A year after mass protests forced the resignation of the government, Sri Lanka is making some progress on its economic and debt crises. But the country is not out of danger. Its humanitarian crisis is far from over, and some of the forces that helped create the catastrophe are still embedded in the country’s centers of power.
The sharp divides that emerged in the Scottish National Party’s recent leadership election reflected the extent to which factional tensions were long held in check through hopes that Scottish independence could be achieved soon. Yet in the past 18 months, this sense of political self-confidence within the SNP has gradually dissipated.
The U.S. and Europe are poorly positioned compared to China to engage in diplomacy to bridge the Middle East’s security divides. But there is a diplomatic initiative they could pursue that would reassert their relevance and address a key issue that is in desperate need of attention in the region: the threat of climate change.
