By: Richard Gowan | Column
Since the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)
was launched in March 1978, its history has been punctuated by crises.
The mission was heavily reinforced in August 2006 after the inconclusive
war between Israel and Hezbollah, and it still totals roughly 11,000
blue helmets. But UNIFIL is currently facing potentially more-serious
crises as the civil war in Syria threatens to destabilize Lebanon.
By: The Editors | Trend Lines
In an email interview, Danielle Resnick, a political
scientist at United Nations University specializing in the political
economy of development and sub-Saharan Africa, described Malawi’s
political landscape and President Joyce Banda’s presidency to date.
By: The Editors | Trend Lines
In an email interview, Steve Thomas, director of research
at University of Greenwich Business School and an expert on the
economics and policy of nuclear power, explained the significant
obstacles to Jordan’s development of nuclear energy.
By: Richard Weitz | Column
This weekend’s visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to
Moscow resulted in no major agreements. Yet expectations were low for
the summit, so the lack of headline deals came as little surprise. More
surprising, however, was the extent to which Xi aligned Beijing’s
foreign policy views with those of Russia in his public statements while
in Moscow -- a warning to Washington that should not be overlooked.
By: Mari Hayman | Briefing
Last Friday’s Organization of American States (OAS) General
Assembly session showcased a push led by Venezuela, Ecuador, Nicaragua
and Bolivia to reform the Inter-American human rights system, which they
argue is biased in the service of U.S. interests. But their proposed
reforms may serve at best to direct attention away from their own human
rights records, and at worst to cripple the system altogether.
By: The Editors | Trend Lines
In an email interview, Khaled Fattah, a guest lecturer at
the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Lund University in Sweden and
an expert on Yemen’s state-tribe relations, explained the enduring
dynamics of Yemen’s tribal politics and how they are likely to influence
the course of the country’s transition.
By: Catherine Cheney | Trend Lines
On Friday, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced
that his government would resign because of a dispute with Hezbollah,
the Shiite party that dominates the Lebanese cabinet.
By: Jonathan Hafetz | Briefing
Amid continuing international armed conflict with nonstate
actors, including the recent French intervention in Mali, questions
about the treatment of terrorism suspects arrested during military
operations remain unresolved. The U.S. approach has made it easier to
hold terrorism suspects without the burdens of a criminal trial but has
also created the problem of prolonged, open-ended imprisonment.
By: Frida Ghitis | Column
Two years after the start of the Arab Spring, Jordan’s King
Abdullah II has launched what he says is a third way. His approach, the
king maintains, will bring peaceful democratic change, empowering the
people and modernizing the country, while averting chaos and preventing
extremist parties from emerging victorious. It’s a tall order, and one
that has met with doubt among many skeptics and critics.
By: The Editors | Trend Lines
In an email interview, Joel Sandhu, an expert on India-EU
relations at the Global Public Policy Institute, explained how the
recent dispute between India and Italy over two Italian marines accused
of killing two Indian fishermen they claim to have mistaken for pirates
fits into India’s relations with Italy and the EU more broadly.
By: Andrew Futter | Briefing
On March 15, the Obama administration announced a shift in
U.S. ballistic missile defense plans to emphasize greater defense of the
homeland rather than overseas, regional defense. While the political
symbolism of this switch may be positive, the strategic and military
consequences may well be counterproductive, making the move look more
like short-term politicking than a new approach to strategic thinking.
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