Richard Vague, Democracy Journal
Why will things in China continue to get worse? Because China hasnt learned anything.
Robert Colvile, Politico EU
As Rachel Sylvester pointed out in an excellent column in the Times this week, the hard Left’s admiration for Russia survived the end of the Cold War undented. And it isn’t just Putin. The basic setting of Corbyn’s view of foreign policy is to blame everything on the West (especially Britain and the U.S.) and see the rest of the world as its victims. Russia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Iran — in Corbyn’s world, they’re Asterix, and we’re the Romans.
Stratfor
Conditions like these, along with the increasingly fractious nature of Moldova's Parliament, will give Filip's government very little leeway. In the case of yet another government collapse, early elections probably would be unavoidable and would give Moldova's pro-Russia elements the chance to stall, if not reverse, Moldova's efforts to integrate with the European Union.
James Holmes, FP
On New Year’s Eve, the official People’s Daily confirmed an ill-kept secret: that China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is building a second as-yet-unnamed aircraft carrier to serve alongside the Liaoning, the refitted Soviet-era carrier that joined the PLAN fleet in 2012. This is a homecoming of sorts for me. My earliest Foreign Policy essay, in 2011, explored why China wanted carriers in the first place. Fear, honor, interest — the primal motives that spurred China to overhaul a 1980s-vintage hulk for active duty ... Читать дальше...
Alana Semuels, The Atlantic
“We are hungry. Our children are hungry,” Blanca Estella Moya, one of the fired workers, tells me. “You cannot live on these wages in Juarez.”
Olivier Joly, Worldcrunch
The Nordic country's annual sheep transfer is a generations-old tradition that has returned to fashion since the financial crisis, a chance to discover the Jkulgil River canyon and its surreal landscapes.
Slawomir Sierakowski, PS
WARSAW – Poland has now emerged as the latest European battleground in a contest between two models of democracy – liberal and illiberal. The overwhelming election victory in October of Jarosaw Kaczyski’s far-right Law and Justice party (PiS) has led to something more akin to regime change than to a routine turnover of democratically elected governments. Prime Minister Beata Szydo’s new administration has purged the civil service (including public radio and television)... Читать дальше...
N. Petrov, Moscow Times
Over the last two years, President Vladimir Putin has confirmed his legitimacy through the use of extraordinary measures — war and the mobilization of public opinion. But that type of legitimacy desensitizes a society that requires ever more frequent and grandiose "feats" to evoke a comparable response. Russia's dealings with Crimea, Novorossiya, Syria and Turkey being the most recent government actions to a rouse public response.
L. Bershidsky, Bloomberg View
With oil priced at less than per barrel, the ruble down 10 percent so far this month and no coherent government plan for dealing with Russia's deepening economic crisis, President Vladimir Putin faces a choice similar to that of the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev: Should he relax controls on the economy, rein in external assertiveness and engineer a rapprochement with the West -- or take the path of domestic repression?
Min Zin, New York Times
Why would Beijing, which has long backed Myanmar’s military regime and refused to engage with pro-democracy parties, now support the N.L.D.? One reason is that in recent years it saw the political tide turning in Myanmar. Another is that it has come to think of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi as a consummate pragmatist, and at a time when the Myanmar army, known as the Tatmadaw, was making political and military overtures to the United States and its allies.
G. Friedman, Geopolitical Futures
China: With an economy built on manufactured exports, China is reeling from the consequences of decreasing demand and increasing costs of production. The government is struggling to find a way to manage the financial consequences, but the economic reality is one of slowing and, in some sectors, declining growth. The Chinese government is cracking down on individuals suspected of being involved in corruption and imposing an intensifying dictatorship to try to control dissent and unrest.
Frida Ghitis, World Politics Review
Since Modi became prime minister, India is no longer bashful about its ties to Israel.
Julia Ioffe, New York Times Magazine
In today’s climate of mutual fear and loathing, no new event or report is ever actually new. Each only confirms one side’s narrative about the other, deepening the gloom and suspicion, making a return to the days of dtente seem that much more impossible. Here, perhaps more than elsewhere, we see the elements of Cold War revanchism: the tired tropes on repeat, deepening the mental ruts on both sides of the deepening trenches.
Ronald Tiersky, RealClearWorld
President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address spent a couple of paragraphs discussing the terrorist threat to the American homeland. In the wake of the San Bernardino attack, he felt obliged to say what is obvious: that while the Islamic State group "can do a lot of damage" to civilians and property in the United States, "they do not threaten our national existence." On the other hand, new terrorist attacks would surely disrupt American life.
