Diplomacy & Politics Archive

In one of several military operations that have been launched over the past year to tackle illegal gold mining, illegal deforestation and drug smuggling in the Amazon rain forest, Brazil is sending more than 8,500 troops to patrol an area that stretches across the northern border of the country. The deployment, which underscores Brazil’s efforts to assert greater control over the more than two-thirds of the Amazon that falls within its borders, comes as international expectations over Brazil’s role as a regional power rise — and as a United Nations conference on sustainable development to be held in Rio de […]

Reactions in Europe and Asia of the election of Francois Hollande in France’s president elections in the face of the euro zone crisis. World News Videos by NewsLook

In the aftermath of François Hollande’s election as France’s president Sunday, much of the analysis has concentrated on the implications for Europe: in particular, how Hollande’s call for an emphasis on economic growth will impact the austerity cure imposed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel as the solution to the European Union’s sovereign debt crisis. This is understandable, as France’s — and Europe’s — economic solvency will of course condition much of its ability to act on the international stage. But a quick look at Hollande’s agenda in the coming weeks — G-8, NATO, G-20 and EU heads of state summits […]

One issue that warrants greater attention from Washington policymakers moving forward is how relations between Russia and China will affect those two countries’ policies relating to nuclear arms control. In particular, the next administration needs to consider how the U.S. government and other actors can help shape this evolving relationship so that it moves in benign directions, while hedging against possible adverse outcomes. Russia and China have the world’s two most powerful militaries after that of the United States. China is currently undertaking perhaps the most comprehensive military modernization program in the world, while Russia still has approximately as much […]

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite declined an invitation by Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski earlier this month to join her Baltic colleagues in Poland to discuss regional security issues ahead of the NATO Summit in Chicago in May. In an email interview, Kinga Dudzinska, an analyst in the Eastern and Southeastern Europe program at the Polish Institute of International Affairs, discussed Polish-Baltic relations. WPR: How have Poland’s political and economic relations with the Baltic countries evolved in the post-Cold War period?Kinga Dudzinska: Since Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia regained their independence from the USSR in 1991 and joined the European Union and NATO […]

GUATEMALA CITY — Goldcorp is one of the many mining companies winning big on the Central American Gold Belt. Amid soaring gold prices, its Marlin mine in Guatemala made $609 million in profit last year, up 125 percent from 2010. The second-biggest gold miner in the world, Goldcorp was also Guatemala’s largest single taxpayer last year, paying more than $80 million in royalties and taxes, while also funding community development and health projects. But the Marlin mine has a downside. Guatemalans living nearby claim to have lead poisoning, and environmentalists say Goldcorp is harming local water supplies irreversibly. Meanwhile, anti-mining […]

Top Obama foreign policy adviser Denis McDonough told a Washington security conference Sunday that the White House believes its policy toward Iran is working, characterized Obama’s relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “workman-like” and said Obama’s foreign policy is defined by a clear-eyed pragmatism that is largely nonpartisan and un-ideological. “We are not asking for more time to let negotiations [with Iran] work because we are betting on negotiations,” McDonough told a conference convened by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a Washington think tank. “We are saying something different,” he continued. “We believe the policy we […]

Serbians voted Sunday for a new president and parliament after a campaign focused on rising unemployment and economic woes, pitting pro-European President Boris Tadic against populist Tomislav Nikolic. World News Videos by NewsLook

Yulia Tymoshenko’s hunger strike to protest her alleged assault in the prison where she is serving a sentence on charges of abuse of power returned the former prime minister to the center of growing tensions between Ukraine and the European Union. Her case has further damaged already strained ties between the EU and Ukraine, a member of the Eastern Partnership initiative that the EU launched in 2009, in part to promote human rights in six post-Soviet states. In addition to Ukraine, the other participating states are Belarus, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Moldova. For Nicu Popescu and Jana Kobzova, both experts […]

Mauritanian President Anerood Jugnauth recently resigned in order to rejoin party politics. In an email interview, Deborah Brautigam, a professor at American University, discussed the current state of governance and politics in Mauritius. WPR: What is Mauritius’ political culture like? Deborah Brautigam: Domestic politics in Mauritius is partly driven by the recognition that the island country is politically, geographically and economically vulnerable. Recognizing that vulnerability, different coalitions of political leaders have been able to strike a delicate balance, combining astute policies that strive to position Mauritius strategically to catch the waves of globalization with social policies that keep the population […]

The saga of Chen Guangcheng, the blind legal activist who sought refuge in the U.S. embassy in Beijing this past week, is still unfolding. Yet the Obama administration appears to have encountered its own version of President Dwight Eisenhower’s “Hungary 1956” moment: the point at which idealistic rhetoric about U.S. support for freedom and democracy collides with the harsh realities of U.S. national interests. As long as Chen was detained in internal exile in the village of Dongshigu, he was an out-of-sight martyr for whom rhetorical support could easily be expressed without too much risk of damaging the larger Sino-American […]

Chinese President Hu Jintao tried to take back center stage after the case of blind fugitive activist Chen Guangcheng threatened to overshadow the opening of the annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue talks between the United States and China in Beijing. World News Videos by NewsLook

When the global financial crisis erupted in 2007, it seemed liked the ideal moment for the political left to launch a comeback, particularly in Europe. The crisis was a disaster that started in the very heart of capitalism, the banking system, and which triggered massive layoffs, soaring unemployment and painful home foreclosures. In the U.S., the financial crisis helped the left-of-center Barack Obama win the White House. But throughout Europe voters seemed generally disinclined to bring leftist politicians to office. That might be about to change. After several years of the center-right taking the reins in Europe, 2012 could come […]

Last week’s inaugural U.S.-Brazilian Defense Cooperation Dialogue was the latest example of the Obama administration’s efforts to enhance defense cooperation with Brazil. Though improving broader relations with Brazil has been a priority for the Obama administration, the U.S. emphasis on bilateral defense ties should also be seen as part of Washington’s ongoing effort to get Brazil to increase its global security profile as the U.S. focuses more of its strategic attention and shrinking defense resources on the Western Pacific. Even before announcing the U.S. pivot to Asia last fall, the Obama administration had actively pursued expanded security ties with Brazil. […]

Last month Uzbekistan stopped the shipment of gas to Tajikistan, a move that Tajikistan qualified as part of an ongoing rail transport and energy blockade. In an email interview, Idil Tuncer Kilavuz, lecturer at Marmara University in Istanbul, Turkey, discussed Uzbekistan-Tajikistan relations. WPR: How have Uzbekistan-Tajikistan relations evolved since the fall of the Soviet Union? Idil Tuncer Kilavuz: Since Uzbekistan and Tajikistan gained independence in 1991, their relations have been poor. Just after the fall of the Soviet Union, Tajikistan experienced a civil war in which Uzbekistan supported the existing Tajikistan leadership, which won the war in 1997. However, relations […]

For families at the sharp end of the Philippines’ income inequality divide, it’s a daily battle to make ends meet. World News Videos by NewsLook

Over the weekend, tens of thousands Malaysian demonstrators took to the streets to demand electoral reforms from the ruling coalition of Prime Minister Najib Razak. The rally, which ended with Malaysian police arresting more than 450 people amid charges of police brutality, raised questions about whether the government might delay its plans to call early elections. Although elections do not need to be held until April 2013, Najib, who has been working to improve his image and bolster public support for his ruling coalition, was expected to hold the polls as early as June. “The enormous turnout indicates that there […]