Venezuela and South Korea are both presidential republics/representative democracies; they have a system where the executive branch exists separately from a legislature, and elected representatives – not citizens themselves – vote on legislation. Currently, these two countries are experiencing high political tensions, making headlines all over the world. The two cases share some common threads which are worth noting.
Read MoreBluster with Bombs: Trump’s Ultimately Meaningless Strike on Syria
The use of sarin indicates that Assad’s chemical weapons program is far more extensive than intelligence experts and policymakers believed. In the wake of the 2013 chemical attack in the Ghouta district outside of Damascus, the U.S. and Russia backed a plan by which Syria would give up its chemical stockpiles. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)would then transport and dismantle them under international supervision. By spring of 2014, the Obama administration reported that all of Syria’s reported chemical weapons had been removed from the country. Since then, the Syrian government has used chlorine gas on rebels on multiple occasions.
Read MoreForget the ‘ticking time bomb’: Why Africa should invest in its demographic dividend
African development discourse likes to debate whether Africa’s rapid population growth constitutes the desirable demographic (“youth”) dividend, or a much more ambivalent youth bulge. The United Nations defines a demographic dividend as “the economic growth that ensues when there are more working-age people (15 to 64) than the non-working people (14 and younger, and 65 and older).” Conversely, a youth bulge is characterized by “high youth unemployment and widespread protests—a recipe for political instability.” So, which one is it?
Read MoreTemporary Fixes
Leveling contradictory examples of isolationist, pragmatic and Machiavellian policy choices, the new president appears to be leaping down the same path of support for brutal authoritarian regimes and to be supporting vicious insurgent movements in favor of a “quick fix” in the Middle East. Clearly failing to hide his reverence for the autocratic institutions of oppressed nations, President Trump is pursuing an unsustainable, counterproductive and outright dangerous policy that, according to all logic, will produce tangible benefits for neither the American people nor the average citizens of literally any other country.
Read MoreNorth Korean Clandestine Operations and Southeast Asia: A network through restaurants?
As a component of these schemes, the North Korean Government runs a chain of restaurants throughout the world called Pyongyang Restaurant, featuring hand-selected North Korean waitresses serving North Korean food, karaoke services, and mysterious secret rooms. Although this chain had long existed in China and former Soviet bloc countries, the North Korean government saw potential in entering Pyongyang into the Southeast Asian market during the early 2000s. These new venues allowed North Korea to increase their network of revenue and money laundering, and could serve as potential recruiting grounds.
Read MoreResidents of Mosul Trapped between Two “Liberators”
With homes turned into rubble, and civilians facing a dire lack of food, water, electricity, and medical supplies, the people of Mosul are barely clinging to life. They are stuck between the weapons of IS and those of coalition forces. Once the battle slows down, can the residents of Mosul trust either U.S.-backed forces or IS as protectors?
Read MoreVenezuela is at Risk of a Coup
On Thursday, Venezuela lost its last vestige of representative democracy when President Nicolas Maduro, aligned with the country’s supreme court magistrates, suspended the Venezuelan National Assembly. In a move derided by the international community, Maduro and the magistrates removed the opposition party from power and effectively completed Venezuela’s transformation into a one-party state. These developments, coupled with an economic and humanitarian crisis, make a military-backed coup d’etat against Maduro’s government a very real possibility.
Read MoreDiamond Mines Are Not Forever
Hopefully, the challenges of declining diamond revenues, sustaining growth and a growing social service budget will foster new political parties with fresh visions and solutions for Botswana, finally pushing it into the ranks of a truly competitive democracy. But the possibility for a descent into flawed democracy or authoritarianism, or for massive social upheaval in response to economic struggles, cannot be ruled out. Botswana has been a star in Africa and in development literature, but a stagnant, or increasingly authoritarian Ian Khama-led-BDP, may test whether Botswana's democratic institutions are as enduring as its diamonds or as finite as its diamond mines.
Read MorePeace in South Sudan: Trapped Between History and Reality
Articles about South Sudan invariably describe it as the world's youngest country; yet what is more important to remember is that civil wars have plagued the nation since before most countries in Africa enjoyed independence.
