In the same week, Azerbaijan seized control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region in a lightning military advance and Serbia amassed troops on its border with Kosovo. The dual military crises, while concerning in and of themselves, also point to how the war in Ukraine is breaking down the international security order.
With less than two weeks before Poland holds elections, odds favor the ruling Law and Justice party winning an unprecedented third term. In a jaw-dropping irony, however, the party, which often appeals to anti-immigrant sentiment, is now embroiled in a scandal over selling visas to migrants from Asia and Africa.
The threat of a U.S. government shutdown because of legislative gridlock in Washington no longer has the power to shock U.S. allies and adversaries. But the likelihood of further political paralysis in Washington has forced many governments to ponder what a potential future without the U.S. as a coherent global actor might look like.
Despite recent economic troubles, Chinese President Xi Jinping still has ambitions to present China as an alternative model of development for the rest of the world through its Global Development Initiative. Though the GDI’s focus is scaled down from the BRI’s emphasis on huge infrastructure projects, its conceptual aims are broader.
Evo Morales’ announcement last week that he would run for president in Bolivia’s 2025 elections highlights a regional trend: Across the Americas, an older generation of leaders is refusing to cultivate the next generation of leadership, clinging to power instead of handing the top spots off to their successors.