U.S. Department of State
Robert Spalding, RCWorld
This year, protesters from Minneapolis to Minsk demanded action from their governments. In the United States, demonstrations spurred change in criminal investigations, policy reform, and a national discourse about racial inequality. In Hong Kong, protests against mainland China's infringements upon the semi-autonomous city's civil liberties met a different beast: a despotic regime. Beijing stripped Hong Kong of its protections for free speech and dissent, effectively ending the arrangement known as one country... Читать дальше...
Ahmad Ra'fat, Worldcrunch
Iranian officials have reacted cautiously to a string of strikes, killings and acts of sabotage against the regime in past months. Do they fear retaliating against the West could hasten the Islamic Republic's demise?
Gideon Rachman, Financial Times
A power asymmetry puts the UK at a disadvantage in the negotiations
Jayati Ghosh, Project Syndicate
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government apparently thinks that the huge open-air farmers' protests outside Delhi may fizzle out in due course. But the farmers' resolve, and their widespread public support, suggest that this time could be different.
Adrian Zenz, Jamestown
In 2019 and 2020, the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) introduced new policies to promote the systematic, centralized, and large-scale training and transfer of "rural surplus laborers" to other parts of the TAR, as well as to other provinces of the People's Republic of China (PRC). In the first 7 months of 2020, the region had trained over half a million rural surplus laborers through this policy. This scheme encompasses Tibetans of all ages, covers the entire region,... Читать дальше...
Peter Hatemi & Rose McDermott, The Bulletin
US nuclear strategy relies on a deceptively simple concept: deterrence in the form of mutual assured destruction. Adversaries will not attack the United States, the thinking goes, because they know the United States would retaliate with overwhelming force, potentially involving nuclear weapons.
War on the Rocks
In this episode of Horns of a Dilemma, Will Inboden, executive director of the Clements Center at the University of Texas at Austin, sits down with Simon Miles, assistant professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, to discuss his book, Engaging the Evil Empire: Washington, Moscow, and the Beginning of the End of the Cold War. In his book, Miles asserts that the beginning of the thawing of relations between the United States and the Soviet...
Judy Dempsey, Carnegie Europe
Come January 2021, the United States and Germany will have to move quickly to resolve big differences, notably over China and Russia. At stake is the strength of transatlantic ties between America and Europe.
Christiane Hoffmann & René Pfister, Spiegel
United States President-Elect Joe Biden has long had strong ties to Germany and those are likely to continue once he is in the White House. But German and American interests diverge strongly on a number of foreign policy issues ranging from China to Russia.
Kristina Kausch, EU Observer
Here is the unhappy truth: Europe's Southern neighbourhood is a security mess, and no-one is going to come to the rescue. The neighbourhood is Europe's geopolitical Achilles' heel.
Stephen Zunes, Foreign Policy
Western Sahara's fate lies in the hands of the U.N. Security Council.
Daniel Akech Thiong, Afr. Arg.
Amid shifting dynamics in the Horn of Africa, South Sudan finds itself caught in the middle of regional rivalries.
Andrew Green, World Politics Review
The Democratic Republic of Congo's uneasy ruling coalition collapsed last Sunday, when President Felix Tshisekedi said in a televised address that his party would end its alliance with former President Joseph Kabila's grouping. The announcement sparked violent clashes...
C. Pérez Correa, Americas Quarterly
Two years into his term, the president's celebration of promises left out a big one.
Niva Yau, The Diplomat
In Beijing's pursuit of shifting its trade and energy dependencies from sea to land, Nur-Sultan is a necessary partner.
Pavel Sharikov, Riddle
Pavel Sharikov examines rival attempts by the US and Russia to internationally regulate cyberspace and wonders whether such a consistently fraught outlook will change with the incoming Biden Administration
Tom Kibasi, Guardian
Unlike almost every trade agreement in history, a UK-EU one will result in more friction and less cooperation than before
Matthew Lynn, Spectator
Currency speculators at some of the hedge funds in Mayfair may be feeling quietly pleased. Trade experts will be relieved that their lucrative consultancy gigs will keep on coming. Heck, even financial columnists can safely pontificate about the possible outcome for a while yet, while the FBPE mob on Twitter can carry on predicting the apocalypse every time Nissan adjusts its production schedules. There are a few people for whom...
Raghida Dergham, The National
Policymakers across the region and the world are furiously planning as the region enters the critical weeks and months ahead
