An alliance between Kurdish leftists and Iraqi militias shows why it’s dangerous to overestimate Iran’s role in the so-called “Shia crescent.” In light of the breakdown of state structures in Iraq and Syria, it’s tempting to try to build narratives that portray entire ethnic groups or sects as pawns of great powers like Iran, as […]
Archive | World
An Iraqi-Kurdish Conflict Casts Doubt on the “Shia Crescent” Theory
Posted on September 9, 2017.
Posted in Conflict, Iran, Iraq, Islam, Middle East, Religion, Security Issues, Syria, Terrorism, Turkey, World
Rethinking the Spectre of Russian Intervention in the Baltic States
Posted on August 24, 2017.
The baltic states responding to the threat posed by a resurgent Russia is understandable, but the nature of this threat and the means to reduce it need to be re-examined. From 2014 onwards, Western commentators covering Russian aggression in the former Soviet space have repeatedly issued stark warnings of a potential threat to the Baltic […]
Posted in Europe, Russia, Security Issues, World
The Economics of Catalan Secession from Spain
Posted on August 4, 2017.
Image by David Tubau (Energético) One year on from the Brexit vote, Europe’s economy faces yet another monumental challenge in the shape of the Catalan independence referendum. There are doubts as to whether the referendum will go ahead; a referendum on independence was held in 2014, but after the Spanish constitutional court anhttp:\/\/global-politics.co.uked it, the […]
Posted in Economic Security, Economics, European Union, Global Economy, World
The Paris Agreement: Thinking Long-Term About US Power and Wealth
Posted on July 9, 2017.
US President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the country out of the Paris climate agreement may eventually end in a U-turn. After all, unpredictability has by far been Trump’s favourite foreign policy strategy. Yet should this one promise be kept its implications for global cooperation on climate change would be catastrophic. In the long term, […]
Posted in Global Economy, US, World
Qatar’s Actions Destabilize Bahrain and Gulf Region
Posted on July 5, 2017.
Grievances between Qatar and much of the rest of Middle East go back decades and help explain the schism that burst into the open recently and led to the widespread boycott of Qatar. Take the case of bad blood between Bahrain and Qatar. Bahrain is still angered over Qatar’s attempts to use its vast funds […]
Posted in Conflict, Middle East, Saudi Arabia, World
Angola’s August Elections Come Under Scrutiny After Journalist Arrests
Posted on July 1, 2017.
Rumblings are rife in Angola that something is afoot at the highest reaches of government. What may be in the offing? Everything from a top-level government shakeup to a full-fledged coup have been talked about. To keen observers of politics and conflict, it would not be surprising if people in power took sudden actions to […]
Posted in Africa, corruption, Political Security, World
The End of Truth
Posted on June 8, 2017.
Truth and Democracy have always had a troubled relationship, but perhaps never as troubled as now. From Plato’s Noble Lie to Kellyanne Conway’s Alternative Facts, there has always been a tension between the presentation of an objective truth and the exercise of political power. Michael Ignatieff, himself an academic turned not particularly successful politician, mused […]
What South Africa’s ANC Can Learn from the Demise of India’s Congress Party
Posted on June 5, 2017.
Feeble economic growth, allegations of kleptocracy, and the controversial sacking of not one, but two Finance Ministers, headline South Africa President Jacob Zuma’s second term. In its most recent forecast, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts the country’s economy to grow at 0.8 percent this year. While the IMF’s report expects poor growth across the […]
Posted in Africa, corruption, Economics, Global Economy, India, World
Not Your Grandfather’s Battlefield: Artificial Intelligence and the Military
Posted on May 29, 2017.
The US military is on the cusp of a fundamental transformation in how it operates on the battlefield due, in large part, to advances in artificial intelligence (AI). Although the use of AI by the military has drawn criticism — based mostly on concerns over robots potentially making life and death decisions — over the […]
Posted in Security Issues, Technology, World
Macron’s New Cabinet Heralds Revival of a European Defence
Posted on May 22, 2017.
With the recent nomination of his government, President Macron takes a chance to rejuvenate the idea of a European defence, an ambitious plan that collapsed when it failed to obtain the ratification in the French Parliament back in 1954. The European Defence Community emerged from the Pleven plan, proposed in 1950 by the French Prime […]
Posted in Europe, European Union, France, World
Green Politics in the Age of Populism
Posted on May 19, 2017.
