Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses the Australia China state and provincial leaders forum in Sydney, Australia, Nov. 19, 2014 (AP photo by Jason Reed).

For centuries, the trade routes of the Silk Road have evoked spices, empires and deserts. However, if a new strategy planned by the Chinese government proves successful, it may well come to be associated with China’s ascent in world politics. On Nov. 8, during the annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged $40 billion for the creation of a Silk Road Investment Fund to “break the connectivity bottleneck” in Asia. Only five days after the APEC announcement, the China Securities Journal reported that “relevant departments” are trying to establish a private […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a welcome ceremony in Ankara, Turkey, Dec. 1, 2014 (AP photo by Burhan Ozbilici).

Russian President Vladimir Putin was in Ankara last week for talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The biggest news coming out of the visit was Putin’s announcement that he is scrapping the South Stream pipeline project that was to bring Russian gas to Southern Europe. Putin cited the European Union’s opposition to the project as the reason for the cancellation. The EU has raised concerns that the Russian state-owned energy firm Gazprom would own both the pipeline infrastructure and the gas being transported, which would violate the EU’s competition laws in the energy sector. South Stream, originally agreed upon […]

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Astrakhan, Russia, Sept. 29, 2014 (Photo from the website of the Russian president).

Hassan Rouhani assumed the presidency of Iran last year amid great expectations for reform at home and renewed engagement abroad. From nuclear negotiations to the crises in Iraq and Syria, Rouhani’s term has so far been a mixed bag, offering hope but not yet transformation, as the articles in this report show. Domestic Politics Iran’s Structural Constraints Limit Rouhani’s Domestic AgendaBy Rouzbeh ParsiMarch 6, 2014 Iran’s Rouhani Stokes Domestic Backlash With Attack on CriticsBy Nader HabibiAug. 18, 2014 Dual Powers: Repression and Participation in IranBy Manochehr DorrajFeb. 18, 2014 Out of the Shadows: Iran’s Evolving Approach to Drug AddictionBy Mehrun […]

Xu Caihou, right, deputy chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission, and Chongqing Party Secretary Bo Xilai attend the closing session of the National People’s Congress, Beijing, China, March 14, 2012 (AP photo by Vincent Thian).

The recent announcement that investigators seized a metric ton of cash, jewels, antiques and other luxury goods from the villa of retired Gen. Xu Caihou sheds new light on corruption within China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Xu, who had been a vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party’s powerful Central Military Commission (CMC), was the second senior PLA commander to be charged with corruption in recent years. In 2012, Gen. Gu Junshan, a deputy commander of the PLA General Logistics Department, was detained after years of rumors that he had been involved in under-the-table deals involving PLA-controlled land. Several active […]

The Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa mosque compound, also known as the Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City, Sept. 9, 2013 (AP photo by Sebastian Scheiner).

Last month, with tensions flaring in Jerusalem over access to the Temple Mount, or Haram al-Sharif, Jordan recalled its ambassador from Tel Aviv—the first time it had done so since it signed a peace treaty with Israel 20 years ago. As part of that treaty, the Jordanian monarchy is the custodian of the holy site. The ambassador was withdrawn to protest what Jordan called Israeli “violations” there, including closing the sacred compound housing the al-Aqsa mosque for a day and raiding the mosque to quell protesters. Continuing violence in Jerusalem, from hit-and-run attacks to stabbings and the killing of four […]

Oman’s Sultan Qaboos at Bait al-Baraka in Muscat, Oman, May 21, 2013 (AP Photo/Jim Young, Pool).

Last month, Oman’s Sultan Qaboos addressed his nation via a video message from Germany, where he is allegedly receiving treatment for colon cancer. The 76-year-old monarch was going to miss Oman’s national day celebrations on Nov. 18, which is also his birthday, and he wanted to ease the uncertainty at home that has developed as a result of his five-month absence. Qaboos’ ailing health has, however, created a flurry of media coverage on the future of Oman and the leadership transition, while raising important questions about the risks it poses to Oman’s decades-old stability. The sultanate, a high-income and ethnically […]

Supporters of Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan attend a rally in Abuja, Nigeria, Nov. 11, 2014 (AP photo).

Last Tuesday, Nigeria’s central bank devalued the country’s currency by 10 percent in an effort to shore up foreign reserves hard-hit by falling oil prices. The move comes months before a presidential election and highlights the country’s vulnerability to the price of oil, which makes up 70-80 percent of the Nigerian government’s revenue. With Brent crude hitting a four-year low of $77.83 per barrel in early November, Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, is feeling the pinch. Government coffers are emptying, and construction companies and other employers have begun to lay off workers. As oil prices could remain low for 2015, […]

Pro-government supporters gather for a march in downtown Moscow to mark People’s Unity Day. The poster reads “the Crimea is ours,” Nov. 4, 2014 (AP photo by Ivan Sekretarev).

As the end of each year rolls around, foreign policy pundits inevitably churn out columns reviewing the past 12 months and guessing at what comes next. These pieces will make for consistently bleak reading this year. Viewed in geopolitical terms, 2014 has been egregiously nasty. It is now conventional wisdom that the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, coupled with China’s increasing assertiveness in the Pacific, signal the looming implosion of the American-led international order. Like most conventional wisdoms, this may prove to be incorrect. While many analysts will make pronouncements about the future of the world in 2015, […]

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