In The News

Confusion of the Trump Travel Ban: CNN

Evan Perez, Pamela Brown and Kevin Liptak January 30, 2017
The Trump administration, eager to demonstrate he will follow through on his most extreme campaign promises, issued an executive order abruptly banning travel from seven Muslim-majority countries and also blocking admission of refugees. Authorities in the seven countries and US agencies were caught off guard, with the order released before processes were put in place. “The result was widespread...

UN Resolution on Israeli Settlements

Barak Ravid December 26, 2016
The United States abstained at the UN Security Council, allowing a resolution to move forward on opposing Israeli settlements illegal under international law. “The Fourth Geneva Convention bans nations from the moving of populations into and the establishing of settlements in the territory of another nation won in war,” explains Barak Ravid for Haaretz. For now, the “resolution is a form of...

Takeaways on China's Theft of a US Drone in Philippine Waters in the South China Sea

Ankit Panda December 21, 2016
China returned a US underwater drone taken from the South China Sea. The US Department of Defense reports the buoyancy glider was seized about 90 kilometers northwest of Subic Bay. China claims the removal was for safety reasons, but also opposes US reconnaissance activities in the sea. “The development is effectively unprecedented in U.S.-China military-to-military interactions,” notes Ankit...

Italy Sinks Into Political Limbo as Defeat Sweeps Renzi Away

John Follain and Chiara Albanese December 5, 2016
Italy is Europe’s fourth largest economy and the country is falling “into political limbo after Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced his resignation, with rival parties jockeying to fill the power vacuum following his crushing defeat in a constitutional referendum,” reports Bloomberg. The constitutional reforms were intended to reduce the size of parliament, putting limits on the Senate, and...

Seizing Opportunity in a Post-TPP World

Stephen S. Roach December 1, 2016
Trade is the glue for globalization and without it other connections can subside. But US voters rejected a US leadership role in global trade deals and elected billionaire Donald Trump who has already signaled intent to have the United States to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership with 11 other nations. Analysts suggest that China could step into the US role, but “The baton of global...

China and the US Undercut International Law

Humphrey Hawksley November 17, 2016
Major powers tend to reject international law when rulings run counter to their interests insisting that the distant courts carry no jurisdiction. China rejected a Permanent Court of Arbitration’s ruling in July and clings to expansive claims in the South China Sea, including Scarborough Shoal near the Philippines. China’s response mirrored US rejection of a 1986 International Court of Justice...

China Bars Activists From Taking Seats in Hong Kong Legislature

Jason Thomson November 8, 2016
China bypassed courts by blocking two Hong Kong legislators from taking office – not allowing them to retake oaths after they modified the oath the first time and failed to swear allegiance to the larger power. “The move by mainland China is the latest chapter in an ongoing tussle between Beijing and Hong Kongers who worry that the city’s relative autonomy, protected until 2047 under the handover...