U. Franke & J. Torreblanca, ECFR
New technologies are a significant force shaping international relations. If the EU wants to be more than a mediator between the US and China, it will need to change its mindset.
Stratfor Worldview
The smaller cities surrounding China's largest urban centers are altering the local household registration, or"hukou," system to attract skilled labor in a tight market, while avoiding reforms that might shift China's industrial base further inland. Without full hukou reform, China's persistent rural-urban income divide will inhibit the expansion of its consumer base and threaten the political stability that Beijing relies on for its governing mandate.
Fred Kaplan, Slate
China's new missile silos are concerning—but we already have more than enough weapons to counter them.
Shinae Hong, The Diplomat
Mongolia's mediating role in the Korean Peninsula has emphasized the significance of small states' soft power in global diplomacy.
Sales, Wechsler & Slavin, Atlantic Council
It sounds like a Hollywood script. The United States has indicted four Iranians and accused them of a scheme to abduct the Iranian-American journalist and activist Masih Alinejad from her New York home. The Iranian regime-backed group had planned to take Alinejad out to sea by speedboat and eventually to Iran's ally, Venezuela, according to the FBI. How should the United States respond to a kidnapping plot on American soil? And...
W. LeoGrande, Responsible Statecraft
Those pushing for regime change should be careful what they wish for.
Bohdan Nahaylo, Kyiv Post
Not so long ago, the ill-famed president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, sought to switch from being a bandit thug into a "politician," but also a "professor," for which, before he was kicked out in 2014, he was ridiculed. Now another thug, a far more dangerous and determined one in Russia, Vladimir Putin, has claimed the […]
Hilal Khashan, Geopolitical Futures
Iran presents itself to the outside world as the mighty Islamic Republic, built on strength, perseverance and independence. But in reality, Iran is a weak country. Its military hardware is obsolete, and its economy is hurting. It became a regional power only by default following Iraq's loss in the 1991 Gulf War and the subsequent crippling blockade. The uprisings that shattered several Arab countries didn't affect Iran, which then gained a modicum of power and influence in the region... Читать дальше...
Akira Igata & Brad Glosserman, Foreign Affairs
The Need for Economic Security Is Reviving Washington's Alliance With Tokyo
Lee Rotherham, Conservative Home
In a recent piece on this site, Garvan Walshe pondered the development of a new continental Eurosceptic coalition. This "rassemblement des patriotes" brings together the parties of Marine Le Pen, Viktor Orban, and Jaroslaw Kaczynski among others. The phenomenon serves as a marker not only of the EU's past mistakes, but also its future...
Minxin Pei, Project Syndicate
The Communist Party of China's crackdown on ride-hailing firm Didi over supposed data-security concerns seems to be just the beginning of a wider campaign to assert control over the country's thriving tech sector. Foreign investors hoping that Chinese leaders will realize their folly and reverse course should think again.
