Diplomacy & Politics Archive

After a year of intense diplomatic brinkmanship over the management of maritime disputes in the South China Sea, Cambodia passed the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to the tiny kingdom of Brunei on Jan. 1. Recent years have witnessed a dramatic escalation in territorial disputes between China, on one hand, and a number of Southeast Asian nations such as the Philippines and Vietnam on the other. However, the past year in particular marked a major deterioration in regional relations, due in no small part to the failure of ASEAN, under Cambodia’s watch, to adopt a […]

Protests have erupted in Northern Ireland in response to a vote by the Belfast City Council to fly the United Kingdom’s flag, with its trademark Union Jack symbol, above City Hall only on designated days, rather than every day of the year as has been the tradition for the past century. But what began as peaceful protests soon became violent riots that authorities have attributed to extremists exploiting the situation for their own purposes. “A small number of committed people can always create problems for a peaceful democratic majority,” Neil Jarman, director of the Institute for Conflict Research in Belfast, […]

In the Central African Republic (CAR), a rebel coalition called Seleka has captured at least 11 towns and cities since launching an offensive on Dec. 10. Seleka, Sango for “alliance,” was formed in August and comprises breakaway factions from four rebel groups that had signed peace deals with President Francois Bozizé starting in 2007. The group’s leaders charge that Bozizé failed to implement those agreements effectively. In particular, they are demanding payments for demobilized fighters and the release of imprisoned rebels. CAR has a history of instability, including the rebellion that brought Bozizé to power in 2003 as well as […]

As is well-known, the U.S. under the Obama administration’s now-familiar policy of engaging Asia has three essential components. The first is a diplomatic strategy involving deeper engagement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and related Asian regional institutions, especially those participating in the East Asia Summit (EAS). The second is an economic strategy involving high-quality trade liberalization, mainly within the framework of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The third is, of course, the military element, initially dubbed a “pivot” but since rechristened as a “rebalancing.” China has viewed these initiatives with much suspicion and regards them as detrimental to […]

More by accident than by design, 2013 is shaping up to be the most consequential year for U.S. trade policy since 2001, when China joined the World Trade Organization and the star-crossed Doha Round was launched. By the end of this year, negotiations could be completed on the first trans-Pacific free trade agreement in history, and talks should be well underway on a trans-Atlantic deal between the United States and the European Union. At the same time, new WTO negotiations will begin on a broad agreement to liberalize trade in service industries such as consulting, banking, insurance and architecture, and […]

Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s meetings this week in Washington should help resolve some of the key issues that will determine his country’s fate and the U.S. role in it. These include how many U.S. troops will remain in Afghanistan after 2014 and also how rapidly those leaving will depart. The Afghan-U.S. discussions should also help resolve uncertainties concerning peace negotiations with the Afghan Taliban and their foreign backers as well as how Karzai will transfer power to his duly elected successor in 2014. Above all, the meetings will make evident the limits of American power in a land that has […]

Many Africans had big — and unrealistic — expectations about the amount of attention they would receive from the United States during President Barack Obama’s first term. The administration’s approach to Africa was relatively low key compared with the Bush presidency’s flurry of big-ticket initiatives on health, development and security, which included the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the establishment of the U.S. Africa Command (Africom). Obama was also less personally engaged on the continent than his predecessor, only setting foot in sub-Saharan African for a few hours, very early in his term, to […]

During President Barack Obama’s first term, much was made of his administration’s “pivot” toward Asia. Given the increased strategic and economic significance of Asia to the United States, there are strong arguments for this rebalancing of focus. Nevertheless, the symbolism was lost on no one when, in late-November, Obama was forced to interrupt his trip to Asia to address the latest flare-up in violence between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. As Obama begins his second term, it is safe to assume that events in the Middle East will continue to occupy a considerable amount of bandwidth for the […]

There was an overwhelming sense of relief in Europe following U.S. President Barack Obama’s re-election in November. Although European approval of the Obama administration’s foreign policy has fallen since he took office in 2009, particularly over his increased use of drones in the war on terror and his perceived failure to put greater pressure on Israel toward a final status agreement with the Palestinians, Europeans overwhelmingly preferred him to his opponent, Republican candidate Mitt Romney. Indeed, according to one poll carried out in 12 European Union member states before the election, 75 percent of Europeans said they would vote for […]

