By: Ellen Laipson | Column
The outcome of the Brexit
referendum is bad news for the Middle East region on a number of
scores, in particular what it says about Western attitudes toward
migrants and Muslims, and about loss of support for economic
integration, a big idea that would improve prospects for the Arab world.
By: Iyad Dakka | Briefing
The escalating violence
of Turkey’s war against the PKK has led some to begin speaking of the
“Syrianization” of the country’s southeastern region. But there are
important political dividends to be won, something both President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish military recognize clearly.
By: Timothy R. Heath | Briefing
Maritime tensions in the
South China Sea stand out as the most prominent of a set of disputes
between China and the United States. Underpinning these various issues
lays an intensifying strategic competition, even as both countries face
constraints against pursuing a destructive confrontation.
By: Richard Gowan | Column
A major crisis in the
international system is often followed by a host of smaller crises. In
the aftermath of the Brexit referendum, major powers and international
organizations need to make a priority of early warning mechanisms for
such crises as well as diplomatic engagement to handle them.
By: Benoît Gomis | Briefing
The leaders of Mexico,
Canada and the U.S. meet today for the final so-called Three Amigos
summit of Barack Obama’s presidency. While other issues will be high on
the agenda, so too will the longstanding problem of violence associated
with transnational drug trafficking, particularly in Mexico.
By: Ayso van Eysinga | Briefing
Nigeria’s currency, the
naira, lost 30 percent of its value after the central bank abandoned its
peg to the dollar Monday. The bank’s move was a substantial but
long-overdue shift after a year of haphazard and detrimental economic
policy under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
By: Maria Savel | Trend Lines
Ties between Germany and
Turkey have hit a rough patch after Germany recognized the Armenian
genocide and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for the
prosecution of a German comic. But given the migrant crisis and cultural
bonds between them, bilateral ties aren’t at risk of eroding.
By: The Editors | Trend Lines
Earlier this month,
Indian President Pranab Mukherjee went on a six-day tour of Ghana, Cote
d’Ivoire and Namibia, where he announced new grant assistance and lines
of credit as well as expanded scholarship opportunities. In an email
interview, Amanda Lucey discusses India’s outreach to Africa.
By: Frida Ghitis | Column
It is in the political
center that the newest sprouts of activism are rising in Israel, and it
is from there that the next Israeli political force is likely to emerge.
It remains to be seen if that force, and whoever ends up leading it,
will be able to topple Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
By: The Editors | Trend Lines
In this week’s Trend
Lines podcast, WPR’s editor-in-chief, Judah Grunstein, and host Peter
Dörrie discuss the impact of the Brexit vote on the U.K. and the
European Union. For the Report, Richard Weitz joins us to talk about
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to shore up ties with China.
By: Charlotte Mackenzie | Briefing
Two weeks of protests and
roadblocks ended in Colombia two weeks ago after peasant farmers and
indigenous groups reached an agreement with the Colombian government to
include them in future rulings on mining and other issues in the
country’s rural areas. Now the key will be implementing the deal.
By: Steven Metz | Column
Thus far, foreign and
security policy have received more attention than is normal for this
phase of a U.S. presidential election. But even given this attention,
the two candidates have only provided an outline of their positions. The
media should press them for answers on three questions in particular.
By: Karina Piser | Trend Lines
Last week, authorities in
Bahrain stripped Sheikh Isa Qassim, the country’s most prominent Shiite
cleric, of his citizenship. The move was just the latest in an ongoing
crackdown on the largely Shiite opposition. Bahrain’s straitjacket on
dissent is nothing new, but it has visibly tightened recently.
By: The Editors | Trend Lines
Japan announced earlier
this year that it had been successful at cutting its carbon dioxide
emissions by 3 percent—the first time emissions have decreased since the
2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. In an email interview, Aiko Shmizu
discussed Japan’s contribution and response to climate change.
By: The Editors | Trend Lines
St. Lucia went to the
polls earlier this month, with the conservative United Workers Party,
led by Allen Chastanet, beating the incumbent Labour Party on a platform
of tax cuts and economic growth. In an email interview, Tennyson Joseph
discussed the elections and the state of politics in St. Lucia.
By: Abigail Higgins | Feature
With Nairobi’s slums,
trash heaps and poor infrastructure, the growing city reveals the
consequences of a global shift toward urbanization, and the risks of
being ill-equipped to make important structural changes to facilitate a
rising population. Some promising projects, however, are underway.
By: Peter Salisbury | Briefing
In recent remarks
declaring an end to UAE combat operations in Yemen, a high-ranking UAE
official may have revealed something many analysts have suspected for
some time: that the UAE is no longer involved in the battle for
northwest Yemen, but is instead focused on securing the south of the
country.
By: Michael A. Cohen | Column
In the aftermath of the
Brexit referendum, the debate among U.S. foreign policy pundits has
taken a predictable turn: looking for who is to blame. Not surprisingly,
if you are familiar with U.S. foreign policy punditry, the culprit is
to be found, not in London or Brussels, but in Washington.
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