Q & A Archive

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the potential impact on members’ economies. Lukewarm industry support in the United States for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has put the ratification of the 12-nation trade deal by Congress into question. In an email interview, Edward Alden, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, discussed the potential benefits and downsides of the TPP for the U.S. WPR: What economic benefits is the U.S. expected to see from its participation in the TPP? Edward Alden: The short-term benefits are likely to be modest. […]

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on the impact of corruption and various countries’ efforts to combat it. Last month, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta called corruption a national security threat and announced a series of measures to help in the fight against corruption. In an email interview, Samuel Kimeu, the executive director of Transparency International-Kenya, discussed corruption in Kenya. WPR: How big of an issue is corruption politically in Kenya, and what are the obstacles to reform? Samuel Kimeu: Corruption is a big issue in Kenya for the general public, government and the private sector. […]

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on the impact of corruption and various countries’ efforts to combat it. Earlier this month, Tanzanian President John Magufuli fired the head of the ports authority along with several high-ranking officials in the Transport Ministry for their alleged corruption. In an email interview, Semkae Kilonzo, the coordinator at Policy Forum, a network of nongovernmental policy organizations in Tanzania, discussed the country’s fight against corruption. WPR: How big of a problem is corruption in Tanzania, and in what areas—including which levels of government—is its impact most felt? Semkae Kilonzo: Corruption, […]

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on the impact of falling oil and commodities prices on resource-exporting countries. Recently elected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that his government is ready to use fiscal stimulus in order to boost Canada’s economy, which continues to suffer from the ongoing decline in commodities prices. In an email interview, Donald Drummond, an adjunct professor and Stauffer-Dunning fellow at Queen’s University, discussed Canada’s economy and the impact of the commodities bust. WPR: How important are commodities for Canada’s economy, and what impact have falling commodities prices had on jobs, […]

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on the impact of corruption and various countries’ efforts to combat it. Last month, the European Union released its annual progress report for Montenegro, which highlighted the need for further government reforms to tackle persistent corruption. In an email interview, Vanja Calovic, the executive director of MANS, a nongovernmental organization that fights corruption and organized crime in Montenegro, discussed corruption there. WPR: How big of a problem is corruption in Montenegro, and in what areas is its impact most felt? Vanja Calovic: Montenegro has been guided by the same […]

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on the impact of falling oil and commodities prices on resource-exporting countries. According to a recent report in the Financial Times, certain regions of Australia have been hard hit by the commodities bust and declining Chinese demand. In an email interview, David Meredith, an associate member of the history faculty at the University of Oxford, discussed Australia’s economy and the role commodities play. WPR: How important are commodities for Australia’s economy, and what effect have falling commodity prices had on Australia’s economic growth? David Meredith: Although Australia has other […]

Last month, clashes between the Congolese army, backed by U.N. peacekeepers, and the Islamist Ugandan rebel group the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) left at least 30 dead in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In an email interview, Daniel Fahey, a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, discussed the ADF and its role in the DRC. WPR: What is the current size and geographic reach of the ADF, and what are the group’s objectives and grievances? Daniel Fahey: The estimates of the ADF’s size in late 2015 range from 100 to 250 combatants. The ADF’s footprint […]

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on the European refugee crisis and European Union member states’ approaches to addressing it. In November, Slovenia started construction of a fence along its border with Croatia to help control the flow of refugees entering the country. In an email interview, Katarina Vucko, a legal expert and researcher at the Peace Institute in Ljubljana, discussed Slovenia’s response to the refugee crisis. WPR: What policies is Slovenia pursuing on the national and European Union level to address the influx of refugees, and what is the government’s stance on the EU […]

In August, in a village called Marea, north of Aleppo, a mortar loaded with mustard gas and allegedly fired by militants from the self-declared Islamic State landed on a house. The chemical weapons badly burned three family members inside and killed an infant. Months earlier, between March and May, helicopters from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime dropped barrel bombs on the rebel-held province of Idlib. Unlike the usual rudimentary explosives favored by Assad’s forces, these barrels were loaded with toxic chemicals, most likely chlorine. At least six people were killed, including three children from the same family. The details of […]

More than two weeks after the Paris attacks of Nov. 13, much still remains unknown about the terrorists—three have yet to be identified—and the nature of the organizational and logistical networks behind the plot. As details come to light, they will continue to inform a better understanding of the actual threat and the best ways to counter it. In the meantime, with the immediate shock somewhat faded, it is possible to weigh what we now know about the attacks in a more considered manner, and to draw some conclusions about France’s initial responses. The profiles of the attackers as established […]

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the potential impact on members’ economies. Since the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal between 12 Pacific Rim countries, was agreed to last month, many in Australia have expressed concern over its intellectual property provisions. In an email interview, Leon Berkelmans, the director of the international economy program at the Lowy Institute, discussed the potential impact of the TPP on Australia’s economy. WPR: What economic benefits is Australia expected to see from its participation in the TPP? Leon Berkelmans: Agriculture is an area where there […]

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on the South China Sea territorial disputes and the various claimant countries’ approaches to addressing them. The Philippines received its first new fighter jets in a decade over the weekend. The acquisition is the country’s latest move to strengthen its military amid growing tensions with China over disputed claims in the South China Sea. In an email interview, Aileen Baviera, a professor of Asian studies at the University of the Philippines, discussed the Philippines’ claims in the South China Sea. WPR: What are the Philippines’ territorial claims in the […]