Protests erupted across Spain and Greece this week, with demonstrators in both of the debt-hobbled countries expressing their growing displeasure with austerity reforms. The unrest comes just weeks after the European Central Bank announced that it would act as lender of last resort to eurozone nations facing rising borrowing costs, easing fears of sovereign defaults and calming financial markets. But now, with economic growth at a standstill and increasing numbers of Spaniards and Greeks facing impoverishment, the question has become whether these countries can survive the austerity cure, and if so, what it will take. “Much has been made of […]

The Indian government finally approved a plan last week to allow international firms such as Wal-Mart to own 51 percent of multibrand retail stores. In an email interview, Pravakar Sahoo, an associate professor at the Institute for Economic Growth in India, discussed India’s retail opening. WPR: What concrete changes will the retail opening bring to India’s economy? Pravakar Sahoo: The approval of 51 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) in multibrand retailing, which was initially approved by the Cabinet in November 2011 after two years of deliberation but suspended due to the ensuing political furor, is a big step. It will […]

Last week, Mexican President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto began a diplomatic tour of Central and South America, including stops in Guatemala, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru. For Peña Nieto, who will take office Dec. 1, the trip was an effort to reset Mexico’s relations with other major players in the region. Johanna Mendelson Forman, a senior associate with the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the tour indicated that Mexico may begin to look southward as well as northward for cooperation on economic and security issues. “Because of geography, I suspect that Peña Nieto will […]

Pope Benedict XVI traveled to Lebanon earlier this month, where he addressed the conflict in Syria at a heavily attended mass and met with Lebanon’s political leaders. In an email interview, Samuel Gregg, director of research at the Acton Institute, discussed Vatican foreign policymaking. WPR: Who sets Vatican foreign policy and what are the principal elements driving policy? Samuel Gregg: The Holy See’s foreign policy is subject to the pope’s direction and that of the secretary of state, presently Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. In formal terms, it is carried out primarily by the Secretariat of State, specifically its Second Section, known […]

Meeting in Sydney earlier this month, the foreign and defense ministers of Australia and Japan pledged closer defense cooperation. In an email interview, Thomas Wilkins, a senior lecturer at the Center for International Security Studies at the University of Sydney, discussed the strategic relationship between Australia and Japan. WPR: What are the top priorities on the bilateral agenda between Australia and Japan? Thomas Wilkins: There is no single stand-out issue for the annual Australia-Japan “2 + 2” Foreign and Defense Ministerial Meeting talks, but rather a consolidation of relations around the issues of security cooperation, trade liberalization, energy security, climate […]

In India, a growing number of political leaders are threatening to withdraw their support for the governing coalition of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the face of new economic measures that, among other changes, allow for greater foreign investment by global retail giants in India’s heretofore protected domestic retail sector.* The New York Times reported Wednesday that Mamata Banerjee, the populist chief minister of West Bengal, announced that her party, the Trinamool Congress, would formally leave the government. Meanwhile, Kunal Ghosh, a member of the Indian Parliament from the same party, suggested that Singh should resign. “India is passing through […]

The European Commission opened an investigation into Gazprom earlier this month, charging that the Russian energy conglomerate had prevented the free flow of gas between European Union members and had improperly linked the price of gas to oil. In an email interview, Pami Aalto, Jean Monnet professor at the University of Tampere, and Kim Talus, professor of European law at the University of Eastern Finland, discussed the EU’s investigation into Gazprom. WPR: What is the background of the current EU antitrust investigation into Gazprom? Pami Aalto and Kim Talus: The current antitrust investigation ensues from a 2007 energy sector inquiry […]

Last week, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkey would not extradite Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, who was sentenced to death in absentia by an Iraqi court. As BBC News reported, Hashemi dismissed the charges against him as “politically motivated.” The most senior Sunni official in Iraq’s predominantly Shiite government, Hashemi was accused of running Sunni death squads. The incident was the latest in a series of recent flare-ups between Ankara and Baghdad. Henri Barkey, a professor of international relations at Lehigh University, mentioned a visit by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to Kirkuk, Iraq, last month […]

