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SEOUL, South Korea — In the months leading up to South Korea’s April 11 parliamentary elections, it looked like the liberal opposition was poised for an easy victory driven by voters who were sick of corruption and income inequality and in search of something new. To the opposition’s surprise, voters instead bolstered the majority of the ruling New Frontier Party (NFP), signifying a shift back to conservative tendencies in the country’s electorate. The NFP won 152 out of 300 seats, giving it a parliamentary majority, while the opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) came away with 127. Though most observers had […]

China’s astounding record of economic growth is shifting the global balance of power and, as a result, creating a new international environment in which Beijing faces enormous pressure from the West to play a constructive role on the world stage. Often, the U.S. and China stand on opposite sides of disputes involving third nations, prompting a curious diplomatic dance — one that will become a more prominent feature of international diplomacy in the years to come. Once an impoverished, inward-facing country, China has become a major trading partner to nations across the globe and a key force in world affairs, […]

Under pressure from Brasilia, Mexico agreed last month to limit its automotive exports to Brazil, prompting Argentina to threaten to revoke its own trade agreement with Mexico in an effort to gain further concessions. In an email interview, Barbara Kotschwar, a research associate at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, discussed the Economic Complementation Agreement 55 (ACE 55), the 2002 automotive trade deal between Mexico and Mercosur, the trade bloc comprised of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. WPR: What is the current state of trade between Mexico and Mercosur, particularly Brazil and Argentina, and what is the ACE 55 agreement […]

Karen Hooper, a Latin America analyst with Stratfor, contendst that the April 17 discussions between Colombian President Manuel Santos and U.S. President Barack Obama showed evidence of the evolving relationship between the United States and Colombia. US News Video by NewsLook

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has called for more peacekeepers and aircraft to be deployed in Syria to monitor the truce there. This report by Russian government-owned Russia Today questions whether the major forces in the conflict are truly interested in a long-term ceasefire. World News Videos by NewsLook

Japan announced a new defense-industry partnership with the U.K. earlier this month, its first foreign deal after relaxing its decades-old restrictions on defense cooperation with non.-U.S. partners in December. In an email interview, Ralph A. Cossa, president of the Pacific Forum CSIS discussed Japan’s new overseas defense cooperation. WPR: What brought about Japan’s relaxation of restrictions on developing defense equipment with foreign partners? Ralph A. Cossa: This has been in the works for some time and had support both from the opposition — which had flirted with the change for years when it was in charge — and the U.S. […]

A few weeks ago, in discussing how Hezbollah might respond to an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear program, I mentioned that both the United States and Hezbollah are more or less held hostage to the drama unfolding between their respective allies. For the United States, part of that dynamic includes the uncertainty it faces concerning whether or not Israel will in fact strike Iran’s nuclear program and, if so, when. The United States is Israel’s closest ally in the world. The United States has provided Israel an average of $3 billion in grants, almost all of it military aid (.pdf), […]

Relations between South Africa and Nigeria have long resembled a rollercoaster without a safety bar. While Africa’s first- and third-largest economies, respectively, have for long stretches shared a close relationship, it is one marked by volatility and tension. And during the past three years, this critical bilateral relationship has begun to wobble dangerously, finding itself today in need of urgent détente. Nigeria has long seen itself as a leader in Africa, having played a championing role in the anti-apartheid struggle, while South Africa sees itself an exemplar of both democracy and the conduct of international relations. After a history of […]

Over the weekend, Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s high representative for foreign policy, oversaw 10 hours of talks in Istanbul, Turkey, between Iran and the six powers negotiating with Tehran on its nuclear program, earning the respect of a number of diplomats. The praise for Ashton’s handling of the talks contrasts with past criticisms for her slow response to crises, her absence from the media and her tendency to follow an American lead rather than taking a forceful European stand. “It is in everyone’s interest that the EU has and plays a useful role in the Iran talks, and it […]

In Rajasthan, one of India’s poorest states, mustard plants that used to be burned are now a source of income for many farming families. They sell the plants to a biomass power plant. Science News by NewsLook

Qatar refused earlier this month to hand over visiting Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi to the Iraqi central government, which has charged him with running death squads. In an email interview, Reidar Visser, a research fellow at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs and member of the Gulf Research Unit at the University of Oslo, discussed Iraq-Qatar relations. WPR: How have Iraq-Qatar diplomatic and trade relations evolved since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003? Reidar Visser: Like most other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, Qatar has had a strained relationship with Iraq since 2003, in particular after the emergence […]

As NATO member states prepare for next month’s heads-of-state summit in Chicago, the alliance faces a number of difficult decisions on a variety of issues that will determine its deterrence and defense posture moving forward. And while NATO is often stymied by internal divisions among its members, in this case the major obstacle to any bold policy shifts is disagreement with a nonmember: Russia. As a result, NATO is likely to endorse current policies, unless Russia significantly alters its negotiating position on these issues. At the last NATO heads-of-state summit in November 2010 in Lisbon, faced with the question of […]

Twenty years ago this spring, newly independent Moldova, a former Soviet republic lodged between Romania and Ukraine, was consumed by fighting between neighbors on opposite banks of the Dniester River. The conflict broke out because citizens on the eastern or “left” bank of the river, in the largely Russian-speaking region known as Transnistria, feared that Romanian-speaking right-bank Moldovans would form a federal union with neighboring Romania. With tacit support from Moscow and in the protective shadow of the Russian 14th Army, Transnistria declared itself an independent republic in its own right and fought to establish its sovereignty. The conflict lasted […]

North Korea’s new leader addressed his nation and the world for the first time Sunday, vowing to place top priority on his impoverished nation’s military, which promptly unveiled a new long-range missile. World News Videos by NewsLook

The Taliban launched a series of coordinated attacks across the Afghan capital and at least three eastern provinces on Sunday, targeting NATO bases, parliament and foreign embassies in a complex assault. World News Videos by NewsLook

In yet another disagreement between China and its neighbors over the disputed South China Sea, the Philippines last week claimed that one of its naval patrols had discovered eight Chinese fishing vessels loaded with illegal catch in an area it considers to be within its own exclusive economic zone. When the Philippine patrol refused to allow the fishing boats to leave the area without discharging their catch, China speeded three maritime survey ships to the area. Since then, the two countries have engaged in a standoff that continues, even though the Philippine warship allowed the fishermen to leave the area […]

On March 30, the National Research Council of the National Academies of Science (NRC) released to the public an important new study on the technical issues raised for the U.S. by the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Packed with well-documented data, the 200-page study will surely inform the policies of the next administration, no matter who wins the White House in November, as it considers whether to pursue Senate ratification of the CTBT. Signed by then-President Bill Clinton signed in 1996, the CTBT failed to win Senate ratification when it was brought to a vote in 1999. The Obama administration […]