darfur -Updated statistics on current UN peacekeeping operations Chapter 8: Global Trade and Finance -Updated analysis on the current status of global economic interconnection (i.e. the role that governmental intervention has on the economy of their nation-states--including free markets, the impact of the slowdown of China's economy, and the effects of increasing global foreign direct investment) -New discussion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and its subsequent implications as the largest regional trade agreement in history -Updated Theory in Practice "Contending Views of Capitalism" reflects recent changes in the Chinese economy and cyberwarfare tactics it uses against the US -Updated statistics and graphics include "Main Trading Nations," "Real GDP Growth," and the addition of a new graph "Holdings of US Treasury Securities" Chapter 9: Poverty, Development, and Hunger -Added discussion on the results of the Millennium Development Goals process (including an updated Progress Chart for UN Millennium Development Goals) and the UN's subsequent adoption of the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (illustrated by Sustainable Development Goals). -Updated discussions of world population statistics and estimated population growth projections, including new graphics "Projected World Population" and "Fastest Growing Populations" Chapter 10: Environmental Issues -Discussion of the latest environmental issues including the rising number of carbon emissions emitted on the planet, the effect climate change and environmental degradation are having as causes of major violence in regards to specific ethnic communities that compete for scarce resources, and how 2015 was the hottest year in recorded history -Added discussion of how climate change is the greatest challenge to economic and political stability across the world -Revised discussion of the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report addresses the rise of global surface temperatures, the continued shrinking of sea ice, and how human influence correlates to climate change and increasing levels of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere -Added information and analysis of the 2015 Paris Climate Change Conference, its outcomes, and the importance of adhering to pledges to curb emissions and keeping global temperature rises under 2 degrees Celsius; new concluding thoughts and analysis added as well -A revised table detailing "Recent Global Environmental Actions" focuses on events and actions of the past thirty years -Updated statistics and graphics include "Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Type of Gas," and two new graphics: "Number of Oils Spills between 1970-2015" and "Largest Producers of CO2 Emissions Worldwide."

The 2017 Global Hunger Index (GHI) shows long-term progress in reducing hunger in the world. The advances have been uneven, however, with millions of people still experiencing chronic hunger and many places suffering acute food crises and even famine. According to 2017 GHI scores, the level of hunger in the world has decreased by 27 percent from the 2000 level. Of the 119 countries assessed in this year’s report, one falls in the extremely alarming range on the GHI Severity Scale; 7 fall in the alarming range; 44 in the serious range; and 24 in the moderate range. Only 43 countries have scores in the low range. In addition, 9 of the 13 countries that lack sufficient data for calculating 2017 GHI scores still raise significant concern, including Somalia, South Sudan, and Syria. To capture the multidimensional nature of hunger, GHI scores are based on four component indicators—undernourishment, child wasting, child stunting, and child mortality. The 27 percent improvement noted above reflects progress in each of these indicators according to the latest data from 2012–2016 for countries in the GHI.