Diplomacy & Politics Archive

TORONTO — Wrapping up a trip to China last week, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper described the visit as “very successful.” The trip saw the signing of a number of trade deals worth an estimated $3 billion in oil, natural gas, minerals and other products. But though it also ended with the commissioning of a feasibility study into the possibility of a free trade agreement between the two countries, Harper was quick to advise caution on what remains a long-term goal. That the two economies need each other is not in question. With bilateral trade valued at $50 billion in […]

All eyes have been on Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping this week, as the heir apparent to Chinese President Hu Jintao continues his tour of the United States. But Xi will not be the only new face to emerge this fall, when the Chinese Communist Party will convene its 18th National Party Congress to announce a new generation of leaders in the top party and government positions. The congress convenes every five years to announce changes in policy or to make changes in personnel. But this year, the political transition is particularly important, with more than half of the 25 […]

Libyans celebrate the one year anniversary of the first anti-Gadhafi protest and reflect on life without the fallen leader. World News Videos by NewsLook

When a bomb attached to an Israeli diplomat’s car exploded in New Delhi earlier this week, it not only injured at least four people, it also seriously damaged India’s hopes of staying out of the conflict over Iran’s nuclear program. There is no confirmation that the attack was carried out by Iran or its ally Hezbollah, as Israel maintains. Still, the incident points to the increasingly untenable efforts by Indian officials to simultaneously nurture close ties with the U.S and strengthen relations with Israel, while maintaining valuable ties with Iran in the face of U.S. and international sanctions. At the […]

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) assisted in the release last week of 29 Chinese hostages held in Sudan, taking a role in the negotiations and handling the physical transfer of the hostages. In an email interview, David Forsythe, a professor of political science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, discussed the ICRC’s involvement in international conflicts. WPR: What role has the ICRC historically played in humanitarian and conflict situations, as well as hostage situations? David Forsythe: Since 1863 the ICRC has tried to play a leading humanitarian role in armed conflict and other situations of violence like domestic […]

Deposed President Mohamed Nasheed’s ouster was a defeat for democracy and a victory for conservative Islamism in the Maldives. But the resulting political instability in the Indian Ocean archipelago threatens to exacerbate regional rivalries in which the strategically located island nation has increasingly figured. The apparent coup d’état on Feb. 7 was triggered by Nasheed’s move to arrest the chief justice of the Criminal Court, Abdulla Mohamed. Nasheed accused Mohamed of blocking a graft probe against Abdul Maumoon Gayoom, who ruled the Maldives for 30 years until Nasheed unseated him in the country’s first democratic election in 2008. But the […]

Gordon Chang, author of “The Coming Collapse of China”, talks about the meeting between President Barack Obama and Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping and the prospects of China giving financial aid to Europe. US News Video by NewsLook

After years of controversy and disagreement, the U.S. and Japan agreed last week to decouple the terms of an agreement to close the U.S. Marines’ Futenma air base in Okinawa, after negotiations over relocating the base elsewhere on the island had reached a stalemate. The 2006 agreement had required the relocation of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to another site on Okinawa as a precondition for reducing the amount of U.S. troops stationed there. But heavy opposition among residents of Okinawa to hosting a new base, even in a less populated part of the island, had made the issue a […]

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff made her first official visit to Cuba last month. In an email interview, David Herrero, a research associate at the Council on Foreign Relations, discussed Brazil-Cuba relations. WPR: How did Brazil-Cuba relations evolve under former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and what were Brazil’s priorities? David Herrero: Lula significantly expanded political engagement and commercial ties with Cuba. He visited the country four times as president and helped launch a $950 million modernization project — financed mostly by Brazil’s development bank, BNDES — at the Cuban port of Mariel. On the issue of human rights, […]

Over the past two weeks, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps conducted Bold Alligator, an exercise off the Atlantic seaboard designed to refine expertise in amphibious operations and test new amphibious capabilities. The exercise included the USS Enterprise supercarrier, three amphibious assault vessels — the USS Wasp, the USS Kearsarge and the USS Iwo Jima — as well as a bevy of support vessels. Nine international partners joined Bold Alligator in some fashion, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom, with the French LPD Mistral representing the most significant allied commitment. The […]

Since returning to civilian rule in April 2011, Niger has achieved a measure of political stability. In July, President Mahamadou Issoufou weathered his first major domestic crisis, a coup attempt, whose plotters were arrested by authorities soon thereafter. The president recently increased the salaries of civil servants and reduced the costs of electricity and water, moves calculated to address economic grievances. Critically for this impoverished country, external donors regard Issoufou’s administration favorably; aid suspended after the February 2010 coup that removed former President Mamadou Tandja from power has been restored or increased. Finally, a small amount of oil — around […]

When South Sudan seceded from Sudan, it took three-quarters of Sudanese oil production with it, and the two countries have disputed oil revenues and transit fees ever since. Because South Sudan lacks oil infrastructure, it must transport its oil northward through existing pipelines to Sudan’s Port Sudan, on the Red Sea, where there are refineries and loading facilities for tankers. Seeking other options for oil exports, the landlocked country is now considering building an oil pipeline through Ethiopia and Djibouti, and signed an agreement last month to link its oil fields with a coastal town in Kenya. “Any sane or […]

AKTAU, Kazakhstan — Last week, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev traveled to Germany for the signing of $4 billion worth of economic agreements, exchanging access to Kazakhstan’s stores of rare earths and raw minerals for German technological expertise. Appearing alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Nazarbayev struck a confident figure in deflecting criticisms of the country’s democratic performance. After two decades of independence, Kazakhstan appears to have won its place on the world stage. Going solely by the numbers, Nazarbayev has reason to be confident. Once considered yet another impoverished Central Asian post-Soviet republic, Kazakhstan’s per capita GDP now stands at more […]

Despite receiving little attention in the lengthy written testimony (.pdf) presented to the Senate and House intelligence committees’ recent hearings on threats to the United States, the question of the viability of reaching a peace agreement with the Taliban was raised repeatedly in the discusions at the two public sessions. Many in Congress are rightly concerned about the situation in Afghanistan and any nascent peace process. So it is important to understand the specific risks involved in negotiating with the Taliban before Congress’ last annual hearing on worldwide threats to national security takes place Thursday in the Senate Armed Services […]

Amateur video out of Syria appears to show ongoing violence as diplomats engage in a war of words. World News Videos by NewsLook

China announced last month that it will send a contingent to participate in the U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan. In an email interview, Courtney Richardson, a research fellow at the International Security Program at Harvard University’s Belfer Center and a doctoral student at Tufts University’s Fletcher School, discussed China’s peacekeeping deployments. WPR: What is the recent history of China’s involvement in international peacekeeping missions? Courtney Richardson: From the time it assumed its seat at the United Nations Security Council in 1971 until the early 1980s, China was morally opposed to the international peacekeeping regime; it abstained on Security Council […]

Although Syria’s Kurds have a long history of opposing the central government in Damascus, they have so far refrained from widespread, proactive participation in the ongoing rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad’s Baathist regime. However, if they continue to limit themselves to being mere spectators to the unfolding drama, they may well find themselves deprived of any long-term political gains in a post-Assad Syria. The Kurds’ forbearance to date does not signal a fear of government repression or an unwillingness to make sacrifices. They have demonstrated such willingness on numerous occasions, most recently in 2004-2005, when clashes between civilian protesters and […]