Defense & Security Archive

A major Indian trade mission is in Iran seeking to exploit Tehran’s increasing diplomatic and commercial isolation to rectify India’s trade imbalance with Iran. But while Indian companies are understandably eager to take advantage of the resulting commercial opportunities, the Indian government must soothe U.S., Israeli and European concerns that Indian firms will simply undercut international sanctions against Iran by “backfilling” Western companies currently departing the country. India’s behavior highlights a major problem with the Iran sanctions regime: Many countries face a different set of calculations with regard to Iran than the United States, Israel and the European and Persian […]

The wave of Arab Spring uprisings, and the regime violence that followed in countries such as Libya and Syria, has led to new flows of internally displaced people (IDPs) and refugees, with those numbers increasing as the violence in Syria escalates. “The Arab Spring has affected a whole range of countries in North Africa and the Middle East, but the effect on refugees and IDPs is limited to a smaller number of countries,” said Khalid Koser, who heads the New Issues in Security Program at the Geneva Center for Security Policy. “The first reason for this has to do with […]

An explosion over the weekend at a bus stop in Nairobi killed three and injured more than 20. World News Videos by NewsLook

Since the spring of 2010, South Sudan has been facing an onslaught of militia activity in Unity, Upper Nile and Jonglei states. For the most part, the government has pursued an “amnesty and integration” policy toward these militias, whereby members are offered amnesty for their past actions and integrated into the Southern People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), the former rebel group that now comprises the majority of South Sudan’s official security forces. The notable exception to this approach was George Athor, the rebel general who arguably posed the greatest internal threat to the government. Having refused multiple government overtures to persuade […]

Stratfor Vice President of East Asia Analysis Rodger Baker discusses Myanmar’s attempts to resolve several ongoing ethnic conflicts in tandem with domestic political reform. World News Videos by NewsLook

Amateur videos purport to show the streets of Homs, now abandoned and scarred by the 27-day shelling from Syrian government forces. World News Videos by NewsLook

Relations between the United States and Vietnam have progressed rapidly and comprehensively since the normalization of ties in 1995. In just the past few years, the two countries have inked agreements in areas including environmental protection, nuclear energy and health research cooperation. They have also deepened their robust economic relationship, with Vietnam signing on to the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, and have declared their common interest in freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. Yet if the U.S. and Vietnam wish to take their emerging strategic partnership to the next level, as officials from both sides have indicated, […]

Many commentators are predicting that with Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency in Russia, the improvement in relations between Moscow and Washington that occurred under the stewardship of U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will come to an end. Some are even forecasting a return to a more confrontational period in U.S.-Russia relations, given Putin’s history of negative comments about the United States. After all, last August, the then-Russian prime minister and now president-elect castigated Americans for “living like parasites off the global economy.” And in a pre-election essay published in Moskovskiye Novosti last month, Putin lambasted […]

Iran and Azerbaijan have had a volatile diplomatic relationship ever since Azerbaijan gained its independence 20 years ago. But even against the backdrop of their bumpy history, the deterioration in relations over the past few months has been swift. Azerbaijan’s recent moves to strengthen its alliance with Israel have certainly exacerbated tensions with Iran, but they are not the only cause of conflict. In addition to the two sides’ history of mutual suspicion, violent disagreement over sovereignty and each other’s choice of regional diplomatic partners are also prominent causes of strife. A central source of long-term tension between the two […]

Even as India refuses to join the U.S.-led sanctions regime on Iran, New Delhi is simultaneously cementing ties with Tehran’s long-standing rival, Saudi Arabia. Last month saw the first-ever visit by an Indian defense minister to the kingdom in a move that signals as much New Delhi’s willingness to emerge as a net provider of security to Saudi Arabia as Riyadh’s desire to look beyond Pakistan for its security needs. At a deeper level, the visit underscored the fact that the Gulf Cooperation Council — of which Saudi Arabia is the largest constituent — and India now view each other […]

Washington’s successful efforts to kill top al-Qaida leaders, combined with the emergence of strong pro-democracy movements in the Muslim world, have led many to conclude that al-Qaida is fizzling out. But while the conventional wisdom increasingly portrays the group as becoming gradually but steadily a spent and irrelevant force, there is evidence that this optimistic conclusion is grossly premature. Judging by the mayhem and death toll the group is inflicting in several countries — including hundreds killed by its militants in just the past few days — al-Qaida appears to be catching a second wind. The dramatic Navy Seal operation […]

Editor’s note: This will be Robert Farley’s final “Over the Horizon” column at World Politics Review. However, we look forward to featuring his work in WPR in the future. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Robert for making “Over the Horizon” a must read over the past year and a half and to wish him success in all his many endeavors. The intellectual battle over the future of American hegemony has been joined. Andrew Bacevich argues that the American Century has ended and that further American pretentions to hegemony will lead to disaster. Michael Cohen argues that the […]

Last month, Saudi Arabia made a move to normalize one of the Middle East’s key diplomatic relationships when it announced that the Saudi ambassador to Jordan would also serve as ambassador to Iraq. Riyadh cut diplomatic ties with Baghdad after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990. Two decades later, tensions remain, compounded by Saudi suspicion of the Shiite government in Iraq. But now the two key U.S. allies are making headlines for the steps they are taking to improve bilateral relations. “At bare minimum I think what we’ve seen are good gestures on the parts of the people who lead […]

Tribal chiefs and militia commanders in Libya’s east have declared semi-autonomy for the oil-rich region. They made the announcement at a meeting in Benghazi. Leaders from the area known as Barqa, or Cyrenacia, said they had been neglected for decades under Muammar Gadhafi.

With the emergence of cyber conflict as an increasingly important concern of policymakers, the possibility is sometimes raised that nations could enter into arms control agreements of some kind to reduce the likelihood that such conflict will occur and/or to reduce or limit the damage that any such conflict might inflict. Advocates of such agreements suggest that they would enhance the cybersecurity posture of the United States. Nonetheless, there are many challenges that stand in the way of reaching such agreements, and progress toward such agreements may well be slower than some observers would like. In the 21st century, information […]

This weekend’s election in Russia has unsurprisingly returned Vladimir Putin to the country’s presidency. In contrast to the preordained outcome of the Russian voting, the winner of this November’s U.S. presidential election is not yet known. But whoever occupies the White House in 2013 will need to consider the bilateral arms control relationship with Russia in coming years. And although the implementation of the New START agreement is going well, there are sharp differences in Washington and Moscow over where to go next. Moscow’s main concerns focus on U.S. missile defense and U.S. superiority in conventional forces. Both conditions work […]

On Jan. 17, the Obama administration announced its intention to support a diplomatic initiative to strengthen international norms protective of the global commons of outer space. Key norms in need of strengthening include the mitigation of space debris, especially debris produced by antisatellite (ASAT) tests; the elaboration of rules for space traffic management; and the development of procedures to increase the safety of satellite operations and human spaceflight. The Code of Conduct for responsible space-faring nations that President Barack Obama seeks would take the form of an executive agreement reflecting voluntary measures, rather than a treaty. Space diplomacy is rarely […]