Briefing Archive

RIO DE JANEIRO — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traveled to the 40th Organization of American States General Assembly meeting on Sunday with two priorities, neither of which were published in the meeting’s agenda: to shore up support for Honduras’ re-entry to the OAS, and to gather momentum behind the Obama administration’s drive to impose sanctions on Iran through the U.N. Security Council. It was a program designed to confront, without naming, the country that has become the greatest challenge to the Obama administration in Latin America — Brazil. To be sure, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has stood out as […]

One year ago, the Iranian people shocked their rulers, and their rulers, in turn, horrified the world. When the Iranian regime announced an implausible landslide victory for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad just hours after polls closed on the country’s June 12 presidential election, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of Iranians spontaneously poured onto the streets. The regime responded with brutality, and the course of Iranian history was suddenly put into play. One year ago, it looked as though the ruling regime stood inches away from a gaping precipice. Experts all but proved (.pdf) that the government stole the elections, and the […]

On Monday, an Afghan suicide bomber blew himself up outside a NATO police-training facility in Kandahar. The blast opened a hole in the wall that allowed two more suicide bombers to race into the compound. Afghan police opened fire, killing the two bombers before they could set off their explosives. In addition to the three bombers, one American trainer was killed and three police were injured. The attack was a reminder of the extreme dangers faced by Afghan security force trainees and their NATO instructors. The bombing also underscored the growing importance of Afghan security forces, nearly nine years into […]

Asia-Pacific nations must renew their efforts to form a coherent and collaborative response to the region’s complex security risks and its inherent potential for instability, senior delegates at a high-level regional forum say. Food and energy security, ethnic conflicts, insurgencies and rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula were key issues discussed at the 9th International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-La Dialogue held in Singapore last weekend. Some 320 delegates from 28 nations — including defense ministers, military and intelligence chiefs, and prominent figures from the private sector — attended the summit. North Korea’s unprovoked torpedoing of the Cheonan, a South […]

After Mexican President Felipe Calderon won a highly controversial election by a razor-thin margin in 2006, he kicked off his presidency by declaring war on his country’s increasingly powerful and brutal drug cartels, deploying tens of thousands of troops across the country. Since Calderon’s much-publicized crackdown began however, the death toll from drug violence in Mexico has exploded, claiming roughly 23,000 lives — including cartel members, innocent civilians, police officers and soldiers — with 4,000 of those deaths coming in the first five months of this year alone. Over the past four years, Ciudad Juárez, a sprawling city of 1.3 […]

Now that the G-20 multilateral format has taken the lead in managing the world economy, many commentators are eager to do away with its predecessor in that role, the Group of Eight (G-8). Such a focus, however, neglects the G-8’s important security functions. Since the 1980s, the group has given birth to major initiatives promoting global peace and security. The G-20 lacks the unique assets that have made the G-8 so effective in this area. The G-8 now includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States. The absence of some of the […]

The recent diplomatic crisis between Turkey and Israel is only the latest episode illustrating broader shifts in Turkey’s foreign policy and international relations. A good deal of attention has been paid to renewed Turkish aspirations in Central Asia as well as efforts to engage its neighbors — Syria, Iraq and Iran. But less-noticed has been the new, enhanced role that Turkey is playing in the Gulf region, and in particular, its growing ties with the Gulf Cooperation Council. Turkish involvement in this area has represented one of the key features of its renewed attention to the Middle East. For many […]

One week later, the repercussions of the tragically botched Israeli commando raid on the Gaza aid flotilla spearheaded by a Turkish NGO continue to reverberate worldwide. Much of the raid’s fallout has played out in the realm of foreign affairs, particularly regarding its impact on the already sorry state of Turkish-Israeli relations, as well as on Washington’s plans in the Middle East. But the flotilla incident and Ankara’s response to it also has a very strong domestic component. The domestic political context relates to the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government’s desire to fend off political attacks from both Islamist […]

Despite my reputation as a fierce defender of globalization’s many benefits, I have always been of two minds on the human desire for connectivity in all its recently emergent possibilities. After all, my narrative on globalization began as the “Pentagon’s New Map” — not Google’s or Goldman’s. Even there, I was never under the impression that connectivity was an instant fix regarding human conflict — quite the reverse. And I knew instinctively that the primary motive for increased connectivity throughout history has been individual greed for resources, opportunities, influence and — most importantly — an improved standard of living. I’ve […]

