Venezuelan opposition lawmakers brawl with pro-government militias at the National Assembly, Caracas, July 5, 2017 (AP photo by Fernando Llano).

At the end of 2015, South American political and economic prospects were promising. Just 18 months later and the situation has been upended, leaving a region whose future is not nearly as bright as it once appeared to be. SANTIAGO, Chile—Imagine an Obama administration official looking out at the world from the vantage point of December 2015. The Middle East is engulfed in bloody conflict and crackdowns on domestic dissent. Africa is muddling through a humbling correction to the “success story” narrative that had been used to portray the continent’s preceding decade of dynamic growth and democratic progress. Asia is […]

Ache children play with bubbles while celebrating the 12th anniversary of the village of Kuetuvy, Paraguay, Jan. 20, 2013 (AP photo by Jorge Saenz).

Southeast Paraguay would look a lot like Iowa were it not for the small patches of jungle sticking out of its rolling hills of corn and soybeans. Agriculture has become the cornerstone of the country’s economy over the past several decades, but the rainforest that was sacrificed to make that happen remains in bits and pieces, trying to hold on. Paraguay’s changing natural landscape has raised doubts about how the small country will balance both its economic and environmental needs. The government’s inability to reconcile them so far has created major—albeit often unnoticed—social conflicts in the southeast, especially for the […]

A Quechua indigenous person walks beside the stream of the Silala River, Potosi, Bolivia, March 28, 2013 (AP photo by Juan Karita).

Earlier this month, Bolivian President Evo Morales publicly berated his Chilean counterpart, Michelle Bachelet, for allegedly disclosing the contents of a filing before the International Court of Justice in The Hague concerning the two countries’ battle over the Silala River. It was just the latest flare-up in a dispute that has further poisoned relations between the South American neighbors. In an email interview, Chrisopher Rossi, an adjunct faculty member at the University of Iowa College of Law who has published detailed accounts of this dispute in the Stanford Journal of International Law and the Inter-American Law Review, explains the two […]

Khaltmaa Battulga addresses his supporters after claiming victory in the runoff presidential election, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, July 8, 2017 (Kyodo photo via AP).

Just moments after he was sworn in as Mongolia’s fifth democratically elected president earlier this week, Khaltmaa Battulga turned his attention to international affairs. Having just won the second-round runoff, the business tycoon-turned-president met with Russian, Chinese and Japanese delegations in Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar. Diplomacy is one of the most important responsibilities assigned to the Mongolian president by the country’s constitution. Managing foreign relations with Mongolia’s immediate neighbors, while also building on his predecessor’s legacy of heightened visibility beyond Northeast Asia, will be a central challenge for Battulga. Battulga succeeded Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, who served two terms as president and whose […]

A fishing boat sailing down the Nile River in Cairo, Egypt, Sept. 3, 2011 (AP photo by Amr Nabil).

For millennia, the Nile River has served as the backbone of Egypt, the lifeblood of its people. Gradually, though, the land of the pharaohs is losing its grip. Late last month, Uganda hosted the first ever heads-of-state summit aimed at resolving disagreements over the waters of the Nile. But it produced no major breakthrough and appeared to be a flop. In coming months, the opening of a major dam in Ethiopia will truly test Egypt’s anxieties that countries upstream are refusing to bow to its demands. The dam’s opening will reveal just how much leverage Egypt has lost. Egypt has […]

A ship carrying five American oil workers, left, reaches the shore of Margarita Island, Venezuela, after being intercepted in disputed waters off of Guyana, Oct. 13, 2013 (AP photo via Cristian Zerpa, El Sol de Margarita).

On June 15, Guyana announced it had issued an oil and gas license as well as an environmental permit to ExxonMobil. Raphael Trotman, the resources minister, said oil extraction was expected to begin in 2020, a key step for Guyana as it tries to revive its struggling economy. However, a border dispute with Venezuela remains unresolved, and Guyana’s decision to move ahead with oil production risks souring bilateral relations. In an email interview, Robert Looney, a distinguished professor at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, and a specialist in energy issues, explains the dispute and describes how oil fits […]