Diplomacy & Politics Archive

Since the collapse of world oil prices in 2014, the wealthy Arab monarchies in the Persian Gulf have all faced difficult times, but especially Oman. Last month, things got even worse when Standard & Poor’s downgraded Oman’s credit rating to junk status over concerns with the country’s budget and revenue prospects as oil prices stay low. After recording average budgetary surpluses of 9.7 percent of GDP in the 2000s, Oman has seen fiscal deficits of 1.1 percent of GDP in 2014, 15.1 percent in 2015 and 20.6 percent in 2016. Unless oil prices increase significantly, the country will face the […]

Bahrain’s political scene has never been defined by the presence of a robust opposition. But the dissolution last Wednesday of Waad, a major secular opposition group, took an ongoing crackdown to new heights. Waad was hardly the first opposition movement to be targeted; one year ago, for example, the government suspended the activities of al-Wefaq, at the time Bahrain’s main Shiite political party. But Waad will likely be the last opposition group to endure the government’s wrath for a while, by virtue of the fact that it was the only one left. Waad was a fixture of the pro-democracy protests […]

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Associate Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. Morocco’s northern Rif region was the scene of violent clashes and mass arrests in an escalation of tensions that can be traced back to the gruesome death of a fish vendor during an altercation with police last October. On Friday, Amnesty International accused authorities of carrying out “a chilling wave of arrests” of at least 71 people in recent days, including activists and bloggers. Among those arrested was Nasser Zefzafi, a 39-year-old who has emerged as a leading activist […]

In this week’s Trend Lines podcast, WPR’s editor-in-chief, Judah Grunstein, and senior editor, Frederick Deknatel, discuss Donald Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. from the Paris Agreement to fight climate change, its implications for America’s global leadership role, and the response from other world leaders. If you’d like to support our free podcast through patron pledges, Patreon is an online service that will allow you to do so. To find out about the benefits you can get through pledging as little as $1 per month, click through to WPR’s Trend Lines Patreon page. Listen: Download: MP3Subscribe: iTunes | RSS Relevant […]

Editor’s Note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series about education policy in various countries around the world. In Sri Lanka, controversy surrounding a private medical university has led to months of demonstrations and fierce debate on the merits of private education institutions in general. Last month, in Colombo, police used tear gas to disperse thousands of protesters who, according to the Associated Press, ignored an official protest ban to make their case that the medical university, the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine, should be shut down. In an email interview, Nisha Arunatilake, a fellow with […]

Colombia right now is closer than it has ever been to solving its illicit drug problem. This may be a surprising contention, since the country just measured record-breaking cultivation of coca, the plant used to make cocaine. Yet the landmark peace deal between the Colombian government and the country’s principal guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, has eliminated the most prominent obstacle to consolidate democratic governance over the vast rural areas where coca is cultivated. Or, at least it has eliminated the handiest excuse for longstanding inaction. Passed in November, the peace accord, along with President […]

After months of speculation, President Donald Trump announced Thursday his decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate change agreement. The move came in the face of high-profile pressure from a diverse set of voices—everyone from Pope Francis and U.S. military brass to business leaders such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk and ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods, and other members of the G-7 had urged the U.S. president to remain in the accord. Nevertheless, Trump declared in the White House Rose Garden that “we’re getting out” of the landmark deal to reduce global carbon emissions. Trump immediately added that […]

When Donald Trump became the U.S. president in January, it was not clear if his foreign and national security policy would reflect the unorthodox ideas of his campaign or whether once in power he would move closer to traditional Republican positions. Trump’s just-completed foreign trip did not fully clarify that, but his prickly, almost hostile interaction with America’s NATO allies demonstrated that a foreign policy and national security revolution may be coming. As Ivo Daalder, the former U.S. envoy to NATO, put it, “This seems to be the end of an era.” Should such a transformation occur, the clearest signs […]

MEXICO CITY — The lengthy and tumultuous prelude to talks between the United States, Mexico and Canada over the North American Free Trade Agreement has in many ways epitomized the chaos and contradictions of Donald Trump’s presidency. Trump has demonized the 23-year-old pact as the “worst trade deal, maybe ever,” but officials from his administration have hailed its potential to create a “regional powerhouse” through further economic integration. The confusion notwithstanding, Trump has forced policymakers to reflect on an agreement that is vital to the interests of all three NAFTA members. But he has also forced them to consider the […]

Four months into Donald Trump’s presidency, Asia has begun crafting a geopolitical response to the challenges he presents. U.S. influence remains vital in maintaining regional stability, but Asian countries are seeking options as doubts over Washington’s future dependability emerge. WPR has compiled key reading on Asia’s new directions in the Trump era. Purchase this special report as a Kindle e-book. A New Beginning Taking Stock of the U.S. Rebalance and the Contest for Influence in Asia As Trump prepared to assume the presidency in January, the U.S. “rebalance” toward Asia continued apace. At the time, Timothy R. Heath warned of […]

The text message read as follows: “Boko Haram recruits young people from 14 years old and above. Conditions for recruitment: 4 subjects at GCE, including religion.” Sent among university students in the central African nation of Cameroon, it was intended as a satirical commentary on the difficult job market they faced: Competition is so fierce, even a notoriously brutal Islamist militant group will demand to see your test scores—“4 subjects at GCE”—before hiring you. The government, however, was not amused. In December 2014, when a teacher saw the joke on a student’s phone and reported it to police, that student […]

With multiple conflicts raging in the Middle East, the last thing the region needed was yet another vitriolic confrontation bursting to the surface. But that is precisely what has transpired in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia. Members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, led by Riyadh, are fuming at the GCC’s maverick member, Qatar, in the aftermath of a very odd chain of events. For now, the clashes have been limited to a war of words, mostly in the media. But the temperature is high, and the crisis has proven remarkable for its failure to […]