M. Stott et al, FT
Brazil's far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro took the stage in a packed auditorium in Brasília to announce his return to the heart of the political establishment. After a prayer from an evangelical congressman calling for God's blessing, the erstwhile iconoclast rose to speak about his decision to join the Liberal party, Brazil's third largest by number of lawmakers.
C.l Rovira Kaltwasser, WPR
In winning Chile's presidential election on Dec. 19, Gabriel Boric set two new records. First, at the age of 36, he will become the youngest president in Chile's history. Second, his tally of 4.5 million votes is the most ever for a Chilean presidential candidate.
Fehim Tastekin, Al Monitor
With economic turbulence rattling Turkey's economy, the question is rising of whether Ankara can maintain its grip on Syria's opposition-held areas where the Turkish lira is the de facto currency.
Joergen Oerstroem Moeller, TNI
In Ukraine, U.S. policy has pushed Russia and China together on an issue where the two countries do not see eye to eye.
James Holmes, 1945
For one thing, the claimants to sovereign territory in Antarctica do not exactly make up a murderer's row. NATO and Russia glare at each other across the Arctic, and their commercial and political interests often clash. Contrast that with Antarctica, where Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and Great Britain have lodged claims...
Oliver Rolofs, DW
The EU has the tools and political muscle to push back — but can it act swiftly and decisively enough? The EU needs to carve out a new strategic framework for dealing with Russia. In the first instance, Brussels should unpack its regulatory toolbox and continue the diversification and unbundling of energy markets.
Beverly Gage, Foreign Affairs
Around 1949, fresh out of college at Northwestern University, my mother moved to New York to take a job at NBC. She arrived at the dawn of U.S. television. NBC had entered the business just about a decade earlier. Rather than being assigned to a sitcom or a variety show, she ended up at the NBC Opera Theatre, one of the splashiest, most expensive ventures in the new lineup. The corporation had long sponsored its own radio orchestra under the leadership of the famed conductor Arturo Toscanini... Читать дальше...
Lin et al, CSIS
On December 5, the Wall Street Journal reported that China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) is seeking to establish a permanent military facility in the Central African nation of Equatorial Guinea. While the Equatorial Guinean government has so far denied the reports, U.S. defense officials have raised concerns about the possible plan. If the reports are true, and if China is able to construct a military base on the Atlantic...
Aaron David Miller, CNN
(CNN)The last thing President Joe Biden needs in 2022 are crises with Russia and China, and increased tensions with Iran and possibly North Korea. Sadly, that may well be where events are heading. And it's not at all clear whether even a skillful combination of deterrence...
Alexandra Vacroux, RM
Demography plays a starring role in Russia's dreams and nightmares. Meeting with schoolchildren in Vladivostok on Sept. 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin asserted that had it not been for the October revolution of 1917 and the collapse of the Soviet Union, "some specialists believe that our population would be over 500 million people. Imagine that."
Amy Mackinnon & Jack Detsch, FP
But so have Russia's armed forces—making any conflict more of a toss-up than a walkover.
Eli Lake, Bloomberg
It's impossible to get inside the Russian leader's head. But Putin's brinksmanship has already paid modest dividends. President Joe Biden has offered diplomatic off-ramps to Putin, such as a NATO-Russia summit and high-level bilateral meetings to explore ways to ease tensions and address Russia's security concerns with NATO and Ukraine.
