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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. In December, a parliamentary committee in Lebanon recommended striking down a law that allows rapists’ sentences to be reduced if they marry their victims. It will take months for parliament to consider the recommendation, though women’s groups have welcomed it as a first step. In an email interview, Zeina Zaatari, a lecturer and independent consultant on women’s issues in the Middle East, discusses women’s rights in Lebanon. WPR: What is the current status of […]

The so-called Islamic State received some modest good news recently from Somalia, in what has otherwise been a dismal stretch of losses for the jihadi group. In October, a small militant faction aligned with the Islamic State took and held Qandala, a port town in northern Somalia, for more than a month before withdrawing. It was the first time a group linked to the Islamic State has occupied a town in Somalia. Talk of the Islamic State dominated much of the debate on counterterrorism issues during the U.S. presidential campaign. Yet as concerning as the Islamic State’s Qandala operation is, […]

When U.S. President Barack Obama took office eight years ago, his two overarching foreign policy goals were to oversee the winding down of America’s costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to repair the damage to America’s global standing and reputation that the invasion of Iraq and the excesses of the global war against terrorism had caused. A major component of the latter project involved reassuring America’s allies, partners, friends and rivals that Washington would recommit itself to the global order it had helped build and defend during and after the Cold War. This meant not only backstopping the rules-based […]

This week, the National Intelligence Council released its quadrennial report about global trends, and it’s a sober read. Governance is getting harder, and the nature of power is changing. While the report doesn’t predict major power conflict, it sees Russia and China both exploiting the erosion of confidence in the West to expand their influence in the international system. One policy-relevant judgment is about resilience: Countries that invest in infrastructure, innovation and relationships will fare better in this unstable future. Every four years, the National Intelligence Council (NIC) produces an unclassified, broad-gauged assessment of long-term global trends. The work of […]

The election of Donald Trump as president of the United States imperils the liberal international order that America has championed since World War II. That open world was already operating under strain, challenged by rivals and upheaval abroad. But suddenly, it is vulnerable at home, too. A wave of angry populism has propelled to power a nationalist leader who campaigned on a promise to put “America First.” As a candidate, Trump questioned longstanding U.S. alliances like NATO, criticized international institutions like the United Nations, and promised to abandon major trade, arms control and climate agreements. Little wonder that liberal internationalists […]

In early November, barely a month after the ruling Georgian Dream party’s commanding victory in parliamentary elections, Georgia’s defense minister, Levan Izoria, outlined an ambitious defense reform program that captured immediate headlines for reintroducing conscription. The former defense minister, Tina Khidasheli, had officially abolished conscription in late June, just a few months before the elections and only weeks before she officially departed her post. Although Khidasheli’s political coalition allies attacked her for dissolving the draft, conscription is widely seen as unpopular in Georgia, which likely explains why Izoria waited until after the elections to reintroduce it. Obscured by the focus […]

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet was in Argentina last month, where she gave her support to Argentina joining the Pacific Alliance trade bloc. It was her first visit to the country since President Mauricio Macri assumed office in 2015. In an email interview, Peter M. Siavelis, the director of the Latin American and Latino Studies program at Wake Forest University, discusses relations between Chile and Argentina. WPR: What are the main areas of cooperation between Chile and Argentina, and how have ties evolved over the past 10 years? Peter M. Siavelis: Chile has historically shared troubled relations with neighboring Argentina and […]

Last month, The New York Times reported that the growing number of tourists in Cuba is dramatically increasing the demand for food and leaving ordinary Cubans without many basic staples. In a phone interview, William LeoGrande, a professor of government and a specialist in Latin American politics at American University, discusses the effects of tourism in Cuba. WPR: What positive impacts has Cuba seen from expanded tourism in recent years? William LeoGrande: Tourism has become one of the leading economic sectors in Cuba. Last year, around 4 million foreign visitors came to the island, generating $2.8 billion in revenue—only the […]

On Jan. 7, opposition leader Nana Akufo-Addo took office as the president of Ghana, a month after defeating incumbent President John Mahama in a smooth presidential election that again boosted Ghana’s democratic reputation. December’s vote represented an exception at a time of electoral and political turmoil in other parts of Africa, most recently in nearby Gambia. Akufo-Addo’s successful campaign had many features, but the most notable was his populist message. It now remains to be seen whether “the farmer who struggles to feed his family,” “the mother of the sick child,” and those “who . . . are forced to […]

