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When President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, Time magazine heralded it as the fourth Nobel award given “for not being George W. Bush.” While much of the world welcomed the departure of the American president many saw as a cocky cowboy, Chinese politicians quickly became nostalgic for the good ol’ days. Why do the Chinese prefer Bush to Obama? The reason, it seems, is that Obama is harder to read. While the U.S. continually calls for more transparency from China, the Chinese seek a clearer understanding of the Obama administration’s intentions toward China. Obama entered […]

For more than three years, China has been gradually implementing a strategic plan to internationalize its currency, the yuan, with a central element of this strategy being to increase the yuan’s role in China’s cross-border trade settlement. To date, these efforts have been strikingly effective, as the “people’s currency” was used to settle nearly 10 percent of China’s international trade in 2011, up from essentially zero in 2009. Last week, it was reported that China is poised to take another significant step in promoting the yuan’s use in global trade settlement by extending yuan-denominated loans to the other BRICS nations: […]

On an official visit to the United States this week, British Prime Minister David Cameron focused his conversations with U.S. President Barack Obama on the war in Afghanistan as well as on efforts to address the crisis in Syria and heightened tensions with Iran. The leaders met to “reaffirm one of the greatest alliances the world has ever known,” Obama said Wednesday. But some observers wonder whether the importance of what is known as the “special relationship” is beginning to fade. “It is a special relationship,” said Frances G. Burwell, vice president of the Atlantic Council and director of its […]

South Korea signed a 20-year deal to import liquefied natural gas from Qatar during a visit by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to the Persian Gulf state last month. In an email interview, Jae-Seung Lee, a visiting scholar at Stanford University’s Korea Studies Program and a professor at Korea University, discussed South Korea’s energy security. WPR: What is the breakdown of South Korea’s energy consumption, in terms of fuel types and sources? Jae-Seung Lee: Oil is still dominant in South Korea’s primary energy consumption, currently making up 39.7 percent, although this has decreased substantially from its peak of 52 percent […]

This Associated Press video shows rebels from the Free Syrian Army in one of their final battles to retain control of the northern stronghold of Idlib. World News Videos by NewsLook

It is still too soon to tell what effect, if any, Sunday’s appalling massacre of 16 innocent civilians by a U.S. soldier will have on the war in Afghanistan or on the relationship between the United States and the government of Afghanistan. This apparent war crime arrives fast on the heels of the infamous Quran burning incident that led to both riots across Afghanistan as well as the murder of several U.S. servicemen by the Afghans they were meant to be advising. Taken cumulatively, these events lead many to conclude that the U.S. and allied war in Afghanistan has reached […]

The past year could have been a disastrous one for U.N. peacekeeping. Twelve months ago, Côte d’Ivoire appeared to be on the brink of renewed civil war in spite of the presence there of United Nations and French forces. South Sudan’s vote for independence in January 2011 also had the potential to unleash mass violence. From Haiti to Liberia to the Democratic Republic of Congo, peacekeepers were charged with overseeing elections that might have resulted in significant instability. In Somalia, U.N.-mandated African Union (AU) forces were locked in grinding combat with Islamist al-Shabab rebels. The risk of one or more […]

As the fighting between the Tuareg rebels of the National Movement for the Liberation of Awazad (MNLA) and the Malian army enters its third month, there are few indications that the conflict will be resolved in the near future. On a military level, the advantage lies with the well-equipped and experienced Tuareg fighters, many of whom are veterans of earlier rebellions and the Libyan civil war. Using long-range guerrilla tactics, mainly surprise attacks launched over distances of hundreds of miles with four-wheel-drive pickup trucks, they have sacked at least seven Malian garrison towns so far, including one this past weekend. […]

When results began to emerge from Iran’s March 2 parliamentary elections, the ayatollahs, their cohorts and the news outlets they control were quick to herald a resounding victory for the principles of “velayat-e faqih,” or “governance by the Islamic jurist,” the doctrine that puts Iran’s religious leadership at the top of the political hierarchy. Western media followed suit, declaring a solid victory for factions supporting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by lumping together all Islamic parties that had gained parliamentary seats. Yet, jumping to such conclusions simply reinforces what Iran’s fundamentalists want their own public and the West to believe, […]

