In The News

Terrorists Storm Hospital: Afghanistan Times

Faizi Mansour May 13, 2020
May 12 was a particularly brutal day in Afghanistan. “Terrorists stormed a maternity hospital in west of Kabul on Tuesday morning, killing at least 16 people including four women and children and injured 16 others, in a gun battle with security forces that lasted for hours,” reports Afghanistan Times. Also, “More than 24 others were killed in a suicide bombing at a funeral in eastern Nangarhar.”...

Turkish Strategy - Libya’s Haftar on Defensive: DW

Tom Allinson May 7, 2020
Since 2014, two factions have divided Libya: Libyan National Army forces in the east led by Khalifa Haftar, supported by the UAE, France and Russian mercenaries, versus Fayez Serraj's Government of National Accord in the west, recognized by the United Nations and supported by Turkey and Syrian mercenaries. Control has shifted abruptly to the GNA side, Reports Tom Allinson for Deutsche Welle...

Jostle for Dominance in Indo-Pacific Region: SCMP

Minnie Chan April 28, 2020
Military maneuvers continue in the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea and the East China Sea, as China, the United States and others manage a pandemic response. “The frequency of such tours has raised concerns among military observers and analysts that these exercises could lead to miscalculation as different countries use their militaries to jostle for greater influence or rattle the sabre amid...

Weapons Don’t Fight Pandemics: Deutsche Welle

Miodrag Soric April 27, 2020
Security comes in many forms and some nations invest in broader preparation than others, as demonstrated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Writing for Deutsche Welle, Miodrag Soric argues that countries that focused on arms purchases rather than disaster preparedness struggle with the pandemic. “Tanks, fighter planes and aircraft carriers – where many crew members have fallen ill with the coronavirus –...

Age of Clashing Empires: New Statesman

Mark Leonard April 13, 2020
Analysts are less certain that nations bound by trade might find it impossible to head to war. The US-China trade war and Britain’s embrace of Brexit signaled that decoupling was already underway. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic applied sudden brakes and exposed weaknesses. “Britain will be exiting into a totally different world, one defined by competing blocs and protectionism rather than...

The Coronavirus Won’t Stop Globalization: Lawfare

Raphael S. Cohen April 13, 2020
As countries close borders to contain COVID-19 and consider new trading patterns for essential goods, analysts contemplate the end of globalization. Raphael S. Cohen, senior political scientist with Rand, refutes three sets of arguments. First, globalization has long endured destructive populism, deep divisions and pandemics. Second, viruses are part of the natural world, and the most competitive...

Worldwide Surging Food Prices: Bloomberg

Agnieszka de Sousa, Ruth Olurounbi and Pratik Parija April 10, 2020
The prices of wheat and rice have been surging in the spot and future markets. Countries that rely on imports must bear additional financial burden besides confronting COVID-19. The reasons for the price increases remain unclear, with analysis of the future markets’ influence, local supplies and panic buying underway. Anxiety over governments’ ability to control food prices and guarantee supply...