In Uganda, climate change is leading to longer dry seasons, lowering crop yields and threatening the livelihoods of farmers and pastoralists. A surge in violent cattle rustling at the height of planting season exacerbated the situation. Now competition over increasingly limited natural resources could potentially lead to more conflict.
China’s challenges at home and abroad have grown more pronounced in recent years—so much so that a longstanding debate over China’s intentions increasingly coexists with one over its trajectory: Is it on a path to global preeminence, or is it near the zenith of its power and perhaps even on the verge of systemic decline?
After much foot-dragging, the European Commission proposed a cap on the price it will pay for natural gas yesterday. Fifteen of the union’s members had proposed such a cap to limit Russian energy revenues due to spiking gas prices since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, but a group of members led by Germany are opposed to it.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, two successive waves of Russian “war refugees” have descended upon countries in Central Asia and the Southern Caucasus. The response from the receiving countries to date has been mixed, ranging from a welcoming attitude to downright hostility, in part due to the economic impact of the new arrivals.
A recent mass shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado has elevated conversations about the risks and rights abuses experienced by queer people and those with nonconforming gender identities in U.S. society and worldwide. But it also underscores the connections between gender extremism and violence more broadly.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met in Manila over the weekend with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, whose visit was meant to show Washington’s high-level support for its Southeast Asian ally. But if security issues were front and center during Harris’ visit, the question of human rights was also on the agenda.
As encouraging as the three-hour meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping was, it is but one stopping point in what promises to be a long and difficult road ahead for bilateral relations between the U.S. and China, especially against the backdrop of competition that characterizes the relationship.
The strategic and economic importance of the Black Sea region has made it the center of conflict for centuries, and several factors make it unlikely that it will suddenly find stability when the war in Ukraine ends. As a result, the EU and U.S. should be developing contingency plans to ensure stability in the Black Sea region now.
Pakistan has become embroiled in a political stalemate, as Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s followers have resumed their march on Islamabad ahead of a change in military leadership that is set to be contentious. The question at the heart of the crisis is whether there’s any way out that doesn’t lead to unrest and violence.
The return of Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister has raised the question of whether he will revisit Israel’s neutrality over the war in Ukraine. But he is unlikely to, for a simple reason: Israel fears that aligning against Russia in Ukraine would curtail its freedom to operate against Iranian forces and proxies in Syria.
Since the onset of the war in Ukraine, hundreds of thousands of Russian men have fled the country to avoid being pressed into military service. In response, several European nations have barred Russian asylum-seekers from entering the country. But arguments for barring Russian draft-dodgers don’t stand up to scrutiny.
In June, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security warned of a “heightened threat environment” ahead of the midterm congressional elections. In the months since then, terrorism analysts have continued to express concern that the country could suffer a spasm of political violence tied to the elections on Nov. 8.
Kenyan President William Ruto officially announced the deployment of Kenyan troops to eastern Congo as part of an East African regional force tasked with protecting civilians and bringing peace to the region. But there has been little consideration about the length of the deployment and what its main strategic objectives are.
Sweden’s September elections ushered in a new government that promptly mothballed the country’s “feminist foreign policy” adopted in 2014. This unfortunate development, however, is an opportunity for everyone interested in promoting gender equality globally to rethink what a feminist foreign policy can and must do.
The highest-level negotiations between the two sides in Ethiopia’s civil war began last week in South Africa, amid low expectations they will end the two-year war. Nevertheless, the African Union-led talks have been extended, suggesting that, if both sides are not ready to stop fighting, neither are they ready to stop talking.
Iraq’s parliament approved a new government last week, bringing an end to the year-long political deadlock that followed the country’s 2021 parliamentary elections. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani will head the new government, backed by a coalition dominated by parties representing Iran-backed Shiite militias.
Since taking office in May, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has sought to follow through on campaign promises to reorient the country’s foreign policy, including with the U.S., China and Japan. But if Yoon and his advisers were correct in their premises, they were naive about how this promised reorientation would work in practice.