A major Indian trade mission is in Iran seeking to exploit Tehran’s increasing diplomatic and commercial isolation to rectify India’s trade imbalance with Iran. But while Indian companies are understandably eager to take advantage of the resulting commercial opportunities, the Indian government must soothe U.S., Israeli and European concerns that Indian firms will simply undercut international sanctions against Iran by “backfilling” Western companies currently departing the country. India’s behavior highlights a major problem with the Iran sanctions regime: Many countries face a different set of calculations with regard to Iran than the United States, Israel and the European and Persian […]

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will visit Chile in April on what will be his first trip to Latin America as secretary. In an email interview, Gregory Weeks, an associate professor of political science at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, discussed U.S.-Chile Relations. WPR: How have U.S.-Chile security relations evolved since Chile’s return to democracy? Gregory Weeks: In the years immediately after Chile’s political transition in 1990, the bilateral relationship focused very little on security, and even that was mostly centered on humanitarian missions as well as arms acquisitions, such as the purchase of F-16s. For the most part, […]

As an advanced industrialized democracy and the world’s third-largest economy, Japan is well-positioned to help shape the economic, security and institutional architecture of the Asia-Pacific as the region increasingly becomes the center of gravity in the international system. Yet this island nation is beset by several challenges, including anemic economic growth, public debt, an aging population, a declining birthrate and political paralysis that could complicate efforts to sustain its strategic and diplomatic weight. The earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011, illuminated some of these challenges, and the subsequent nuclear disaster brought energy security to the fore as the country […]

On March 5, the advocacy group Invisible Children uploaded a 30-minute documentary about Joseph Kony, the rebel leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The film was an effort to raise awareness about the LRA, which originated in Northern Uganda more than two decades ago and has since become known for its extreme brutality — including the kidnapping, rape and killing of tens of thousands of victims. Invisible Children achieved its goal: The video went viral, racking up 76 million views and counting, as the #StopKony hashtag flooded Facebook walls and Twitter feeds. But it has since been the subject […]

The wave of Arab Spring uprisings, and the regime violence that followed in countries such as Libya and Syria, has led to new flows of internally displaced people (IDPs) and refugees, with those numbers increasing as the violence in Syria escalates. “The Arab Spring has affected a whole range of countries in North Africa and the Middle East, but the effect on refugees and IDPs is limited to a smaller number of countries,” said Khalid Koser, who heads the New Issues in Security Program at the Geneva Center for Security Policy. “The first reason for this has to do with […]

Since the spring of 2010, South Sudan has been facing an onslaught of militia activity in Unity, Upper Nile and Jonglei states. For the most part, the government has pursued an “amnesty and integration” policy toward these militias, whereby members are offered amnesty for their past actions and integrated into the Southern People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), the former rebel group that now comprises the majority of South Sudan’s official security forces. The notable exception to this approach was George Athor, the rebel general who arguably posed the greatest internal threat to the government. Having refused multiple government overtures to persuade […]

As someone who thinks long and hard about global futures, I participate in a lot of professional forums where experts discuss the growing complexity of this world and question the ability of existing political systems, both democratic and authoritarian, to handle it. Some professionals, like Thomas Homer-Dixon, fret about an “ingenuity gap,” while regular readers of this column can attest to my frequent accusation that today’s political leaders lack “strategic imagination.” In short, we’re all arguing that politics isn’t keeping up with economics, much less technology. And it scares us. Things get more depressing when the subject of future generations […]

Aleksandr Z. Ankvab, the president of the Russian-backed breakaway Georgian province of Abkhazia, survived an assassination attempt last month. In an email interview, Svante Cornell, the research director of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program, discussed Russian influence and political stability in the South Caucasus. WPR: How effective has Russia been at influencing policy and public opinion in Abkhazia and South Ossetia? Svante Cornell: Moscow has been relatively ineffective in both territories. In Abkhazia, Russia has repeatedly failed to handle the independent streak of the territory’s leaders, who see their relationship with Russia as important, but certainly […]