By Richard Weitz
07 Jul 2009 |
World Politics Review
After a protracted campaign, the IAEA's Board of Governors selected Yukiya Amano of Japan as its next director general earlier this month. Amano will certainly face no shortage of challenges when he begins his four-year term. The IAEA's funding has not kept pace with its monitoring activities, which are only expected to increase in coming years.
By Richard Weitz
30 Jun 2009 |
World Politics Review
Cuba recently became the 54th country to accede to the U.N.'s Nuclear Terrorism Convention, in a move meant to burnish its counterterrorist credentials. The publicity surrounding the official announcement, which contested the legality of the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, had the benefit of
highlighting the steady progress the convention has achieved in gaining
wider acceptance.
By Richard Weitz
23 Jun 2009 |
World Politics Review
Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev conferred three times last week, culminating in Hu's state visit to Moscow. The visit helped mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Moscow and Beijing, and reaffirmed the two countries' desire to cooperate further in the future.
By Richard Weitz
16 Jun 2009 |
World Politics Review
In his April 5 disarmament speech in Prague, President Barack Obama endorsed an international uranium fuel bank as part of his "new framework for civil nuclear cooperation." The idea for such a bank, meant to address weaknesses in the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, has circulated for decades. But until recently, multilateral support has proved lacking.
By Richard Weitz
09 Jun 2009 |
World Politics Review
Much remains uncertain regarding the nuclear arms control treaty currently being negotiated by the U.S. and Russia, but the parties have evidently decided not to address "non-strategic" nuclear weapons in the agreement. Currently, no bilateral treaty limits the number of these weapons in the U.S. and Russian arsenals, and a variety of factors makes one problematic.
By Richard Weitz
02 Jun 2009 |
World Politics Review
South Korea's entry last week into the Proliferation Security Initiative in response to a North Korean nuclear weapon test represented a long-sought objective of PSI proponents. For years, the Republic of Korea government had delayed joining the program due to fears about how North Korea might respond. It took Pyongyang's May 25 test detonation of a nuclear device to prompt the South Korean government to commit to membership.
By Richard Weitz
26 May 2009 |
World Politics Review
Two frustrating EU summit meetings last week, with China and Russia, served to illustrate the EU's well-known difficulties
in conducting foreign policy under its present institutional
structure. Even with a more coherent foreign policy machinery, however, the EU would still find it difficult to achieve its
objectives in the case of dialogue partners such as China and
Russia.
By Richard Weitz
05 May 2009 |
World Politics Review
Following a lull in late 2008, Somali pirates carried out almost 100 attacks during the first three months of 2009, demonstrating how t
he international response, while impressive, has been limited by insufficient coordination. In order to address the complex nature of the problem, the international community must consider immediate, medium- and long-term objectives.