The Israeli assault on the Gaza aid flotilla immediately brought to mind Talleyrand’s famous observation: It was worse than a crime; it was a mistake. Now the only way that Israel can move forward from this latest and tragic mistake is to understand its root causes. The strategic rationale that made a naval commando assault on a civilian vessel seem legitimate is the same strategic rationale at the root of all of Israel’s current difficulties: a narrowly defined perception of the country’s security as the end goal, with a strong deterrence posture that, in the words of David Grossman, depends […]

Over the past week, the Obama administration’s position on Israel exhibited what, in U.S. domestic political terms, amount to tectonic shifts. First, at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference last week, the United States chose not to block language that identified Israel’s undeclared nuclear program as a barrier to stemming proliferation in the Middle East. Then, earlier this week, Washington permitted a U.N. Security Council presidential statement condemning the Gaza flotilla incident to go forward. When combined with public and direct criticism a few months back of Israel’s settlements policy, it adds up, in the eyes of many U.S. politicians […]

This World Politics Review special report is a compilation of WorldPolitics Review’s top articles on Russian foreign and defense policyfrom November 2009 through May 2010. Below are links to each article, which subscribers can read in full. Subscribers can also download a pdf version of the report. Not a subscriber? Subscribe now, or try our subscription service for free.Russia-Saudi Relations: The Kingdom and the BearBy Saurav JhaNovember 9, 2009 Ingushetia: Russia’s North Caucasus Policy at a Tipping PointBy Valery Dzutsev November 17, 2009 Global Insights: Mistral Talks Reveal Russian Shipbuilding MaladiesBy Richard Weitz December 1, 2009 Global Insights: Russian-Indian Strategic […]

KATMANDU, Nepal — Nepal’s ruling coalition inked a compromise deal with the opposition Maoists to extend the term of the Constituent Assembly (CA), which also functions as the interim Parliament, on the verge of its expiration on Friday. While the standoff was prolonged by a narrow power struggle between the two blocs, observers can take comfort in the fact that both sides ultimately heeded the popular mood demanding stability. The CA was elected in 2008 and mandated to write a new constitution to finalize the country’s transition from a theocratic monarchy to a secular democracy. Its tenure was due to […]

The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finds itself, yet again, in the midst of a major diplomatic crisis. In the wake of the disastrous May 31 raid on the Mavi Marmara — part of the flotilla that sought to break the blockade of Hamas-run Gaza — the country has unsurprisingly come under furious diplomatic fire. So far, though, personal criticism of Netanyahu’s leadership has not become the primary focus of the attacks, as international charges have targeted the country, rather than its leader. The diplomatic disaster, however, presents Israeli opposition politicians with an opportunity, and a most delicate […]

Since his return to Egypt and dramatic entry into the Egyptian political spotlight, Mohamed ElBaradei has attracted support from various political blocs, as well as from the Egyptian people, who tout the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency as a hero. However, the enthusiasm with which many Egyptians, especially the young and marginalized, have joined his campaign is based largely on frustration and a desire for social and political change, rather than actual support for ElBaradei himself. Indeed, ElBaradei’s strategy so far has resembled an effort to be all things to all people, in order to satisfy the […]

As U.S. President Barack Obama prepares for his visit to Asia in June — one of three potential roundtrips to the region this year — it is worth exploring what Washington’s future policy options are with respect to Asian regionalism. The alphabet soup of the so-called “regional architecture” includes the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the ASEAN Plus Three (APT), and APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation), to name just a few groupings. The main question now facing the United States is whether to join the East Asia Summit, a five-year-old body that groups the 10 countries of Southeast Asia […]

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his Democratic Party of Japan rode into power in the fall of last year on the promise of tax cuts and a fresh approach to foreign policy. After a spate of crises less than a year after taking office, Hatoyama’s approval rating plummeted. Last week, a small leftist party allied with the DPJ split from the ruling coalition. On Tuesday, Hatoyama announced he would step down as prime minister. A financial scandal involving DPJ stalwarts partially explains Hatoyama’s fall from grace. Equally vexing for the 63-year-old from one of Japan’s leading political families was […]