Briefing Archive

In January, when a U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker escorted a Russian tanker carrying essential fuel to Nome, Alaska, it served as a reminder that the U.S. and Russia have many reasons to continue pursuing a thaw in relations. Unfortunately, beyond the New START agreement and a few other deals, the U.S.-Russia reset, which was announced with fanfare in 2009, seems to have descended into bureaucratic obscurity. While it is essential that the United States maintains a constructive relationship with the Russian federal government, there is much more to be gained in developing working relationships that extend to regional governments, nongovernmental […]

When United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon selected his predecessor Kofi Annan last week as his envoy to mediate the ongoing crisis in Syria, most observers thought it was an obvious choice. But Ban’s decision represents an important twist in a sometimes complex relationship between the two men — and a high-stakes attempt to maintain the U.N.’s role in the Middle East, where it has been active since the 1940s. Ban had reportedly looked for an Arab envoy, but divisions in the region over how to deal with Damascus made it hard to find a consensus candidate. By contrast, Annan is […]

The Oval Office meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on Jan. 30 has already been chalked up as a major victory by Tbilisi. Obama and Saakashvili discussed a range of topics, including the development of Georgia’s democracy, the country’s future transition of power and a possible free trade deal. For the Georgian government and their allies in the media, however, increased defense ties were the centerpiece development. Yet aside from an oblique reference by Saakashvili to “elevating our defense cooperation further,” details on any changes in the military relationship have been scarce. Several figures in […]

Over the past several months, the rapid changes in Myanmar have underlined the remarkable political skill of the government that came to power after the country’s 2010 elections. With its initial steps toward embracing a domestic reform process, the Myanmarese leadership has obtained approval from the other nine Association of South East Asian Nations members to chair the regional bloc in 2014. The domestic opening has also allowed Myanmar to forge economic and political relationships with other Asian countries such as Japan, India and South Korea. Perhaps most importantly, the dramatic thaw in relations with the U.S. has encouraged greater […]

On Jan. 5, Turkey’s Defense Industry Executive Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, authorized the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries to open negotiations with Lockheed Martin for the purchase of two F-35 multi-role combat fighters by 2015. Though Turkey’s defense minister today clarified that Turkey still intends to follow through with its intention to acquire 100 F-35s, the small initial purchase represents yet another setback for the troubled program.* It was followed by Britain’s declaration in February that it will postpone making any formal commitment to the F-35 until 2015. Australia, too, is currently reconsidering plans to buy 12 […]

Over the past decade, the western Indian Ocean unexpectedly emerged as a hotbed for maritime crime as pirates — safe-havened in Somalia — menaced seafarers as far east as the Maldives. Shipping companies have been hit hard, with one estimate placing the direct costs of Somali piracy at $5.5 billion in 2011. Despite a multinational naval flotilla deployed to counter the pirates, attacks continued to grow last year. The discussion of Somali piracy predominately characterizes it as an aberration — a situation made possible by a failed Somali state that abuts a major shipping route. Viewed through such a prism, […]

The United States’ relationship with Singapore has been and continues to be one of its most important and successful in the Asia-Pacific. Despite its small size, Singapore has transformed itself into a major player in Southeast Asia and the broader global economy, and has been a consistent supporter of a strong U.S. presence in Asia. Today, the city-state is America’s 13th-largest trading partner, hosts U.S. naval ships in its waters, serves as a model for Washington on issues such as education and offers valuable strategic advice to the United States on a variety of policy questions. These past few weeks […]

Pakistan’s activist judiciary is once again at war with the country’s executive branch. Last week, the Supreme Court indicted Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on contempt charges for failing to comply with a 2009 court order requiring him to petition the Swiss government to reopen corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, who leads Gilani’s Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). By month’s end, Gilani could be convicted and removed from office. Nonetheless, in a best-case and entirely plausible scenario, the PPP could still continue to govern till midyear and again win a plurality in National Assembly elections in the fall. The […]

TORONTO — Wrapping up a trip to China last week, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper described the visit as “very successful.” The trip saw the signing of a number of trade deals worth an estimated $3 billion in oil, natural gas, minerals and other products. But though it also ended with the commissioning of a feasibility study into the possibility of a free trade agreement between the two countries, Harper was quick to advise caution on what remains a long-term goal. That the two economies need each other is not in question. With bilateral trade valued at $50 billion in […]

