Brahma Chellaney, Project Syndicate
Despite US President Donald Trump’s undermining of US alliances, his administration has made significant progress in bringing together the Indo-Pacific's leading democracies. And now that China has forced India's hand, a new strategic arrangement in the region is almost a foregone conclusion.
Mallory & Ralby, CIMSEC
A flurry of news stories in late July 2020 reported on the “discovery” of a “massive” fleet of Chinese fishing vessels in the waters off the Galapagos, which fluctuated to over 350 before the fleet finally left by mid-October to fish farther south. Yet the presence of the...
Con Coughlin, The National
There seems to be a growing frustration over the Palestinian leadership's unwillingness to find a lasting solution
Asbed Kotchikian, WP Review
Until late last month, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh had been mostly frozen, with occasional skirmishes, for over a quarter of a century. One notable exception was the April 2016 “four-day war,” a brief but intense period of fighting that left over 200 people dead and was followed by claims of victory from both sides. The recent fighting that erupted on...
Timothy Rich & Andi Dahmer, Jamestown
Strengthening relations with the United States would bolster Taiwan’s security. The United States is a major supplier of weapons to Taiwan, and the country most likely to come to its aid in the event of a mainland invasion. However, closer relations with the United States could also exacerbate tensions with the PRC, thereby endangering Taiwan. In the worst case scenario, closer ties between the United States and Taiwan could convince mainland Chinese officials to act on unification sooner... Читать дальше...
Tom McTague & Peter Nicholas, The Atlantic
When it comes to foreign policy, the president’s most important characteristic is not amorality or a lack of curiosity; it is naïveté.
Alexei Navalny with Masha Gessen, New Yorker
The Russian anti-corruption activist, who nearly died in August, talks about his recovery and his future.
Tim Watkin, Pundit
Labour’s overwhelming victory at the election has been greeted with rousing cheers on the left of New Zealand politics and the start of transformational demands. It’s a multi-generational win for Labour, out-polling the Kirk, Lange and Clark victories. You have to go back to 1938 for a bigger percentage (55.8%) and to 1935 for a bigger bunch of new MPs (29).
Tridivesh Singh Maini, Notes on Liberty
The convincing victory of Jacinda Ardern is important for more than just one reason. First, the 40 year-old Ardern’s centre-Left Labour party has won convincingly — securing 49% of the vote, and securing 64 seats in the 120 seat assembly. Ardern has delivered the biggest election victory for her party in half a century. The victory gives Ardern and her party the opportunity to form a...
Carrie Lee, Foreign Affairs
Civilian political authority over military leadership is a bedrock principle of the U.S. Constitution, so fundamental to the American system of government that it has rarely been questioned. But since President Donald Trump entered office in 2017, his administration has systematically eroded the norms that have supported this constitutional principle for generations.
Markus Garlauskas, National Interest
From the author: First and foremost, it matters—along with the panoply of other missiles displayed in the parade—because it shows the progress North Korea continues to make on strategic weapons despite the effects of sanctions and Kim’s continuing restraint in ICBM flight testing.
A. Bakeer & D. Yachyshen, RS
Paris has sided with a coalition of states against fellow U.S. ally in Istanbul, showing how fragile these security agreements really are.
Gideon Rachman, Financial Times
Political turmoil in Washington may open a window of opportunity for Beijing.
John Campbell, CFR
There is little sense of national cohesion in Nigeria, and protests tend to be along ethnic and religious lines rather than national. Like the 2012 demonstrations against the Goodluck Jonathan administration's efforts to reduce the fuel subsidy, current protests against the police are exceptional in that they appear to be occurring across the country, bridging the usual ethnic and religious boundaries. They also appear to be strongly supported by the Nigerian diaspora, which
Edward Lucas, CEPA
You may not care about China. But China cares about you. That is the message of an extraordinary episode in the French city of Nantes this month, which exemplifies the way in which the Chinese Communist Party regards Western notions of academic and cultural freedoms as irrelevant. Any depiction or discussion of China, anywhere in the world, is a potential threat to the regime’s legitimacy — and must be controlled. The exhibition “Son of the Sky and the Steppe”, featuring Genghis Khan’s Mongol empire... Читать дальше...
Walter Lohman, Taipei Times
In the closing weeks of 2000, an army of Singaporean government officials descended on Washington to make good on a handshake between then-US President Bill Clinton and Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong (吳作棟). They had agreed to strike an FTA after a round of golf in Brunei that past November.
Frida Ghitis, World Politics Review
Over the past two decades, perhaps no region of the world has seen such a dramatic reversal of fortune as South America. Beginning in 1999, a political shift to the left combined with an economic boom allowed governments across the continent to make dramatic inroads in the fight against poverty. The region’s transformation was held up as a model of what governments can achieve when they make addressing inequality a central priority. But beginning in 2013... Читать дальше...