Who will provide strong and stable leadership on the environment? Following May’s shock election announcement there has only been one issue on the agenda for both the media and political parties themselves: Brexit. One worrying effect of our preoccupation with constitutional issues is that green politics have been ignored. Despite Green Party gains in the […]
Posted in Environmental Security, World
America’s Allies in Eurasia Face a Common Foe in Russia
Posted on May 12, 2017.
By Eugen Iladi It’s no secret that Russia is using military means and disinformation to try to reassemble its Soviet Union footprint. Ukraine has drawn the most headlines in this effort. But the Kremlin has long been working its land-grab plan in Georgia, Moldova and Azerbaijan. Russia’s economic failure and social challenges in the 21st […]
Posted in Conflict, Europe, Political Security, Russia, Ukraine Conflict, US, World
The Problem with Polling
Posted on May 9, 2017.
By Daniel Shaw and Claire Elliott Political polls are making a fast comeback after failing to correctly predict either Brexit or the election of Donald Trump. Following the highpoint of Nate Silver’s flawless prediction of Obama’s 2008 victory, these embarrassing failures blew up in the face of both polling companies and liberal orthodoxy. These failures were […]
Assessing the Impact of Independence On Scottish Agriculture
Posted on May 8, 2017.
The UK’s vote last year to leave the EU has resulted in Scotland once again re-evaluating whether or not independence would be in its best interests. The Brexit decision and the subsequent triggering of Article 50 have both generated significant political upheaval throughout the UK. In a recent speech, Nicola Sturgeon has added to that turmoil […]
Posted in Economic Security, Food Security, Scottish Independence, UK News, World
CETA and TPP: Why Understanding Trade Matters Politically
Posted on April 17, 2017.
With an overwhelming majority of 408 votes against 254, the European Parliament recently approved the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada. This came only three weeks after Donald Trump’s formal withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) – a deal involving 12 nations around the Pacific Ocean. As trade is silently shaking world politics […]
Posted in Europe, Global Economy, US, World
President Trump’s Failure to Connect the Dots
Posted on April 9, 2017.
Most children learn early on the art of connecting the dots. Draw a line from one dot to another in a logical pattern and an image begins to emerge. The art of foreign policy has similar characteristics. Policy makers try to connect the dots, attempting to imagine the ways their decision will effect the larger […]
Martin McGuinness and the Not so Uncommon Transition from Terrorist to Statesman
Posted on March 25, 2017.
With the death of Martin McGuinness, the former Provisional IRA senior commander turned peace-maker and Deputy First Minister, one is struck that such a transition was simultaneously, impressive and outrageous. I had the opportunity of meeting McGuinness last January when I interviewed him. I was struck by his warmth and generosity in taking time out […]
Posted in Conflict, Europe, Security Issues, Terrorism, UK News, World
In Retreat
Posted on February 10, 2017.
Brexit, Donald Trump and the growing nationalism wave sweeping across the Western world represent a new political backlash against globalisation, which might seriously threaten the world liberal economic order and global security. In her much-anticipated speech on 17 January, UK Prime Minister Theresa May announced her plans for a “Hard Brexit”, which will end […]
Posted in Europe, Global Economy, US, World
Are Notions of Retributive Justice Helpful?
Posted on January 29, 2017.
The International Criminal Court and its perception of justice being achieved through trial, conviction and imprisonment shows a notion of retributive justice, a notion that may have limited effectiveness in the context of Uganda and the case of Dominic Ongwen. With the trial of former Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) Commander Dominic Ongwen currently ongoing, the […]
In Defence of Belgian Counterterror Policy
Posted on January 21, 2017.
On March 22nd 2016 the two consecutive bombings at the Brussels’ Zaventem airport and the Maalbeek metro station brought Belgian counterterrorism policy under heavy scrutiny. With the Paris attacks foreshadowing an impending threat, the Belgian security alert had been raised to critical levels since November 2015. Yet in spite of warnings from numerous countries, the […]
Posted in Europe, European Union, Security Issues, Terrorism, World
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Why Timor-Leste’s Choice of Portuguese Might be Right
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“Today’s Morocco is Not That of the Past”
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When Putsch Comes to Shove: A Historical Take on Trump’s Attack at the Capitol
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The Significance of the Morocco-Israel-US Deal for Regional Peace
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Undoing the GOP Manipulation of the Courts. What the US Can Learn From Germany
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