Could a coalition of non-Western countries find a pathway to peace between Russia and Ukraine? Brazilian President Lula da Silva talked up this prospect on a visit last weekend to Beijing. Along with China’s own 12-point “position paper” on ending the war, that has focused attention on non-Western powers’ potential to broker peace.
French President Emmanuel Macron embarked on a three-day state visit to China last week, during which the war in Ukraine, Europe’s ties with Beijing and trade between France and China topped his agenda. But Macron’s messaging during the trip was confusing and raised questions about his vision of European strategic autonomy.
South Korea is emblematic of East Asia’s well-documented coming demographic crisis. Yet while the issue has preoccupied successive governments, including that of current President Yoon Suk Yeol, their proposed policy responses have failed to address the root of the problem: the country’s still-pervasive traditional gender roles.
