WPR Articles Dec. 8, 2014 - Dec. 12, 2014 To End Southern Insurgency, Thailand Must Confront Hard Realities By: Prashanth Parameswaran | BriefingOn Dec. 1, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha and his Malaysian counterpart, Najib Razak, agreed on conditions to restart efforts to resolve Thailand’s southern insurgency. While the resumption of Malaysia-hosted talks is encouraging, ending the lethal conflict will face formidable challenges. In Asia, Confusion About U.S. Priorities Threatens Goals of Pivot By: Richard Weitz | Column I spent the past week in China and South Korea discussing U.S. policy toward Asia with local experts. One takeaway seemed strikingly clear: The next U.S. president will need to take early action to dispel misperceptions over Washington’s willingness or ability to defend U.S. interests in Asia. Popular Pressure for Climate Change Action Puts Heat on COP20 in Peru By: David Dudenhoefer | Briefing Thousands of national delegates and observers have gathered in Lima, Peru, for the two-week United Nations Climate Change Conference known as COP20. While previous COPs have produced disappointing results, there is a degree of optimism among participants in Lima thanks to recent global developments. Gulf States Join Forces to Consolidate Power at Home By: Frederick Deknatel | Trend Lines Earlier this week at a summit in Qatar, the Gulf Cooperation Council agreed to expand security cooperation with joint police and naval forces, and even a unified military command. But the closing of ranks is less a “Gulf version of NATO” and more a way to consolidate power to deal with threats at home. Syria Blowback: U.S. Air Campaign Lethal, but Drives IS Recruitment By: Umar Farooq | Briefing U.S.-led airstrikes have killed thousands of fighters in Syria belonging to the so-called Islamic State. But the strikes have also played into the group’s recruitment strategy, drawing thousands of new militants from other Syrian rebel groups, along with ideologues from around the world.     Energy Trumps Politics in Turkey-Russia Relationship By: Maria Savel | Trend LinesLast week in Ankara, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he is scrapping the South Stream pipeline project to bring Russian gas to Southern Europe. Russian attention is shifting to a new pipeline to Turkey, turning the country into a crucial Russian partner and a major international energy hub. Failed Peacemaking Efforts Make 2014 Year of Dead-End Diplomacy By: Richard Gowan | ColumnThis week brings the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo. Traditionalists grumble that the Nobel committee rarely recognizes diplomats who negotiate the end to civil wars. But after a year that has seen several high-profile peacemaking efforts crash and burn, could any diplomat claim the prize? China’s Marshall Plan: All Silk Roads Lead to Beijing? By: Michele Penna | Briefing Last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged $40 billion for the creation of a Silk Road Investment Fund to “break the connectivity bottleneck” in Asia. It is just one part of Beijing’s ambitious “Silk Road” projects to boost China’s global trade links and, it hopes, reorient geopolitics. Guyana Political Crisis Result of Institutionalized Autocracy By: The Editors | Trend Lines Last month, Guyana was plunged into political crisis after President Donald Romator suspended parliament to avoid a no-confidence vote. In an email interview, George Danns, professor of sociology at the University of North Georgia, discussed Guyana’s domestic politics. Shifting Sands: How Energy Is Shaping Canada’s Foreign Policy By: Mike De Souza | Feature The Canadian government has been engaging in an aggressive public relations campaign for its energy industry as part of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s declared goal of making Canada an energy superpower. In the process, Canada’s foreign policy and climate change agenda have also been transformed. In U.S.-Russia Relations, Differences Now Outweigh Overlapping Interests By: Nikolas Gvosdev | Column Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent summit with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara this past week illustrates the delicate dance of selective partnership. The U.S., however, has had far less success in implementing its version of selective partnership with Russia. Taiwan’s Local Elections Likely to Have Regional Impact By: The Editors | Trend Lines Last month, Taiwan’s ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party lost local elections, receiving only 40 percent of the vote. In an email interview, Joel Atkinson, research fellow at the Institute for Poverty Alleviation and International Development at Yonsei University, South Korea, discussed Taiwan’s domestic politics. Ibero-American Summit in Mexico Highlights Ideological Rifts By: Frida Ghitis | Column The annual Ibero-American Summit was designed to develop ties among countries with strong cultural and historical bonds and develop a bloc with political and economic power. But the latest summit, held this week in Mexico, showed how wide the ideological chasms among the member countries have become. Russia Sanctions, Ruble Woes Raise Cost of Putin’s Ukraine Gamble By: Dylan Myles-Primakoff | Briefing With the ruble at a historic low, President Vladimir Putin’s ability to deal with Russia’s reeling economy has been handicapped by Western sanctions. In Ukraine, Putin gambled that the political benefits of a belligerent foreign policy would outweigh the economic costs. He appears to have gotten that very wrong. To Create Order, the U.S. Needs a Strategic Vision By: Steven Metz | Column America’s global strategy once coherently linked U.S. actions in different places and on different issues. Today it does not, instead treating each security challenge in isolation. The reason for this incoherence is clear: The United States has no unifying strategic vision.