Jon Wolfsthal, Defense1
Trump's proposed pact is likely a pipe dream or a smoke screen for scuttling yet another arms-control agreement.New reports indicate that President Trump has ordered his administration to begin thinking about how to negotiate a new multilateral nuclear arms control agreement with Russia and China. There are good reasons to want to constrain the nuclear activities of these countries, but any new effort to do so should not stand in the way of doing the easy and obvious thing needed to protect American security... Читать дальше...
Slawomir Sierakowski, The Strategist (ASPI)
Following the death of Pope John Paul II in 2005, a group of young Polish activists and artists donned T-shirts that read: I did not cry for the Pope'. At a time of seemingly obligatory national mourning, it was the kind of provocative act that can happen only in a free, pluralistic society. In a country as staunchly Catholic as Poland, the meme immediately caused a scandal. Yet because it was so effective, the I did not cry for' formulation has been repurposed for similar situations ever since.
Pavel Felgenhauer, EDM
In the early morning of April 30, in Caracas, opposition leader, speaker of the National Assembly and the self-proclaimed interim president of Venezuela, Juan Guaid, declared that the Venezuelan Armed Forces had abandoned the socialist autocratic president Nicols Maduro. The usurper would be ousted, he added. Yet, Guaid's pronouncement was only supported by a relatively small group of armed Venezuelan personnel who had defected to the opposition (Caracas Chronicles, April... Читать дальше...
Ben Judah, The American Interest
Forget economic anxiety. Rotterdam is a warning that the emerging political fight across Europe really is about cultural assimilation after all.I've often wondered, Where is Europe?Its essence could never be found in a modern megacityany place too particular cannot really be Europe. It could not be found in too ancient a city either, because truth be told very few Europeans live in ancient homes. Europe, the Europe we live in, is really a continent of suburbs, supermarkets... Читать дальше...
L. Alderman & M. Santora, NYT
Businesses are scrambling for workers in Hungary, where Prime Minister Viktor Orban limits work permits for foreigners and rails against immigrants.BUDAPEST When Balazs Katona couldn't hire enough Hungarians at his power-tool factory on the outskirts of this capital, he tried to recruit skilled workers from other countries. But in a nation with one of the toughest immigration policies in Europe, there were few takers.So he turned to people who are often on the margins of Hungarian society: deaf adults. Читать дальше...
MWI
The Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka against Christian targets that killed hundreds raises obvious concerns of remilitarizing a society still getting over the scars of war. The worst violence the country has seen since its longstanding civil war ended almost exactly ten years ago is naturally being discussed at least partly in that war's context. But while the means of warfare are similar, the motivations are different. The civil war was fought between a Tamil minority and a Sinhalese majority. Читать дальше...
The Economist
APRIL 30TH DAWNED promisingly in Venezuela. Juan Guaid, acknowledged as the country's interim president by many democracies and millions of Venezuelans, appeared outside an air-force base in Caracas flanked by national guardsmen to declare that the end of the dictatorship was imminent. By his side was a leader of the opposition, Leopoldo Lpez, who had somehow been freed from house arrest. His presence, and that of the guards, suggested that Venezuela's security forces were ready... Читать дальше...
J. Blank, Atlantic
Indonesia created an independent body to investigate and prosecute corrupt politicians. It workedmostly.
Rachel Ellehuus et al, CSIS
The Arctic is a beautiful but demanding region. The sun sets in October and does not return until March; temperatures average 32 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer and -40 degrees Fahrenheit in winter; and infrastructure is limited or absent. It is a place of many contradictions, no more so than now, when economic activity is increasing and national, geostrategic interests are confronting established practices of international cooperation and rules and norms.
James Silver, Wired
Over the past decade, thousands of fast-growth startups have flourished in Britain. Now the founders of the UK's biggest startups are telling that story in their own words
A. Michael Spence, Project Syndicate
MILANThe global economy is undergoing very large structural shifts, driven by three megatrends. One is the digital transformation of the foundations on which economies are built and run. Another is the growing purchasing power and economic strength of emerging economies, and China in particular. Lastly, there are broad-based political-economy trends, which include rising nationalism, various forms of populism, political and social polarization, and a possible... Читать дальше...
Bryant Harris, Al Monitor
After failing to override a presidential veto on ending US support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, Congress is looking for new ways to tie the Trump administration's hands.
Robert Kelly, Lowy Interpreter
For all the bluster, threats, reversals and extremes in recent times, very little on the ground has altered.
Rebecca Gordon, TomDispatch
By June 2013, many Egyptians were frustrated both with Morsi's increasingly authoritarian rule and the stagnation of the economy. Once again, millions of people gathered in Cairo, this time to call for his removal, at which point the military pushed him out, installing the head of the constitutional court, Adly Mansour, as interim president. Muslim Brotherhood supporters responded with violent attacks, burning police stations and government buildings. The government repression that followed was fierce enough that... Читать дальше...
David Gardner, Financial Times
Election results in the region show support for home rule
Omar Lugo, Worldcrunch
The opposition has so far failed to provoke a military uprising against President Nicols Maduro, and for now, can only count on an angry but tired population.
Hausmann & Muci, Am. Quarterly
The economic implosion started long before sanctions took hold.
Tomi Huhtanen, Martens Centre
With global politics in turmoil, Russia and China have found each other. In 2018, the President of Russia Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping met one another five times. In the same year, Russia and China held their biggest shared military exercises for decades.Trade between the two nations increased by over 30% in 2018, and is expected to increase even more.
Uri Friedman, The Atlantic
The United States thought all the pieces were in place for Maduro to leave. Then everything came crashing down.