Read MoreAfrica: Why Economists Get It Wrong (and why Morten Jerven Gets It Right)
The use of one trend—chronic growth failure—to describe postcolonial African growth is like drawing a linear line of best fit through a circular function. While the line will inadvertently intersect the function twice, this line in no way properly describes the relationships between data points. Combine this with the one-size-fits-all insistence that bad institutions and bad governance account for slow growth. We are left with a determination for why growth in Africa has failed that may appear aesthetically salient, but exercises no real explanatory power or guidance for future strategies.
Read MoreRefugees and Regimes: Using Historical Precedent to Address the Migrant Crisis
The belief that the United States is not in an adequate state to embrace refugees ignores not only the strength of the U.S. as a global world power, but also the example that countries with far fewer resources than the United States set. Lebanon has the greatest per capita concentration of refugees in the world. With a two-year political vacuum, decades-old internal divisions, and an infant government, Lebanon is in a comparatively far less adequate position to welcome refugees.
Read MoreTo Win Hearts and Minds: Chinese Peacekeeping in Africa
On March 10, 2017, China sent 140 peacekeeping police officers for a yearlong deployment to Liberia as part of United Nations peacekeeping operations. Deployments from China are becoming increasingly common as the country becomes more involved in peacekeeping in Africa. Since joining the United Nations in 1971, China has contributed 2,594 personnel to over a dozen UN peacekeeping operations. But China was not always this supportive of UN operations.
Read MoreISIS in Egypt
To say the outlook for the growth of extremism in Egypt is bleak would be an understatement, but to assume that we’ve hit rock bottom would be an even graver mistake. To start, the conflict against the deep-rooted terrorist organizations has been ongoing since 2013, and although al-Sisi commanded the “eradication of terrorism” in the North Sinai region, it would be naïve to think such lofty goals could be accomplished even within a few years.
Read MoreChemical Weapons: A Resurgent Threat
In 1997, much of the world breathed a collective sigh of relieve when the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) entered into force. Those states party to the agreement pledged to destroy their chemical weapons and their production facilities. With 192 states signing on to the agreement, it is widely viewed as an arms control success. However, following the assassination of Kim Jong-nam and President Bashar al-Assad’s CWC violations during the Syrian civil war, the use of chemical weapons seems to be on the rise.
Read MoreThe “Travel Ban”: Where is America’s Empathy?
As the debate about refugees and “travel ban” continues to occupy U.S. headlines, President Trump should remember that America’s intervention has created many of the Iraqi refugees he strives to turn away. How can Iraqis reconcile the U.S. invasion of their country with Washington’s ban? If there is one lesson to be learned from the Iraq war it is that America’s decisions abroad matter.
Read MoreThe European Far-Right: A Platform Rooted in Fear, Not Fact
Geert Wilders, a Dutch politician and founder of the Netherlands’ Party for Freedom (PVV) was recently indicted in a hate speech lawsuit for rousing discrimination against immigrants in his country. The Netherlands is holding federal elections in mid-March. Wilders’ party is leading in nearly every poll. The PVV is set to win.
Read MoreChinese College Student Perspectives on President Trump and Why They Matter
So how do Chinese college students in China view President Trump? The answer is not in Trump’s favor. Because of his campaign rhetoric and aggressive stance on the South China Sea - most notably Steve Bannon’s prediction of a war in the region – the Chinese people have long been wary of Trump’s foreign policy ideas. Talking with Chinese students at Tsinghua University and Peking University, I found that they believe Trump’s behavior and attitude towards their country is unhealthy for developing a constructive relationship between the two nations.
Read MoreExpansion or Trade? The Intelligence Challenges of Chinese Island Building
There is no doubt that, over the last few years, China has been following a much more assertive policy in its near abroad. At the center of this aggressive shift is the South China Sea, where China has competing territorial claims with several neighboring states. Although China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea appears to be a key element of Beijing’s foreign policy, the Obama administration responded to Chinese moves with only partial success. As such, the first challenge to the Trump administration from China will likely involve this contested region of the world.
Read MoreBanning the Ban: Responses and Anticipations to the Executive Order
Against the backdrop of recent airstrike in Yemen, the Foreign Ministry denounced American efforts to “classify Yemen or its citizens as possible sources of terrorism” as illegal and illegitimate, suggesting the U.S. undertake additional “assessment and revision” before making such claims.
Read MoreThe Geopolitical Consequences of Sinking the TPP
Economists can argue about the economic merits or shortcomings of the TPP, and there are certainly many of each. But an equally significant—and much less talked about—consideration is that of the geopolitical consequences of withdrawing from the free trade agreement.
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