Q & A Archive

Tanzania is lobbying to be allowed to make a one-off sale of its ivory stockpile ahead of the annual meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). In an email interview, Esmond Martin, an independent wildlife trade consultant, discussed the ivory trade regime. WPR: What is the CITES decision-making process on issues like Tanzania’s request for a one-off sale of its ivory stock? Esmond Martin: The present CITES decision-making process concerning Tanzania’s request for a one-off sale of ivory consists of a panel of experts put together by CITES to visit Tanzania to check how effective the […]

The Party of Regions, the governing party of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, is on track to retain control over parliament after claiming victory in elections held over the weekend. The results of the widely criticized polling reflected the persistent fault lines that divide the country’s moderate center, its European-leaning western region and the pro-Russian east. “The good news is that Ukrainians voted in large numbers and that the parliament will now be more diverse,” Alexander Motyl, a professor of political science and deputy director of the Division of Global Affairs at the Rutgers Newark College of Arts and Sciences, told […]

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko threatened last week to allow illegal migrants into the European Union in retaliation for new sanctions the bloc has placed on his country. In an email interview, Jana Kobzova, a policy fellow and coordinator of the Wider Europe Program at the European Council on Foreign Relations, discussed EU policy toward Belarus. WPR: What is the current state of political and economic relations between the EU and Belarus? Jana Kobzova: Icy is the word that best describes the political relationship between the two today. Relations were mildly better in 2009-2010, when the two sides talked about expanding […]

As China’s once-in-a-decade political transition nears, the announcement this week of the promotions of five generals has brought the parallel transition in China’s military leadership into focus. The appointees are widely expected to become members of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the ultimate source of military authority in the country, according to the New York Times. Two experts who spoke with Trend Lines said these individuals are a piece of the larger puzzle of China’s military modernization. “These individuals are going to bring a worldview, a set of experiences, that will shape how China becomes a regional and global military,” […]

A splinter group of Darfur’s rebel Justice and Equality Movement announced this week that it would implement a cease-fire and enter into talks with the Sudanese government, scheduled to be held in Doha. In an email interview, Eric Reeves, a professor at Smith College and the author of “Compromising with Evil: An Archival History of Greater Sudan, 2007-2012,” reviewed the current state of violence and humanitarian efforts in Darfur. WPR: What is the current state of hostilities — what groups are engaged, and how extensive is the current level of violence? Eric Reeves: Violence is pervasive in Darfur, although it […]

In a meeting in Paris last week, President François Hollande of France and President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico pledged to move their countries’ battered bilateral relationship beyond the controversial case of Florence Cassez, a French citizen imprisoned in Mexico, with Peña Nieto promising to respect the Mexican Supreme Court’s ruling on the case. In an email interview, Roberto Domínguez, a Jean Monnet researcher at the European University Institute in Florence, discussed France-Mexico relations.* WPR: How extensive are relations between France and Mexico in terms of trade and diplomatic ties? Roberto Domínguez: Relations between France and Mexico take place against […]

A car bomb killed at least eight people Friday in Beirut, Lebanon, including Wissam al-Hassan, the country’s head of police intelligence and one of the more powerful opponents of Syrian interference in Lebanese affairs. Hassan’s assassination threatens to further polarize a country where tensions were already running high due to the civil war next door. Julien Barnes-Dacey, a senior policy fellow in the Middle East and North Africa Program at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told Trend Lines that while the Syrian conflict is clearly exacerbating divisions within Lebanon, until now, the country has shown a greater degree of […]

In a reshuffling of the constituencies that elect board members at the International Monetary Fund, Colombia has left a group led by Brazil for one led by Mexico, while Western European countries opted to give more say to smaller European economies. In an email interview, Edwin M. Truman, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, discussed the changes in IMF constituencies. WPR: What prompted the reshuffling of voting groups at the IMF? Edwin M. Truman: The reshuffling of voting groups, or constituencies, on the 24-seat IMF executive board was prompted by two developments. First, at the Seoul G-20 […]

Last week, the naval forces of Turkey and Egypt completed joint military exercises in the Mediterranean Sea, the latest sign of warming ties between the two former rivals, in what the New York Times said could be “a significant geopolitical shift in the Middle East.” Egypt is looking to Turkey as a guide after emerging from authoritarian rule and economic devastation, while Turkey is working to expand its influence in the region after years of pushing for closer ties with Europe. But the big question now, according to Paul J. Sullivan, a Middle East security expert at Georgetown University and […]

