Q & A Archive

Immigration has been a key issue in the French presidential election, with French President Nicolas Sarkozy promising to drastically reduce immigration inflows, as well as to withdraw France from the European Union’s open-border internal Schengen zone unless the EU tightens its own border controls by the end of 2012. Both measures are widely seen as an effort to win over the first-round voters of far-right candidate Marine Le Pen. But according to Saskia Sassen, a professor at Columbia University and an expert on European immigration, Sarkozy is simply the latest in a long line of European presidents and prime ministers […]

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced last week that Australian troops will withdraw from Afghanistan in 2013, a year ahead of schedule. In an email interview, Anthony Bubalo, the West Asia program director at the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney, Australia, discussed Australia’s mission in Afghanistan. WPR: Was participation in the Afghanistan War seen as consistent with Australia’s key strategic priorities or in competition with them? Anthony Bubalo: Australia’s participation in the war in Afghanistan has been consistent with the history of Australia’s use of its military forces beyond its immediate region, especially in the Middle East. That […]

Russia and China launched their first joint naval exercises in the Yellow Sea on Monday. In an email interview, Simon Saradzhyan, a research fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center, discussed military cooperation between Russia and China. WPR: How has Russia-China military and defense cooperation evolved over the past 10 years?Simon Saradzhyan: Bilateral military cooperation has developed steadily thanks to a general rapprochement between China and postcommunist Russia. On top of strong economic ties, the growth is based on the convergence of the two countries’ interests in opposing U.S. global dominance, the development of U.S. missile defenses, the expansion […]

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced his resignation Monday after his coalition government failed to agree on austerity measures needed to bring the Dutch budget into conformity with the European Union’s recently agreed-upon deficit limits. Budget talks in the Netherlands broke down after Geert Wilders’ euroskeptic Freedom Party abandoned negotiations over the weekend. “The news from the Netherlands drives home the fact that this crisis is no longer a crisis of the periphery. It is often portrayed as the core counties versus the periphery, as the North versus the South, but the Netherlands is a core country in the North,” […]

Venezuela threatened in early April to retaliate against a European Union decision to ban Venezuelan state airline Conviasa from flying in the EU. In an email interview, Susanne Gratius, a specialist in EU-Latin America relations at the Madrid-based think tank FRIDE, discussed EU-Venezuela relations. WPR: What is the history of European Union-Venezuela relations under President Hugo Chavez? Susanne Gratius: Relations are distant but cordial. Unlike U.S. policy, there are no diplomatic tensions or open conflicts between the EU and the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. Despite limited mutual interests, the EU has become the main donor and a principal […]

Citing a payment dispute, Egyptian Natural Gas Holding has announced that it is terminating its deliveries of natural gas to Israel, bringing an end to a deal that, since it was signed in 2005, had supplied Israel with 40 percent of its natural gas. Media reports have focused on the impact this sudden termination of the deal might have on the fragile peace agreement between the two countries. But Brenda Shaffer, an energy policy expert at the University of Haifa in Israel, told Trend Lines that the news does not have serious implications for Israel’s longer-term energy security, as the […]

In March, the Mexican Senate ratified an agreement with the U.S. governing the exploration and development of transboundary oil and gas reserves in the Gulf of Mexico. In an email interview, Duncan Wood, director of the international relations program at Mexico’s Autonomous Institute of Technology and a senior associate in the Americas program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, discussed the U.S.-Mexico transboundary energy agreement. WPR: What is the history of energy cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico? Duncan Wood: Since the nationalization of Mexican oil in 1938, the relationship between the two countries in energy matters has […]

Socialist challenger Francois Hollande came out ahead of French President Nicolas Sarkozy in the first round of France’s presidential election Sunday, winning 28.6 percent of votes cast, compared to 27.2 percent for Sarkozy. It marks the first time in the history of the country’s present electoral system that a sitting president has been outpolled in the first round. The two will now face each other in a run-off election on May 6. Until then, the European Union will be holding its breath, as the implications of the election results will extend far beyond France’s borders. When asked what he considered […]

Jiang Jiemin, the chairman of the China National Petroleum Corp., has reportedly floated the idea of building an undersea pipeline that would deliver Russian natural gas to South Korea via China, as an alternative to a long-discussed plan to build a pipeline connecting Russia, North Korea and South Korea. In an email interview, Se Hyun Ahn, chair of the department of international relations at the University of Seoul, discussed the prospect of a Russia-China-South Korea pipeline. WPR: What are South Korea’s sources of natural gas, and how is it delivered? Se Hyun Ahn: South Korea imports all of its natural […]