For decades, Latin America policy specialists have lamented how the Western Hemisphere is never a priority for U.S. presidents. For all the United States’ economic and cultural ties with the region, however, America’s neighbors to the south do not face the kinds of imminent threats that tend to get a president’s undivided attention — and fortunately so. But while Latin America may never, and arguably should never, figure on the list of the U.S. executive’s top concerns, several innovative pushes across the U.S. foreign policy apparatus would not only dramatically help advance U.S. relations and leadership in the region, they […]

Last week, Myanmar’s military launched airstrikes against ethnic rebels from the northern state of Kachin, the latest salvo in a conflict between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and Myanmar’s central government that has escalated since a 1994 cease-fire came apart in 2011. Like other ethnic minorities in Myanmar, the Kachin have long sought more autonomy from the central government of the Southeast Asian nation, also known as Burma, which was under repressive military rule for five decades but has experienced a modicum of reform since President U Thein Sein came to power in 2011. Yet Thein Sein’s ascent was soon […]

The coming months mark the 10th anniversary of the start of a disastrous period for American diplomacy. A decade ago, the State Department languished on the sidelines as the Bush administration prepared for war in Iraq. On Feb. 5, 2003, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell went to the United Nations to argue that Saddam Hussein was still developing weapons of mass destruction. Powell knew that the case was weak, but he also knew that there was no hope for real diplomacy over Iraq. Washington wanted war. Ten years on, diplomacy is back in fashion in Washington. As secretary of state, […]

When South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) convened its national conference in Mangaung in December, the party urgently needed to set a course for calmer waters after a turbulent year. President Jacob Zuma has been accused by the South African media of being a visionless cipher in a country desperate for dynamic and innovative leadership. Although Zuma’s government is not without achievements, South Africa’s core problems of poverty, inequality and unemployment continue to fester. Corruption, too, has worsened, as measured by Transparency International’s annual index, with South Africa falling five places in 2012. In October, two ratings agencies, Standard […]

What a difference between Election Day 2012 and today. In the immediate aftermath of his electoral victory, U.S. President Barack Obama seemed poised to start his second term of office with renewed energy and confidence. However, the euphoria of the president’s supporters has slowly but steadily eroded. Despite his hopes that, with the election over, he could tackle the fiscal crisis that was looming over the country, Obama was unable to negotiate any lasting solution. Several months ago, I predicted that “Congress and the president may find some creative ways to postpone the scheduled sequestration” but that there would be […]

On Tuesday, tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Hong Kong to demand the resignation of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, who has faced mounting public discontent with his rule since winning office six months ago in an election in which most of Hong Kong’s citizens could not vote. Leung is facing deepening controversy over questions concerning his personal integrity. Protesters at the New Year’s Day demonstrations demanded he step down, spurred by the news that Leung had made unauthorized additions to his $64 million home and concealed this fact during his election campaign. Henry Tang, Leung’s primary […]

When the world thinks of up-and-coming economies, the only non-Asian country that readily comes to mind is Brazil. That, however, may soon change. The stars are aligning, presaging what could prove to be a brilliant future for Mexico. Latin America’s second-largest economy has long suffered from a combination of problems, some of which produced gruesomely bad press along with a hard-to-erase negative image. The problems, to be sure, have been real. But the image has been anything but balanced. Pictures of brutal killings in the country’s drug wars and high-pitched debates in the U.S. about waves of impoverished Mexican immigrants […]

TAIPEI — Relations with Taiwan might not be high on the list of priorities for incoming Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, given the dismal state of the Japanese economy. However, continued tensions with Beijing could make Taipei a valuable partner for Tokyo. Yet it’s uncertain whether Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou’s Kuomintang (KMT) government will be receptive to potential opportunities to improve relations with Japan. After his election, Abe was quick in promising to mend ties with mainland China. Tokyo-Beijing relations are the worst they have been in decades due to the dispute over the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands, which were nationalized […]