Diplomacy & Politics Archive

In the aftermath of the negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program over the weekend, too much emphasis is being placed on the “failure to reach a deal” and not enough on the fact that leaving Geneva without a signed agreement represents not a breakdown, but simply a strategic and in all likelihood short pause. Furthermore, there has been very little precision as to what the deal currently being hammered out in Geneva represents. It would help if the word “interim,” “preliminary” or “confidence-building” were systematically placed in front of the word “deal,” as that’s what is under discussion for the time […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s trip this week to Vietnam and South Korea, which follows last week’s unprecedented foreign and defense ministerial meeting in Japan, testifies to Moscow’s continuing efforts to raise its profile in Asia. Last year, Russia hosted its first Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference; the previous year, it joined the East Asian Summit. Half of Russia’s arms exports flow to Asian countries, which also buy Russia’s oil and gas as well as its civil nuclear technologies. Like their Western counterparts, Russian analysts consider that demographic, economic and other trends will make the Asia-Pacific the world’s most important region […]

Globalization is predominantly thought of as a benign force offering greater opportunities for trade, communication and technological innovation. Yet globalization has developed a dark side, exploited by malicious actors like drug and human traffickers, terrorists and WMD proliferators. Globalization has done more than just provide these actors tools for conducting their trade; it has created an entirely new breed of crime, where illicit activities converge and the drug trafficker may also be the terrorist or the proliferator, or both. One recent example of this growing confluence of transnational security threats is Panama’s recent seizure of the North Korean cargo ship […]

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently met with his Bangladeshi counterpart Dipu Moni, in part to advance a proposed Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Economic Corridor. In an email interview, Nimmi Kurian, associate professor at the Center for Policy Research in New Delhi and India representative at the India China Institute at the New School in New York, explained the BCIM proposal and its vision for regional integration.* WPR: What is envisioned in the proposed BCIM Economic Corridor? Nimmi Kurian: The BCIM Economic Corridor is a proposal being actively considered by both the governments of India and China to promote subregional cooperation among […]

Like with so many of its other neighbors, Turkey’s relations with Iraq have been something of a roller-coaster ride over the past few years. Initially benefitting from Ankara’s now-defunct “zero problems with neighbors” foreign policy, Turkey-Iraq relations were on the upswing until early 2012, when they quickly deteriorated and came close to hitting rock bottom. In recent weeks, though, both Ankara and Baghdad have started singing a different tune, in what appears to be to be an effort to bring their relations back from the brink and start working together again on mutual interests and concerns, particularly regarding the situation […]

On Wednesday, an Israeli court found former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman not guilty of corruption, opening the door for him to return to a prominent role in Israeli politics now that he is cleared of the charges of fraud and breach of trust. He is likely to resume his post as foreign minister in the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In the short term, however, his return to government is likely to have a bigger impact on Israel’s domestic politics than on its foreign policy. “Netanyahu is far and away viewed by the public as the person who […]

The Philippines was rocked by typhoon Haiyan on Friday—reportedly one of the strongest on record—that is so far estimated to have killed at least three people and caused an unknown amount of damage.* Last month, a similar disaster struck India when the cyclone Phailin hit the country’s east coast from the Bay of Bengal, causing widespread flooding and killing an estimated 14 people. Both incidents are notable for far worse outcomes avoided through careful preparation—the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of citizens in the path of both storms limited their human toll. As Phailin approached in mid-October, India evacuated some […]

Tuesday’s news of the defeat of the M23 rebel group by the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) national army forces was a rare bright spot for those who follow the country’s fortunes. Until this week, the Congolese army, known by its French acronym FARDC, had not achieved a decisive military victory against any nonstate armed group in its history. The nominal national forces were better known as a ragtag amalgamation of soldiers from former militant groups who as often as not engaged in gross human rights violations against the civilians they were charged with protecting. In battle, FARDC forces typically […]

Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to Saudi Arabia earlier this week to mend fraying U.S. ties with the kingdom, which remains one of America’s key partners in the Middle East. At the end of his visit, in a joint press conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud, Kerry declared that U.S.-Saudi ties are “strategic” and “enduring.” But if the Obama administration now believes that things are back on track, it should reconsider that assessment. Given the current overlap between Washington and Riyadh’s regional and global interests, both countries will continue to work closely together, but the coming years will […]

