WPR Blog Archive

Just a few quick thoughts on the Iran fuel swap deal brokered by Trukey and Brazil. First, it shows that the threat of U.N. sanctions was tactically effective, even if the actual sanctions themselves prove to be strategically ineffective. The threatened fourth round, and the diplomatic isolation among the permanent UNSC members that it implied, was probably a motivating factor in getting Iran to sign on, and definitely the motivating factor in generating Turkish and Brazilian involvement. Second, it’s premature to say that the deal is proof of Turkey reaching the “big leagues” in terms of its diplomatic stature. Sometimes […]

British Prime Minister David Cameron’s newly formed coalition government has announced that it will create a National Security Council to manage all aspects of the country’s security. Richard Fontaine, senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security who served on the United States National Security Council staff from 2003-04, explains the significance of Britain’s newly formed NSC. WPR: How will the new NSA/NSC impact Britain’s national security infrastructure and policymaking? Richard Fontaine: In creating a new National Security Council, Prime Minster David Cameron is fulfilling a campaign pledge to integrate the work of Britain’s foreign, defense, energy, home […]

The U.S. Embassy in Ecuador recently announced that it had delivered $1.2 million of donated military equipment to the Ecuadoran military, a year after Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa ordered the closing of a U.S. air base in the country. In an e-mail interview, Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, explains Ecuador’s bilateral relations with the U.S. and its regional foreign policy. WPR: How has the closing of the Manta air base impacted U.S.-Ecuador relations, and in particular military-to-military cooperation? Shifter: The closing of the Manta base was long expected and therefore its effect on U.S.-Ecuadoran relations has been minimal. […]

Last month, after negotiations to establish the World Bank-funded Nile Basin Initiative faltered, seven of the nine countries that share the Nile Basin agreed to form a permanent negotiating body to resolve questions of resource-sharing for the world’s longest river. In an e-mail interview, Aaron Wolf, a professor at Oregon State University specializing in water resources policy and conflict resolution, explains the longstanding issues and prospects for Nile Basin water-use negotiations. WPR: What is the current status quo of water use in the Nile River basin? Wolf: The last actual treaty signed on the basin is one between Egypt and […]

David Cameron moved into 10 Downing Street this week, establishing Britain’s first coalition government since World War II, and returning the Conservatives to (shared) power after 13 years in opposition. The last Tory occupant of No. 10, which is both office and home to the prime minister, was John Major. But it was Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady of the 1980s, who faced down the unruly labor unions and introduced tough fiscal policies, thus shaping a decade of economic prosperity in Britain. Cameron may be a Conservative, but he is no heir to Thatcherism. He does not share Thatcher’s combative […]

The EU-Latin America summit will convene next week in Madrid, but only after the Spanish government, currently holding the EU presidency, rescinded an invitation to the president of Honduras, after some UNASUR leaders threatened to boycott the meeting. In an e-mail interview, Brookings Institution senior fellow and former Vice President of Costa Rica Kevin Casas-Zamora explains the significance of the dispute in the context of EU-Latin American relations. WPR: How would you characterize broader Spain-Latin America and EU-Latin America relations? Kevin Casas-Zamora: Relations between Spain and Latin America are very strong. Besides the historical closeness, there are very powerful economic […]

The Antarctic Treaty Conference in Uruguay wraps up tomorrow, ending two weeks of discussions between more than 350 foreign officials, on pressing issues such as conflicting territorial claims and environmental threats to the region. In an e-mail interview, Danila Bochkarev, Energy Security Associate at the EastWest Institute, explains the current political climate in the Antarctic. WPR: What is the current territorial status of Antarctica under the Antarctic Treaty, and how would current territorial claims change that? Bochkarev: The Antarctic Treaty of 1959, which relates to all land mass and ice shelves south of 60 degrees south latitude, bans military and […]

During a summit of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) last week in Buenos Aires, the assembled heads of state discussed the possibility of a coup in Paraguay at a closed door meeting called by Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo. In an e-mail interview, Council of the Americas’ Senior Director of Policy Christopher Sabatini explains the significance of the UNASUR meeting. WPR: What about the current political situation in Paraguay would lead President Lugo to believe a coup is imminent? Sabatini: President Lugo has had tense relationships with the military since he was inaugurated on Aug. 15, 2008, largely stemming […]

