Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met in Manila over the weekend with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, whose visit was meant to show Washington’s high-level support for its Southeast Asian ally. But if security issues were front and center during Harris’ visit, the question of human rights was also on the agenda.
On the sidelines of last week’s G-20 leaders’ summit, Argentina and China struck a deal to increase their currency swap program. By doing so, however, China is playing to the worst economic instincts of Argentina’s Peronist government, for which every economic problem can be solved by simply throwing yet another currency plan at it.
The government of newly elected Colombian President Gustavo Petro listed countering deforestation as one of its top priorities. But those efforts promise to raise tensions between the central government and local farmers, who in recent years have been on the receiving end of heavy-handed government efforts to counter deforestation.
Multilateralism has suffered in the past six years, but for those who consider it to be as essential as it is imperfect, the past week offers some cause for optimism. It’s premature to declare that multilateralism “is back.” But if it does enjoy a resurgence, the past week could be the moment its fortunes began to turn around.
Senegalese President Macky Sall, who also serves as the African Union’s rotating chairperson, announced on Twitter that the AU has applied to join the G-20. Many other African leaders pushed for more representation at the forum, but it’s unclear that an AU seat at G-20 table would offer the benefits they seek.
For nearly a decade now, an increasingly large chunk of government, academia and civil society has fought against media manipulation, which has been associated with and blamed for a wide range of social and societal ills. Yet the tide doesn’t appear to be turning. Why, given the attention being paid to the problem, is nothing working to counter it?
Whether or not Donald Trump is on the way out as the leader of the Republican Party remains to be seen. But the policy views he espoused first as a candidate in 2016 and then as president from 2017 to 2021 are not. This will be especially evident when it comes to the cornerstone of “Trumpism”: opposition to immigration.
As the U.N. COP27 Climate Change Summit enters its final days, all eyes are on delegations from rich, industrialized countries to see if they will continue to resist demands from developing countries in the Global South for “loss and damage” payments, which would compensate them for the impacts of climate change.
With the stakes set high in its recent presidential election and amid predictions of election-related violence, Brazil’s electoral system stood out remarkably for treating democracy with the urgency and care it deserves. What can other democracies around the world learn from how Brazil handled its information landscape and voting?
As Sri Lanka tries to regain its footing after its economic collapse this year, legislators have introduced changes to the constitution, limiting the power of what was a dominant presidency. The question is whether Sri Lanka will be able to implement more wide-ranging reforms needed to prevent another disaster in the future.
As encouraging as the three-hour meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping was, it is but one stopping point in what promises to be a long and difficult road ahead for bilateral relations between the U.S. and China, especially against the backdrop of competition that characterizes the relationship.
The strategic and economic importance of the Black Sea region has made it the center of conflict for centuries, and several factors make it unlikely that it will suddenly find stability when the war in Ukraine ends. As a result, the EU and U.S. should be developing contingency plans to ensure stability in the Black Sea region now.
Financial incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles included in the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act are leading to renewed trade frictions with the EU. While those tensions are significant in and of themselves, they mask deeper problems with how the IRA and climate legislation more generally fit into the global trade regime.
Decarbonizing energy use by shifting to renewable energies relies on the extraction of minerals and metals that are primarily found in lower-income countries or fragile states. Accessing the critical minerals essential for developing low-carbon energy options brings us to what we might call the dark side of the green transition.
The U.N. COP27 Climate Change Summit has entered its final week, but the agenda for the remainder of the conference threatens to be overshadowed by concerns over Egypt’s poor human rights record, especially because of the restrictions Egyptian authorities have placed on the participation of civil society groups at the summit.
Pakistan has become embroiled in a political stalemate, as Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s followers have resumed their march on Islamabad ahead of a change in military leadership that is set to be contentious. The question at the heart of the crisis is whether there’s any way out that doesn’t lead to unrest and violence.
The energy crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine has the potential to accelerate a historical transition from fossil fuels to a more sustainable and secure energy system. But to come close to keeping the planet from warming no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, a decisive phaseout of fossil fuels is required.