In East Asia, a regional arms race between North Korea, China, South Korea, and Japan due to North Korea's buildup of nuclear wmd's.

The last year was one of near-constant North Korea missile testing. Dozens of launches have put the region on edge and are driving an increasingly militarized response from South Korea and Japan. Meanwhile, China has done much to enable this state of affairs by its lackadaisical attitude toward North Korea.

Russia's latest form of internet censorship comes in the form of spreading disinformation on the app Telegram about the war in Ukraine

During the war in Ukraine, Telegram has been essential for communications. As a result, Moscow has infiltrated the encrypted messaging app’s channels to spread disinformation to Ukrainians and flood Russian users with pro-Kremlin content, indicating that when Moscow can’t block a technology, it will work to subvert and overwhelm it.

After a dramatic year in which us-china relations got more tense and the russia-ukraine war began, it can be easy to feel like everything has changed

It’s hard not to see 2022 as a “year that changed everything.” The war in Ukraine and other developments certainly represented shocks to the international system. But rather than a year that has changed everything, I see a year that has made everything more possible, at times for the worse but also for the better.

The conflict between M23 and Congo has the potential to escalate into a war between Rwanda and the DRC

This year’s most underreported event is the renewed fighting in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The violence is especially dangerous as it is essentially a proxy conflict between Congo and its neighbor Rwanda, with the potential to become a direct military confrontation—and a regional war.

Putin and Lukashenko amid Belarus' involvement in Russia's war in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Belarus this week to shore up support in Minsk for his war in Ukraine. Even if Alexander Lukashenko does not send troops to Ukraine, closer political and military ties between Moscow and Minsk signal Belarus’ loss of sovereignty and its de facto involvement in the war effort.

China-US tensions flared up because of an incident between US Coast Guard and an illegal chinese fishing fleet

Last month, a U.S. Coast Guard patrol vessel off the coast of Ecuador was forced to take evasive action when a Chinese fishing boat tried to ram it to avoid being boarded and inspected. The incident highlights the growing risk for conflict over fishing rights amid heightened geopolitical rivalry on the world’s oceans.

Turkey and Iran's presidents meet amid heated relations and a proxy competition in the Caucasus a few years after a the nagorno-karabakh war

If Iran’s moves over the past couple months are any indication, Turkey’s growing influence in the South Caucasus, especially its alliance with Azerbaijan, has heightened Tehran’s sense of unease. Iran now sees the prospect of an arc of Turkey-aligned states emerging as a powerful Turkic alliance along its northern borders.

After a difficult year, it's worth sharing the bright spots in fields like climate change, the US military's new civilian casualties policy, and protests in Iran pro-democracy

Writing about human security and international law often means writing about the worst things in the world. With the holidays around the corner, it’s worth sharing a few stories that show how numerous strategies—including NGO activism and nonviolent protest movements—are making a positive difference for human security worldwide.

In West Africa, a new task force by countries like Ghana, Mali, and Benin will address coups and terrorism

In late November, the leaders of the Accra Initiative, a collaborative security mechanism designed to target the region’s common security challenges, launched a multilateral task force to counter terrorism, violent extremism and transnational crime. But the new force and others like it largely mistake symptoms for causes.

Congressmembers in the US speak about the threat of foreign interference and influence in national security and elections

In defending themselves from foreign interference, Western countries currently tend to look at all the tools used to pursue it in isolation. In order to effectively defend themselves, however, Western governments ought to see all the tools of foreign interference as elements of a strategic continuum, requiring a holistic response.

In El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele's War on Gangs has made him extremely popular despite human rights abuses

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele appears to have found a formula to maintain sky-high popularity in a region more accustomed to street protests and leaders nose-diving in the polls. Critics of his “war on gangs” revile him for his autocratic ways. But citizens and leaders across Latin America have looked to him for inspiration.

Nancy Pelosi has played a significant role in US foreign policy, including in China and Taiwan

When U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hands over the gavel next year, it will mark the end of an era in U.S. politics, with the greatest impact immediately visible on domestic policy. But Pelosi has also played a major role in foreign policy, deploying her political skills in pursuit of a mostly hawkish, internationalist worldview.

In Africa, conflict resolution around the Ethiopia war in Tigray is a sign of the new world

Even as both sides in Ethiopia implement the first steps of a peace accord, the impact of its civil war can be seen in regional and international responses to other conflicts in Africa. That could presage deep changes in how the West engages with African security issues, and the distribution of roles in addressing them.

In El Salvador, people are detained and taken to prison amid a state of emergency in an effort to mitigate gang violence

In March, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele declared a state of emergency and suspended fundamental rights, giving security forces extended powers to detain and arrest people suspected of gang crimes. Since then, over 58,000 people accused of being gang members have been arrested—and human rights violations have spiked.

In Eastern Congo, M23 rebels

Despite a third round of peace talks between the government of Congo and representatives of major rebel groups this week, ongoing tensions in eastern Congo are raising fears of the conflict potentially escalating into an interstate war. It would be a dismal end to a year that has already proven to be a bloody one across the continent.

Amid claims by some NATO allies that the US is benefitting from the war in Ukraine because of defense contracts, a soldier prepares Raytheon ammo

War is hell, but for large and politically influential defense contractors, it is also good business. This is fueling claims among some NATO allies that the U.S. is profiting from the war in Ukraine. There is no denying that U.S. defense contractors are benefiting, but accusations of war profiteering are simply off base.

A protest in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini calling for regime collapse in Iran

Despite a remarkable nationwide uprising that shows no sign of abating, Iran has not put its external policies on hold. While some onlookers may hope that the internal unrest and growing international isolation will hinder Iran’s troubling policies outside the country, the opposite may unfortunately be more likely.

Showing 1 - 17 of 251 2 Last