WPR Articles Monday, July 6, 2015 - Friday, July 10, 2015

International Cooperation Needed for Niger Anti-Trafficking Law to Work

By: The Editors | Trend Lines

In May, Niger approved a bill that will translate the United Nations protocol against the smuggling of migrants into national law. In an email interview, Oliver Kaplan, an assistant professor at the University of Denver, discussed the U.N. protocol and Niger’s efforts to implement it.

Sweden Struggles to Balance Defense Sales, Rights Concerns

By: Magnus Nordenman | Briefing

A spat with Saudi Arabia exposed the tension for Sweden, the world’s 12th-largest arms exporter, between promoting defense sales and advancing democracy and human rights. But in Europe’s worsening security climate, the Saudi episode will hardly change Swedish minds about arms sales, even to non-democracies.

New U.S. Military Strategy Well-Crafted to Protect Pentagon’s Budget

By: Michael A. Cohen | Column

This year’s National Military Strategy is a typical farrago of threat-inflation, strategic incoherence and “a glass half-empty” conception of 21st-century international affairs. It is less a strategic document than an effort to prove the relevance of the military and its nearly $600 billion budget.

Druze Face Hard Choices Picking Sides in Battle for Southern Syria

By: Frederick Deknatel | Trend Lines

Syria’s Druze have tried to remain on the sidelines of the civil war, while many still back Bashar al-Assad’s government. But with Assad’s forces losing more territory and Sunni rebels advancing, the Druze find themselves caught between sides, trying as ever to carve out space for their own protection.

How South Africa and Nigeria Can Repair Their Troubled Ties

By: James Hamill | Briefing

The current crisis in South Africa-Nigeria relations is not in the interests of either country or the continent, which needs its two hegemons to work in collaboration to address Africa’s myriad problems. Both sides seem locked into antagonistic postures with no easy exit. But there is a way out.

More Iran Nuclear Deal Could Cement P5+1 as New Great-Power Framework By: Richard Gowan | Column Though the world currently looks like an ungovernable place, ongoing talks in Vienna on Iran’s nuclear program represent a rare bright spot of great-power cooperation. A successful deal with Tehran could provide the impetus for better diplomacy and a new framework to address other pressing issues. Libya Unrest Threatens to Derail Water Diplomacy in North Africa By: Russell Sticklor | Briefing Nile River riparian states’ recent efforts to peacefully resolve their differences over water usage are impressive given how divisive transboundary water disputes often become. Now, with the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer, the region again has a chance to set an example for international water diplomacy. Fair Share? The Sharing Economy Goes Global By: Kentaro Toyama | Feature Like many things in the digital era, the sharing economy is quick to cross borders. It also raises many questions: Are these services good or bad for national economies? How should policy adapt to their growth? How governments and businesses answer these questions will determine the services’ future. India's Special Forces Remain Underdeveloped and Underequipped By: The Editors | Trend Lines Last month, Indian special operations forces conducted a brief raid into Myanmar looking for militants. In an email interview, Iskander Rehman, a nonresident fellow at the South Asia Center at the Atlantic Council, discussed India’s special operations forces. New U.S. Military Strategy Signals Return of State-Based Threats By: Richard Weitz | Column The Pentagon's recently issued National Military Strategy, the first update since 2011, depicts today’s international security environment as being more challenging for the U.S. due to the diffusion of military technologies and the rise of revisionist great powers, in particular Russia. Regional Shifts Bring Israel and Cyprus Closer Together, for Now By: Brent E. Sasley | Briefing With the Turkish-Israeli relationship in tatters, and the right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasizing its precarious position in a region in turmoil, Israel has looked elsewhere for allies—most recently Cyprus, where it sees three main benefits of a stronger relationship. With Worst of the Ebola Crisis Behind, Can the WHO Adapt? By: Maria Savel | Trend Lines On Tuesday an independent panel of experts released a scathing report criticizing the World Health Organization’s response to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. While the scale of the outbreak diminishing, the WHO can evaluate what went wrong and evaluate the changes needed in order to better respond to the next global health crisis. After Two Years of Acrimony, Brazil and U.S. Move to Reset Ties By: Eric Farnsworth | Briefing Both Brazil and the U.S. billed President Dilma Rousseff’s late June meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington as a reset of relations between the Western Hemisphere’s two largest democracies. They want to get relations back on track after two years of mutual frustration and mistrust. As Stock Market Slides, China Hits the Panic Button By: Frida Ghitis | Column The Greek debt talks have garnered global attention in recent weeks, but another crisis could do far more damage to the world economy: The Chinese stock market has endured its sharpest drop in more than 20 years. And these days, even a small financial tremor in China can be felt around the world. Pentagon’s Decision to Cut Human Terrain System Short-Sighted By: Steven Metz | Column The U.S. Army recently killed the Human Terrain System program, created to help U.S. military commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan work more effectively with local populations. By Washington’s standards the program’s demise was a quiet one. This was unfortunate: Its importance exceeded appearances.