The Fracturing of the Transatlantic Community
It has been 25 years since Samuel Huntington published in Foreign Affairs his first warning about civilization and culture rapidly superseding ideology and economics as the principal drivers of conflict in the world. Since then the key tenets of Huntington’s analysis have held; the forces of the ant…
Africa and globalisation: Transforming from taker to shaper?
In recent years, a growing number of G20 nation states have used various forms of summit diplomacy to enhance engagement with the African continent through regular high-level meetings. These have been operationalised through initiatives such as the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, India-Africa For…
Corey Lewandowski Is Offering Phone Calls With Trump As He Looks for Lobbying Work in Serbia, Politician Claims
Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski has been accused of traveling to Serbia to seek a lobbying contract with the country’s President Aleksandar Vucic and offering to set up phone calls between the Serbian leader and President Donald Trump. The accusations were made by Vuk Jeremic, a Serb…
The United States, Russia and the ‘No Cost’ Paradigm
Washington think tanks can churn out studies about Russia, but the rationale behind them usually lack deep, strong roots sunk into the American public. Dan Drezner, who has a blog at the Washington Post, is correct to caution the foreign policy commentariat from not overblowing comparisons between t…
Solar energy is at risk
For decades, solar power has been a bit player in the energy industry, overshadowed by fossil fuel giants. But today, solar is booming. The United Nations just announced that solar attracted more investment in 2017 than any other power source, clean or dirty. Solar jobs are also on the rise around t…
War and the Asymmetry of Interests
This past weekend, I attended a re-enactment of the Battle of Lexington, the battle that started the American Revolutionary War, in Massachusetts. The pleasure of being with children and grandchildren was my primary motive. But as I watched the superb re-enactment, an obvious question came to mind: …
The collapse of the “Chinese collapse” theory
In Japan, they call it “the collapse of the ‘Chinese collapse’ theory.” The line, which harks back to more than a decade of dire predictions about China, is a joking way to describe the state of the Middle Kingdom’s economy. Far from falling in debt-laden heap, the economy is looking robust in the m…
How EU milk is sinking Africa’s farmers
European milk is pouring into Africa, with disastrous effects for local herders and farmers. Multibillion-euro dairy multinationals are exploiting rock-bottom European milk prices to expand aggressively into West Africa. Over five years, they have nearly tripled their exports to the region, shipping…
U.S. politicians get China in Africa all wrong
In Washington, Republicans and Democrats generally look at China as a new imperial power in Africa: bad news for Africans. Just before his visit to Africa last month, former secretary of state Rex Tillerson accused China of using “predatory loan practices,” undermining growth and creating “few if an…
China: A ‘Strategic’ Threat?
When one reads the Pentagon’s recently released “National Defense Strategy,” one wonders not “What were they thinking?” but “What were they drinking?” The document views China as not merely seeking to increase its influence in its own neighborhood but also to supplant the U.S. as the global power wh…