The emergence of a brash and little-known 31-year-old as the public face of a dynamic new style of leadership in Saudi Arabia has caught international attention over the past two years. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, whose rise began in 2015, has promoted his so-called Saudi Vision 2030 initiative as an instrument of economic transformation in an era of plummeting oil prices. Against the backdrop of emergency spending cuts in 2015 that stove off financial ruin, the project aims to balance the Saudi budget by 2020, wean the country off of energy subsidies, and reduce the role [...]
Though the government has demonstrated interest in improving women's rights in China, economic and security issues far outweigh gender concerns. Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on the status of women’s rights and gender equality in various countries around the world. [marketing]blockbuster[/marketing] China passed its first law against domestic violence in 2015, but a key part of the legislation—issuing restraining orders against abusers—has not been properly implemented, putting women at risk. In an email interview, Andrea den Boer, a senior lecturer at the University of Kent, discusses women’s rights in China. WPR: What is the [...]
When Barack Obama became president of the United States in 2009, few would have guessed that he would be followed by an administration touting nationalism and protectionism. Yet eight years later, with Donald Trump as president, the United States appears to be abandoning Obama’s vision of America as a global partner and the leader of the liberal international order. What happened? World Politics Review has compiled 24 articles that trace Obama’s foreign policy legacy and what it means for the Trump era. The following 24 articles are free to nonsubscribers until Feb. 16. Where It All Began Sworn in during [...]