I found it instructive to see the fact that Greece has officially requested the first installment of its EU-IMF bailout package tacked on almost as an anecdotal footnote to an article describing the larger EU-IMF bailout plan approved over the weekend. It reflects the way that the “Greek debt crisis” has now become a signifier for something much larger, in the way that “Lehman” or “subprime” did before it. What is that much larger something? For one thing, it’s the fact that in the space of a few months, there no longer seems to be a solid foundation under what […]

Last week, Syria obtained observer status in the WTO, an initial step toward full membership, in part because the U.S., EU and Israel abstained from the vote, but also due to vocal support from Egypt. The U.S. abstention came simultaneously with President Barack Obama’s decision to renew economic sanctions against Syria. In an e-mail interview, Joshua Landis, associate professor at the Middle East Center in the University of Oklahoma’s School of International and Area Studies, explained the significance of the two developments. WPR: What are the concrete effects of the U.S. sanctions on Syria’s economy? What are the concrete benefits […]

On Thursday, the British electorate was asked to make its choice of who would run the country for the next four years. They gave a muffled and incoherent answer. The leaders of the Conservatives, Labor, and the Liberal Democrats now have to sort out the mess — with a behind-the-scenes assist from the queen. (Because of the so-called royal prerogative, this is her moment too.) Arriving at a viable government is likely to involve — horrors! — a considerable amount of wheeling and dealing, much despised by Westminster politicians as un-British and “Continental.” In addition to forcing British politicians to […]

When Pope Benedict XVI goes to Cyprus on June 4-6, at stake will be the future of Christianity in the Middle East. The Cyprus visit will be the occasion for a preliminary meeting of bishops and patriarchs from the Coptic, Chaldean, Maronite, Syriac Catholic, and other churches affiliated with Rome in the Middle Eastern area. They will receive from Pope Benedict the instrumentum laboris, or working agenda, for a forthcoming Episcopal Synod in Rome in October to discuss the problems facing Christians in the Middle East. Synods have become a standard way of dealing with church problems, including regional problems. […]

In the six decades since the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), rights advocates have made great strides at establishing many rights issues as mainstream concepts. But although governments, corporations and military commanders are routinely taken to task over abuses in the court of public opinion, binding rights principles — and the means to enforce them — on the national and international levels remain a gaping hole in the effort to guarantee the rights of every individual around the globe. Now, a diverse group of academics, corporate leaders, universities and non-governmental organizations have joined […]

In case you missed it, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently gave a speech to announce that he’s now set his sights on the Navy as next up for an overhaul to bring it into the 21st century. The question, though, is just what a 21st-century navy should look like. Gates cited the U.S. Navy’s 11 carrier groups, at a time when no other country has more than one, as a particular area in need of rationalization. That prompted Robert Haddick, at SWJ, to question such straight-up comparisons as a criterion for judgment, while offering some thought-provoking reasons for concern […]

Following up on my exasperation at the urge to find a scapegoat for what is in essence a systemic problem, I want to flag this beautifully written, if melancholy piece by Walter Russell Mead, which struck a chord for me: For the last generation, we have been acting on the assumption that the great problems have been solved, the great questions answered, and that all that remains is the application of our correct general principles to particular cases. In other words, we have assumed that we are living in an Age of Technique. I think that is wrong. I think […]

Matthew Yglesias proves that Godwin’s law is attainable in 140 characters or less. Clever. Lord knows I picked a bad week to defend German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the EU. But if, as many observers are now arguing, the current EU-IMF package isn’t sufficient to keep Greece from eventual insolvency and debt restructuring, then nothing that was on either side of the table a few weeks ago was even remotely sufficient. Which is to say, Merkel did not single-handedly torpedo a workable solution. I understand, too, the importance of signaling when it comes to the markets. But once the signaling […]

Early this morning, Turkey’s parliament passed a package of controversial constitutional amendments. The vote was just shy of the two-thirds majority needed to adopt the reforms outright and will now head for referendum. In an e-mail interview, Council on Foreign Relations’ senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies Steven A. Cook explains the controversy surrounding the reform package. WPR: What are these reforms responding to, domestically and in terms of EU accession? Cook: The constitutional amendments are in response to domestic politics. There is general agreement across the political spectrum that Turkey needs a new constitution. The present constitution was written […]