In The News

Africa Drawdown: International Policy Digest

Steven Leach March 5, 2019
The United States is planning to reduce its forces stationed in Africa. The poorest nations in Africa are vulnerable to extremist ideologies due to poverty and poor governance. “It is no accident that al Shabaab evolved in a defunct Somali state (in some ways it is shocking that it did not happen sooner), that al Qaeda found a safe haven in rural Afghanistan, that Boko Haram resides on the...

Maturity and De-escalation: Asian Age

KC Singh March 2, 2019
India-Pakistan relations are at a crisis point after a terrorist car-bomb attack on a bus in Pulwama that left 40 dead. India responded with an air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed camp near the Line of Control separating the two nations. “India had reliable intelligence that terrorists and suicide bombers there were training to attack India; India had no desire to target the Pakistani military or...

India and Pakistan in Uncharted Waters: BBC

Soutik Biswas March 1, 2019
India launched air strikes against militants in Pakistani territory on 26 February, and Pakistan responded hours later with air strikes across the Line of Control dividing Pakistan and Indian-controlled Kashmir. The strikes across the Line of Control were the first since 1971. Pakistan “also claimed to have shot down two Indian Air Force jets in its airspace in Kashmir and arrested two pilots on...

Questions Over US Security Clearances

March 1, 2019
Nepotism and rejection of evidence and expert opinions characterize the Trump administration. The New York Times reports that the president ordered his chief of staff to grant top security clearances to Jared Kushner, despite numerous concerns raised by security, law-enforcement, intelligence and legal staff. Trump and his family have previously denied any clearance shortcuts. John Kelly, former...

Turning to Asia: Al-Ahram

Abdel-Moneim Said February 28, 2019
Populism divides democracies of the West, leading to the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom and election of Donald Trump. Such trends also hamper relations with the Middle East. An example of such difficulties includes a February conference in Warsaw on Iranian aggression and working around US withdrawal from a nuclear agreement with Iran. “Washington’s poor coordination with friends and allies...

Showdown Over Aid for Venezuela: New York Times

Nicholas Casey, Anatoly Kurmanaev and Ernesto Londoño February 23, 2019
Venezuelans have suffered for years from shortages of food and other necessities due to economic mismanagement by the regime led by Nicolás Maduro since 2013. More than 10 percent of the country’s population has already fled, the violence exacerbating a refugee crisis International aid supplies are waiting near the border in Brazil and Colombia. Opposition leader and head of the country’s...

Could Civilization Collapse? BBC

Luke Kemp February 21, 2019
Internal challenges and divisions are more treacherous for civilizations than external attacks, suggests historian Arnold Toynbee who studied 28 civilizations. Overexpansion, environmental degradation and poor leadership helped ruin the Roman Empire. “Collapse is often quick and greatness provides no immunity,” explains researcher Luke Kemp. Greater size is not a protection, and Kemp describes...