Susan Glasser, New Yorker
Critics be damned, the President is ending the Forever War waged by Bush, Obama, and Trump in Afghanistan.
Vuk Vuksanovic, CEPA
On January 9, Serbian Minister of Health Zlatibor Lončar donated 10,000 AstraZeneca vaccines to representatives of the Canton of Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was the latest vaccine donation by Serbia to its neighbors in the Balkans. In the course of the covid-19 pandemic, many great powers tried to increase their soft power credentials and...
Wazim Mowla, RealClearWorld
Most governments in the Caribbean are racing to secure COVID-19 vaccines for their citizens. This has opened up an opportunity for the United States to use its economic and political clout to help coordinate vaccine distribution to the region. Since vaccines have become available, Caribbean governments have sought the assistance of partners such as the United States, China, India, Russia, and the African Union for help in acquiring vaccines, and all but Washington... Читать дальше...
Sanam Vakil & Neil Quilliam, CH
This paper draws on a set of interviews conducted, on condition of confidentiality, with 210 subject-matter experts and current and former policymakers from 15 Middle East and key external countries.
Will Freeman, Foreign Policy
Conservative Guillermo Lasso will take office as an isolated president with a weak mandate, tasked with restoring faith in the country's institutions.
Joshua Rozenberg, A Lawyer Writes
The UK government is asking the Supreme Court to decide whether two bills passed by the Scottish parliament go beyond its legislative competence.
Alex de Waal, Responsible Statecraft
War broke out in the Tigray region of Ethiopia in November. Five months later, the scale of the carnage, destruction, and destabilization is becoming evident.
Max Boot, Council on Foreign Relations
The most important aspect is that it is not conditions-based. Previous U.S. presidents have generally said they would make redeployment decisions in Afghanistan and Iraq based on the threat posed by local enemies and the capabilities of local allies. Even the Donald Trump administration, which set a May 1 deadline for withdrawal in last year's negotiations with the Taliban, insisted that the Taliban denounce al-Qaeda (which it has never done) and refrain... Читать дальше...
Agatha Kratz & Janka Oertel, ECFR
China's vast yet protected home market has allowed some of its firms to acquire a scale that provides them with significant advantages when they compete in other markets.
Russia Matters
This compilation of observations and policy ideas related to Russia by Matthew Rojansky is part of Russia Matters' "Competing Views" rubric, where we share prominent American thinkers' takes on issues pertaining to Russia, U.S.-Russian relations and broader U.S. policies affecting Russia.
Michael Rubin, 1945
Within Washington, Americans will debate whether Biden's move is wise. Biden's team will try to spin the withdrawal as something other than a defeat.
Park Sang-hyun, JoongAng Daily
At the center of the rivalry between the two powers over semiconductors is Taiwan. Taiwanese company TSMC, the world's first dedicated semiconductor foundry and the leading company in its field. TSMC is essential to American companies and one of the major reasons that the United States is wary of Taiwan being under the influence of China.
George Friedman, Geo. Futures
Much has been made of China's seemingly unending potential to invade Taiwan - nearly as much as Russia's buildup near Ukraine, which many believe is little more than a pretext for a future war. Lurking behind this is the age-old fear that Russia and China will team up to undermine the United States, say, by launching simultaneous attacks. This isn't inconceivable, but neither is it likely.