Antonio Guterres is off to a strong but slightly surreal start as the United Nations’ new secretary-general. Since replacing Ban Ki-moon at the start of the year, the former Portuguese prime minister has moved fast to place his stamp on the organization. Yet, while U.N. officials are keen to see their boss succeed, all are conscious that the administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump could soon place the institution under severe political pressure. The new secretary-general’s chances of leading the U.N. effectively over the next five years may be shaped by how he handles Trump in the next few months. […]

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on income inequality and poverty reduction in various countries around the world. Honduras is the most unequal country in Latin America and the sixth most unequal country in the world, according to World Bank statistics. The poverty rate currently stands at 64.5 percent, while 42.6 percent of Hondurans live in extreme poverty. In an email interview, Jake Johnston, a research associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, discusses income inequality and poverty in Honduras. WPR: What is the rate of income inequality in Honduras, what are the […]

In this week’s Trend Lines podcast, WPR’s editor-in-chief, Judah Grunstein, and senior editor, Frederick Deknatel, discuss the major priorities on the global agenda for 2017. For the Report, Matthew Luxmoore talks with Peter Dörrie about how the perceived threat from Russia is fueling tensions in Latvia. Listen:Download: MP3Subscribe: iTunes | RSS Relevant Articles on WPR: The Global Agenda for 2017 Why the U.S. Should Prioritize Iraq and UAE Ties Over Egypt and Saudi Arabia Why Once-Welcoming Countries in Scandinavia Closed Their Borders to Refugees Taking Stock of Progress, and Setbacks, in Central America’s Fight Against Corruption How the ‘Russia Threat’ […]

The battlefield defeat of the self-styled Islamic State in eastern Syria and western Iraq is far from certain but increasingly likely. Iraqi government forces, in conjunction with Shiite and Kurdish militias, are slowly liberating Mosul, the largest city the Islamic State has conquered. While the Syrian government is less concerned with the group than with other rebel forces it faces, a Kurdish-Arab militia alliance called the Syrian Democratic Forces is pushing toward Raqqa, the Islamic State’s most important stronghold after Mosul. In parallel, a global coalition led by the United States is undercutting the group’s economic base. The extremists still […]

The harrowing image last month of a Turkish police officer standing over the Russian ambassador he just shot, while blaming Moscow for the devastation in Syria, captures a key foreign policy challenge for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump: How can he attempt to stabilize the Middle East by bringing conflicts to a close, rather than letting Russia and Iran lead the region into further cycles of repression and violence under the rubric of fighting terrorism? Trump’s current defense priority—“to crush and destroy” the so-called Islamic State—plays right into Russian and Iranian machinations, with their selective definitions of terrorism and scorched-earth tactics. […]

Last month, Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom was denied an official visit to Israel, and Israeli officials refused to meet with her; a spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry said there were “scheduling problems.” In an email interview, Per Jönsson, an associate editor at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, discusses Sweden’s ties with Israel. WPR: What is behind the recent tensions between Sweden and Israel? Per Jönsson: In October 2014, Sweden unilaterally recognized the state of Palestine, the first and only Western country to do so. In Israeli eyes, the move put Sweden in the category of anti-Zionist countries. […]

On the last day of 2016, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi went on television with a New Year’s speech to address the most pressing issue on Indians’ mind: the sudden withdrawal less than two months earlier of most paper currency from circulation. He urged the Indian people to be patient and have faith, and told them to think of Mahatma Gandhi and his strategy of nonviolent resistance as they tried to endure the harsh challenge they now face. Gandhi had called on Indians to resist British colonial forces. In the case of India’s cash crisis, the tribulations were inflicted by […]

The governments of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador in Central America’s so-called Northern Triangle have been under considerable domestic and international pressure to address rampant corruption since high-ranking officials were exposed in 2015. How did they fare in 2016? Guatemala’s track record has been the best, thanks in large part to the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, or CICIG, which was created in 2006 by a joint agreement between the Guatemalan government and the United Nations. It has not only investigated and prosecuted sensitive cases, including the high-profile and bizarre killing of Rodrigo Rosenberg, who had arranged for his […]