Add Hamas to the list of regimes teetering precariously in the Middle East. The Palestinian Islamist organization that rules Gaza and remains officially committed to the destruction of Israel is losing friends, running out of cash and struggling to come up with effective military tactics. Even more crucially, it is losing popular support as its foes are preparing to take it on. A group of Gazans opposed to Hamas rule has called for mass demonstrations on Nov. 11, the anniversary of Yasser Arafat’s death, openly aiming to remove Hamas from power. The organization calls itself Tamarod, “rebellion” in Arabic and […]

On Nov. 4, French President Francois Hollande received his Tunisian counterpart, Moncef Marzouki, at the Elysee Palace to discuss bilateral ties as Tunisia continues in its halting democratic transition. The visit coincided with yet another stalemate in recently renewed political talks within Tunisia’s National Constituent Assembly (NCA), the body formed in 2011 to draft the country’s new constitution. The 2011 Tunisian uprising that resulted in the ouster of former dictator Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali marked a new chapter for French-Tunisian relations, born out of colonial ties and maintained today through economic partnership. Amicable relations with Ben Ali flourished particularly under […]

This week, the Philippines announced it would investigate reports of worker abuse in Saudi Arabia, while last month, Ethiopia imposed a six-month ban on its workers traveling to Saudia Arabia, citing worsening labor conditions. In an email interview, Zahra Babar, assistant director for research at the Center for International and Regional Studies at Georgetown University’s school of foreign service in Qatar, explained efforts to address the conditions of migrant workers in the Persian Gulf states. WPR: What are the main countries of origin for migrant labor in the Gulf states, and what industries do they work in? Zahra Babar: Current […]

After weekend election violence in Kosovo forced polling places to close early and left ballot boxes destroyed, leaders of Serbia and Kosovo are meeting in Brussels today to discuss next steps. At the same time, officials have announced that the elections will be repeated in Mitrovica, the northern Serb-dominated municipality in majority-Albanian Kosovo where the attacks took place. Prime Minister Ivica Dacic of Serbia and Prime Minister Hashim Thaci of Kosovo are meeting to determine how to move forward on a pact that aims to integrate ethnic Serbs with the rest Kosovo. Under the terms of a European Union-mediated agreement […]

Under new President Hasan Rouhani, Iran has moved swiftly to repair communication channels with the U.S. and speed up negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. So far, much attention has been paid to how Washington will react to Rouhani’s diplomatic outreach. But success in these negotiations will also necessitate an improved Iranian relationship with the European Union. While there is skepticism about how flexible the Islamic Republic can be and whether Presidents Hasan Rouhani and Barack Obama can deliver on whatever deal might come out of the negotiation process, an equally important question is what the EU can offer to get […]

Last week, a U.S. drone strike killed Hakimullah Mehsud, the leader of Pakistan’s sociopathically violent Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) movement. The organization has murdered thousands, often relying on indiscriminant suicide bombs; has trained terrorists to attack the United States; and has remained closely aligned with al-Qaida. No one among the civilized will lament Mehsud’s passing. But because the United States did it, Pakistan has responded with outrage. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan called the U.S. action “a conspiracy to sabotage the peace talks” with the TTP—even though almost no one thinks those talks had much chance of success. Islamabad lodged a […]

The eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) took a turn toward peace today as M23 rebels reportedly gave up their 20-month insurgency. The Congolese army, re-engineered after a humiliating defeat by the rebels last year, pushed the M23 out of its remaining strongholds with help from a precedent-setting U.N. intervention brigade and an intensive new focus on the conflict by the U.S. and other international actors. But as Anthony Gambino wrote in a WPR briefing in July, ending the M23’s fight is only one step in a much larger process: The key question now is whether the international community has […]

Late-October elections in the Czech Republic yielded no parliamentary majority for any party. In an email interview, Robert Kron, a senior analyst at the Center for European Policy Analysis, explained why the vote was inconclusive and the prospects for coalition negotiations. WPR: What political factors explain the inconclusive parliamentary vote and the Social Democrats’ poor performance? Robert Kron: The resounding failure of the traditionally most prominent political parties—the Social Democrats (CSSD) and the Civic Democrats (ODS)—and the striking success of Andrej Babis’ Action of Dissatisfied Citizens (ANO) movement, which will enter parliament for the first time, can be explained by […]