Egypt’s petroleum minister announced last week that British Gas plans to invest $3 billion to $5 billion in development projects in Egypt. In an email interview, Gawdat Bahgat, a professor of national security affairs at the National Defense University’s Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Study, discussed the state of Egypt’s oil and gas industry. WPR: Where have the events of the past two years left Egypt’s oil and gas industry? Gawdat Bahgat: Unlike its North African neighbors Libya and Algeria, Egypt has never been a major oil producing and exporting country. It is not a member of OPEC […]

While in Japan on Monday to start off a three-nation tour of Asia, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that the United States and Japan had reached an agreement to deploy a second missile defense radar installation on Japanese soil. Panetta, who continued on to Beijing, China, following his stopover in Tokyo, said the agreement would enhance the Japanese-American alliance, improve Japanese defense and protect the U.S. from the threat of North Korea’s ballistic missile program. While Panetta insisted that the move does not target China, Beijing responded angrily to the announcement, which came amid heightened tensions between China and […]

Navi Pillay, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, recently warned of atrocities committed on both sides of the conflict in Syria in an effort to draw attention to the conflict. In an email interview, Hurst Hannum, a professor of international law at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, discussed the high commissioner’s role and capabilities. WPR: What is the role of the U.N. high commissioner for human rights within the landscape of U.N. agencies, such as the Human Rights Commission? Hurst Hannum: The U.N. high commissioner for human rights (HCHR) is the highest-ranking U.N. official specifically concerned […]

Anti-American demonstrations turned violent Tuesday at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt, and at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, where attacks killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others. With similar protests now spreading throughout the region, the Defense Department, State Department and White House are working to step up security at embassies in the Middle East and around the world. While the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations holds the host country responsible for embassy security, the U.S. has established its own complex security bureaucracy to respond to ongoing threats. But in light of this week’s security breaches, diplomatic posts […]

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key met with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda yesterday in Tokyo, where the talks focused on Japan’s interest in joining the negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. In an email interview, Yoichiro Sato, an expert in Japan’s foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific at the College of Asia Pacific Studies at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, discussed Japan-New Zealand relations. WPR: What is the extent of diplomatic and economic ties between Japan and New Zealand? Yoichiro Sato: Economic ties are asymmetrical, due to the difference in the two countries’ sizes. Japan is a major trade partner for […]

In Kenya, clashes between rival tribal groups in the Tana River area continued this week, as tensions over access to land and water triggered revenge attacks between the seminomadic Orma pastoralist community and the Pokomo farming community.* On Monday and Tuesday, more houses were set on fire, forcing many to flee and driving the death toll higher. Meanwhile, with the government so far unable to restore order to the region, deadly riots also raged on in the port city of Mombasa, following the killing of a radical Muslim preacher. “What is going on between the Pokomo and the Orma is […]

India and Tajikistan elevated their relationship to a strategic partnership last week following discussions between Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi. In an email interview, Meena Singh Roy, a research fellow at the Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses, discussed India-Tajikistan relations. WPR: What is the recent trajectory of the India-Tajikistan relationship, and how does Tajikistan fit into India’s broader engagement with Central Asia? Meena Singh Roy: Tajikistan figures very high in India’s foreign policy priorities and remains a significant partner for India in Central Asia. India has excellent political and strategic relations […]

Pacific Rim leaders met Sunday for the last day of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in Vladivostok, Russia. As reported by the Associated Press, the 21 APEC members pledged “to fend off the deepening damage from the European crisis and revive flagging growth in the region by supporting open trade, reforming their economies and strengthening public finances.” Alan Oxley, chairman of the national Australian APEC Study Center at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, and managing director of ITS Global, told Trend Lines that, with Russia “keen to showcase its new free trade credentials following its recent accession to […]

Colombia and the leftist rebel group the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) announced Tuesday that they had signed an agreement to launch peace negotiations. Chile and Venezuela will be observers at the talks, which will begin in Oslo, Norway, and continue in Havana, Cuba. As the Washington Post reported, the talks represent a “new attempt to end the Western Hemisphere’s longest-running conflict” and the first such effort since three years of negotiations “ended disastrously in 2002.” Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, offered several reasons why the talks could possibly succeed this time around. “The Colombian security forces […]

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