Aung San Suu Kyi, the general secretary of the National League for Democracy in Myanmar, spent nearly two decades under house arrest after her opposition party won the country’s 1990 parliamentary elections but was denied power by the ruling military junta. Now, after winning a seat in parliamentary by-elections held earlier this month, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s role in Myanmar’s domestic politics is poised to change. Reports that her scheduled debut in parliament Monday may be delayed due to a controversy over the wording of the parliamentary oath underscore the difficult choices facing Suu Kyi as she re-enters the […]

Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou made a surprise refueling stop in Mumbai, India, earlier this month while en route to Africa. In an email interview, Fang Tien-sze, an assistant professor at National Tsing-hua University in Hsinchu, Taiwan, and Jabin T. Jacob, assistant director of the Institute of Chinese Studies in Delhi, India, discussed India-Taiwan relations. WPR: How have India-Taiwan relations evolved over the past 10 years? Fang Tien-sze and Jabin T. Jacob: India-Taiwan relations have improved gradually in many areas over the past few years. Bilateral trade has expanded from $1.1 billion in 2001 to $7.6 billion in 2011. The two […]

Under pressure from Brasilia, Mexico agreed last month to limit its automotive exports to Brazil, prompting Argentina to threaten to revoke its own trade agreement with Mexico in an effort to gain further concessions. In an email interview, Barbara Kotschwar, a research associate at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, discussed the Economic Complementation Agreement 55 (ACE 55), the 2002 automotive trade deal between Mexico and Mercosur, the trade bloc comprised of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. WPR: What is the current state of trade between Mexico and Mercosur, particularly Brazil and Argentina, and what is the ACE 55 agreement […]

Japan announced a new defense-industry partnership with the U.K. earlier this month, its first foreign deal after relaxing its decades-old restrictions on defense cooperation with non.-U.S. partners in December. In an email interview, Ralph A. Cossa, president of the Pacific Forum CSIS discussed Japan’s new overseas defense cooperation. WPR: What brought about Japan’s relaxation of restrictions on developing defense equipment with foreign partners? Ralph A. Cossa: This has been in the works for some time and had support both from the opposition — which had flirted with the change for years when it was in charge — and the U.S. […]

Over the weekend, Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s high representative for foreign policy, oversaw 10 hours of talks in Istanbul, Turkey, between Iran and the six powers negotiating with Tehran on its nuclear program, earning the respect of a number of diplomats. The praise for Ashton’s handling of the talks contrasts with past criticisms for her slow response to crises, her absence from the media and her tendency to follow an American lead rather than taking a forceful European stand. “It is in everyone’s interest that the EU has and plays a useful role in the Iran talks, and it […]

Qatar refused earlier this month to hand over visiting Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi to the Iraqi central government, which has charged him with running death squads. In an email interview, Reidar Visser, a research fellow at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs and member of the Gulf Research Unit at the University of Oslo, discussed Iraq-Qatar relations. WPR: How have Iraq-Qatar diplomatic and trade relations evolved since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003? Reidar Visser: Like most other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, Qatar has had a strained relationship with Iraq since 2003, in particular after the emergence […]

In yet another disagreement between China and its neighbors over the disputed South China Sea, the Philippines last week claimed that one of its naval patrols had discovered eight Chinese fishing vessels loaded with illegal catch in an area it considers to be within its own exclusive economic zone. When the Philippine patrol refused to allow the fishing boats to leave the area without discharging their catch, China speeded three maritime survey ships to the area. Since then, the two countries have engaged in a standoff that continues, even though the Philippine warship allowed the fishermen to leave the area […]

Over the past decade, rising energy prices and new techniques and technologies have allowed global energy companies to bring online new oil and gas reserves in East African countries, including Tanzania and Mozambique. But as the demand for fossil fuels grows among energy-hungry emerging economies, investors are also opening up production in previously unexplored areas. And in East Africa, this means major opportunity as well as major uncertainty. “What could really make a difference is if these countries coordinate their strategies and their resources effectively,” said Richard Downie, deputy director of the Africa program at the Center for Strategic and […]