A media court in Iran found the Tehran bureau chief of Reuters guilty of propaganda-related crimes late last month. In an email interview, Ali Ansari, director of the Institute for Iranian Studies at St. Andrews University, discussed the climate of dissent in Iran. WPR: What is the current climate for dissent in Iran, in terms of press freedoms and political discourse, and how has this evolved over the past few years? Ali Ansari: The high-water mark of press freedom and activism in Iran occurred during the first Khatami administration, which began in 1997. These freedoms were gradually rolled back starting […]

On Tuesday, the Cuban government announced that it would ease the highly restrictive travel laws it has kept in place for more than 50 years. Beginning next year, Cubans will no longer need an exit visa to leave the island, requiring instead only a passport and a visa for their destination country. Two experts spoke with Trend Lines about the impact the reforms will have. “The big question is how many Cubans will now rush to leave the island,” Ted Piccone, senior fellow and deputy director of foreign policy at the Brookings Institution, wrote Trend Lines in an email, adding […]

Irish President Michael Higgins visited Argentina, Brazil and China this month in an effort to boost economic ties with the region. In an email interview, Frank Barry, chair of international business and economic development at Trinity College Dublin, discussed Ireland’s trade strategy. WPR: What are the key sectors and partner countries for Irish trade? Frank Barry: One needs to distinguish between exports of Irish-owned (indigenous) companies and those of the foreign multinational corporations (MNCs) that use Ireland as an export platform from which to sell primarily into the European Union. Some 80 percent of total Irish exports are accounted for […]

On Tuesday, the British government announced that it would not extradite British hacker Gary McKinnon to the United States, marking the first time an extradition has been halted under the 2003 Extradition Act between the U.S. and the United Kingdom. McKinnon, who is accused of serious crimes including hacking American military databases, has fought extradition for the past 10 years. But in light of new evidence about his health, British Home Secretary Theresa May, the government’s top authority on domestic affairs, cited McKinnon’s human rights as her main consideration. Extraditing McKinnon would put him at high risk of suicide, she […]

The U.S. and Peru are renegotiating their long-standing defense cooperation treaty, as announced by the countries’ defense chiefs in a joint press conference in Lima earlier this month. In an email interview, Louis Goodman, the dean emeritus of the American University School of International Service, discussed U.S.-Peru defense cooperation. WPR: What is the extent of present-day defense cooperation between the U.S. and Peru? Louis Goodman: The United States and Peru have strong cooperative relations, which have been enhanced in recent years. Signatories of the 1947 hemisphere-wide Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, which commits parties to mutual defense, the two nations […]

Argentina’s legacy of debt default is back in the headlines this week after a Ghanaian port detained an Argentine navy ship, executing a court order on behalf of the country’s creditors. The bondholders who seized the ship said they do not plan to release it until Argentina repays at least $20 million of the $300 million they are owed on defaulted debt. This is the latest example of creditors — often vulture funds that purchased discounted bonds discarded by investors after Argentina stopped honoring its debts during its economic free fall 10 years ago — trying to seize the country’s […]

Russia announced last week that it would cease cooperation with the U.S. under the highly successful Nunn-Lugar nuclear security program. In an email interview, Brian Finlay, a senior associate and director of the Managing Across Boundaries program at the Stimson Center, discussed Russia’s decision to withdraw from the program. WPR: Why is Russia withdrawing from the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program? Brian Finlay: In the immediate wake of the Cold War, dire financial need and insecurity across the Russian Federation mandated cooperation with the United States to protect the vast stockpile of weapons of mass destruction in the former Soviet […]

Editor’s note: WPR’s editor-in-chief, Judah Grunstein, was quoted by the Associated Press in the run-up to French President François Hollande’s trip to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, this weekend to attend the Francophonie Summit. The following is the full, lightly edited version of his emailed comments.Almost every French president enters office promising to reset relations with Africa, and in particular to put an end to the historical postcolonial system based on corruption and clientelism, with little regard to democracy and human rights. Hollande’s predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, declared the same thing, and actually managed to update most of the defense […]