By: Richard Gowan | Column
Few
of the diplomatic efforts to end the Syrian war are worth commemorating.
But this week brings the second anniversary of one attempt that offered
some evidence of how the international system is evolving. On Aug. 3,
2011, the Security Council’s first significant declaration on the crisis
was notable because of the countries that championed it: Brazil, India
and South Africa. But it was an embarrassing flop.
By: The Editors | Trend Lines
In an
email interview, Myriam Benraad, senior Middle East Research Fellow and
Iraq specialist at Sciences Po Paris, explained Iraq’s detention system
and the U.S. role in it.
By: Richard Weitz | Column
At a
NATO-Russia Council meeting last week, a U.S. official complained about
Moscow’s failure to notify Washington of its recent large-scale military
exercises. The Russians, who have criticized the “Cold War mentality”
of NATO’s military exercises, brushed off the complaints. The spat
underscores the need to upgrade European security mechanisms,
particularly the languishing Conventional Forces in Europe treaty.
By: Alexandros Petersen | Briefing
Last
month, the consortium producing Azerbaijan’s gas selected the
Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), ending more than a decade of indecision
over the so-called Southern Gas Corridor linking Caspian reserves to
European markets. While politics likely played a role in the decision,
TAP was the most commercially viable and realistic option, and will
bring alternative gas resources to European consumers.
By: Sanjay Upadhya | Briefing
Traditionally
competitors for influence in neighboring Nepal, China and India are now
signaling readiness to join forces to pull the Himalayan nation out of
its chronic political instability. The contours of a formal cooperation
framework are yet to emerge. But academic and media circles in China and
India suggest a growing convergence of interest in preventing
instability from spilling across Nepal’s borders.
By: Steven Metz | Column
After
years of U.S. pressure, al-Qaida's core is, as President Barack Obama
put it, "on the path to defeat." That's a good thing, but crushing
al-Qaida Central will not mean the demise of the entire movement, as
al-Qaida has endorsed or adopted franchises across the Islamic world.
Now U.S. policymakers must assess the comparative danger posed by each
of these and identify the most strategically significant ones.
By: Khalid Koser | Briefing
Australia’s
new asylum policy has made headlines around the world for its punitive
approach and insistence that no asylum-seeker arriving in Australia by
boat without a visa will ever be settled there. Policies to deter
irregular migration are increasingly common worldwide, but the asylum
question has become a touchstone political issue in Australia and could
determine the outcome of elections this year.
By: The Editors | Trend Lines
In an
email interview, Zakia Afrin, an adjunct professor in international law
at Golden Gate University who focuses on intra-state conflict and
peacebuilding, discussed the state of Bangladesh’s war crimes trials and
the lessons they yield for other contexts.
By: James Hamill | Briefing
Although
it was overshadowed by the serious decline in Nelson Mandela’s health,
U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to South Africa in June provided the
opportunity for a comprehensive re-evaluation of the bilateral
relationship. Though both sides talked about expanding cooperation and
strengthening ties, the backdrop to the visit was an uneven relationship
since the birth of the new South Africa in 1994.
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