Donald Trump hopes to leverage American power when he meets with foreign leaders on his trip through Asia this month. While threats and ultimatums may win him support at home, strong-arming other countries often produces a response opposite to the one hoped for.

President Donald Trump believes in American power. Specifically, he believes that America’s great strength gives him leverage to persuade or compel others to behave as he thinks they should.

When I was a teenager in my home country, Bangladesh, perhaps the only piece of information I knew about Finland was that it is the country where Nokia phones were made. Nokia 1100 and 3310 – two of the iconic phones made by the company – sold like hot cakes in Bangladesh back then. Nokia 3310 was widely hailed by its users, especially for its long battery life.

The administration’s single-minded pursuit of unilateralism in trade policy – as seen in the withdrawal from the TPP and seeking to rewrite NAFTA – is a recipe for disaster. The world is moving on and, ultimately, Americans will be the losers.

The Trump administration’s opening salvo in launching its “America First” trade policy was to pull out from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) – a move that many assumed effectively killed this 12-nation trade agreement comprising 40 percent of world GDP.

The stakes are high when it comes to adapting to rapid urban densification. Innovation is happening all over the world, but the most effective developments are realized when design and policy come together, as they have in Singapore.

Hip-hop supergroup De La Soul’s fourth album title, “Stakes is High,” may be an appropriate message to officials, architects and urban design professionals responsible for designing and building the cities of today and tomorrow.

There was a time in America when spreading the wealth was instrumental in the nation becoming an economic powerhouse. In this age that sees money and assets tightly controlled in the hands of the few, it’s time to revisit that philosophy. The road map for finding that equilibrium on the new economic frontier? Universal Basic Assets.

MP Talk gives members of parliament the opportunity to share their views on Finnish society with an international audience. The opinions expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Helsinki Times.

Finland has had forest policy longer than it has been an independent country. In the late 19th century, the slash-and-burn agricultural policy became illegal.

Over several decades the tourism industry has transformed into a multi-billion dollar cash cow for cities, communities and governments alike. Yet, an emerging movement of anti-tourism campaigners threatens the relationship between people and their local built environment.

Tourism has always been an important human activity and business. But today, condemning tourists is becoming a trend with serious significance for future relationships between nations and people.

A shift in the global powerhouses of international aid and development is opening the door for city governments in Africa, Asia and Latin America to pick their own partners with an eye toward south-south cooperation.

Does who you work with affect how well you perform or how well you learn?

The answer is seemingly obvious — yes, of course.

Every year, thousands of pets go missing in Finland. While some are eventually reunited with their owners, many never make it back home. The main hindrance to reunification is a lack of identification. To combat this problem, the Helsinki-based company ActiveMEDI has created the PetID – a coin-sized tag built to ease the localisation of our four-legged friends.