Deposed President Mohamed Nasheed’s ouster was a defeat for democracy and a victory for conservative Islamism in the Maldives. But the resulting political instability in the Indian Ocean archipelago threatens to exacerbate regional rivalries in which the strategically located island nation has increasingly figured. The apparent coup d’état on Feb. 7 was triggered by Nasheed’s move to arrest the chief justice of the Criminal Court, Abdulla Mohamed. Nasheed accused Mohamed of blocking a graft probe against Abdul Maumoon Gayoom, who ruled the Maldives for 30 years until Nasheed unseated him in the country’s first democratic election in 2008. But the […]

Since returning to civilian rule in April 2011, Niger has achieved a measure of political stability. In July, President Mahamadou Issoufou weathered his first major domestic crisis, a coup attempt, whose plotters were arrested by authorities soon thereafter. The president recently increased the salaries of civil servants and reduced the costs of electricity and water, moves calculated to address economic grievances. Critically for this impoverished country, external donors regard Issoufou’s administration favorably; aid suspended after the February 2010 coup that removed former President Mamadou Tandja from power has been restored or increased. Finally, a small amount of oil — around […]

AKTAU, Kazakhstan — Last week, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev traveled to Germany for the signing of $4 billion worth of economic agreements, exchanging access to Kazakhstan’s stores of rare earths and raw minerals for German technological expertise. Appearing alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Nazarbayev struck a confident figure in deflecting criticisms of the country’s democratic performance. After two decades of independence, Kazakhstan appears to have won its place on the world stage. Going solely by the numbers, Nazarbayev has reason to be confident. Once considered yet another impoverished Central Asian post-Soviet republic, Kazakhstan’s per capita GDP now stands at more […]

Although Syria’s Kurds have a long history of opposing the central government in Damascus, they have so far refrained from widespread, proactive participation in the ongoing rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad’s Baathist regime. However, if they continue to limit themselves to being mere spectators to the unfolding drama, they may well find themselves deprived of any long-term political gains in a post-Assad Syria. The Kurds’ forbearance to date does not signal a fear of government repression or an unwillingness to make sacrifices. They have demonstrated such willingness on numerous occasions, most recently in 2004-2005, when clashes between civilian protesters and […]

At last week’s summit, European Union leaders finalized negotiations and adopted the latest chapter of Europe’s paper trail: the “Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union” (.pdf), or in short, the new fiscal compact. While French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel breathe a sigh of relief and declare success, few in the West are focused on what this compact means for the EU’s 10 newest member states in Central Europe (CE-10), the majority of which are not in the eurozone. For these countries, the roller coaster ride ahead will be bumpy. As […]

Beginning with the George W. Bush administration, the U.S. strategic policymaking community has expressed its desire to support India’s emergence as a great power. However, the very fact that these exhortations must be made from time to time reveals the distance the world’s two largest democracies must still travel to truly understand each other. The U.S. continues to struggle with India’s non-alignment impulses, while India continues to see relations in a globalized era as depending on balance of interests, and not balance of power. Indeed, it is this differing approach to globalization that prevents the two countries from fully consolidating […]

BEIJING — China’s long-standing policy of non-interference in the sovereign affairs of other nations is a cornerstone of its Peaceful Rise foreign policy doctrine. But as recent events have brought sharply into focus, the current approach fails to protect China’s expanding overseas interests and has caused a trust deficit with regard to China’s intentions at an intergovernmental level. This raises the question of how long the non-interference policy can be sustained, and whether Chinese interests would be better served by abandoning it for a less rigid position. The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, which have guided Chinese foreign policy since […]

One of the most important developments in the Middle East during the past decade was the remarkable expansion of Turkey’s relations with its neighbors. After ignoring the region for decades while trying to integrate into the European Union, Turkey devoted the past 10 years to improving its ties with Iran and Arab countries, while taking the lead in the mediation of several regional conflicts. This was a visible break from the past, when Turkey played a more or less subordinate and supportive role to U.S. and European policies in the region. In recent years, Turkey has asserted its own independent […]