Diplomacy & Crisis News

Once upon a time, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would have been instruments of foreign-policy ambition.

Cette recension a été publiée dans le numéro de printemps de Politique étrangère (n°1/2018). Pauline Schnapper propose une analyse de l’ouvrage de Geoffrey Evans et Anand Menon, Brexit and British Politics (Cambridge, Polity Press, 2017, 144 pages).

Le référendum du 23 juin 2016, lors duquel les électeurs britanniques ont choisi à 52 % de sortir de l’Union européenne (UE), a déjà donné lieu à nombre de publications outre-Manche, qui ont analysé la campagne, les résultats ou les conséquences prévisibles du Brexit. L’ouvrage de Geoffrey Evans et Anand Menon se distingue des précédents en se penchant sur les facteurs qui expliquent ce vote, et sur les nouvelles divisions politiques et sociologiques qu’il révèle au Royaume-Uni, que les partis et clivages idéologiques traditionnels peinent à représenter.

La division entre Leavers et Remainers apparue en 2016 ne recoupe pas, en effet, les découpages sociaux et géographiques habituels entre la gauche et la droite, l’électorat favorable au retrait, par exemple, provenant aussi bien de la classe moyenne conservatrice du sud de l’Angleterre que de régions ouvrières du nord habituellement favorables au Parti travailliste. Le référendum a montré, plus fondamentalement, le rejet du consensus néolibéral (sur le plan économique comme sur le plan social) qui rapprochait les deux grands partis depuis les années 1990, lorsque le New Labour de Tony Blair avait accepté une partie de l’héritage de Margaret Thatcher. L’âge est apparu comme un facteur explicatif très fort, les jeunes (qui se sont peu déplacés lors de ce scrutin) étant majoritairement favorables au maintien dans l’UE, alors que les personnes âgées, qui votent davantage, y étaient majoritairement opposées.

Les auteurs montrent aussi que la campagne elle-même a eu peu d’impact sur des opinions qui s’étaient formées au cours des années précédentes, même si la campagne du Leave a été très habile, parvenant à faire du statu quo (rester dans l’UE) un danger d’instabilité pour l’avenir du pays. Le rejet de l’immigration, en provenance de l’Union en l’occurrence, est apparu comme un des principaux facteurs permettant d’interpréter le vote, ce qui explique en grande partie le refus de Theresa May d’envisager un maintien dans le marché unique après le Brexit, puisqu’il supposerait d’accepter le principe de la libre circulation des personnes. Le Premier ministre a donc privilégié la politique sur le bon sens économique, qui militerait en faveur du maintien dans le marché et l’union douanière.

Malgré la remontée des travaillistes aux élections législatives de juin 2017, au moins en nombre de voix, et le relatif échec des conservateurs, qui dépendent de dix députés unionistes d’Irlande du Nord pour leur survie au gouvernement, rien n’indique que ces nouveaux clivages se soient atténués depuis 2016. Ils rendent l’action politique très compliquée, puisque le gouvernement comme l’opposition doivent répondre à des injonctions contradictoires de leurs électorats respectifs. Cela explique, pour partie du moins, les difficultés qu’éprouve le gouvernement à clarifier le but ultime recherché dans ses négociations à Bruxelles sur l’avenir des relations entre le Royaume-Uni et l’Union européenne, et les ambiguïtés du parti travailliste dans l’opposition à adopter une position claire sur un hard ou un soft Brexit.

Pauline Schnapper

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With the war in Afghanistan now in its 17th year, the U.S. military is engaged in the longest stretch of armed conflict in its history. And yet its leaders are keeping the American public in the dark about its operations around the world, while seeking to obscure what little information is available.

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Smoke and mirrors aside, the Israeli prime minister’s presentation was an endorsement of existing nuclear diplomacy with Tehran.

Science and technology offer part of the solution to climate change, inequality and other global issues, a United Nations official said on Tuesday, spotlighting the enormous potential these fields hold for achieving humanity’s common goal, of a poverty and hunger-free world by 2030.

More than 50 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse involving personnel serving with the United Nations and its partners in the field were received in the first three months of this year, the global organization said on Tuesday.

In opening remarks to employees, the new secretary of state appeared eager to show the State Department he is no Rex Tillerson.

The new General Data Protection Regulations, or GDPR that has recently come into effect inside the European Union may have as much of an influence inside the EU as it will internationally. Any companies that do not adhere to the new data privacy protection rules may find themselves in violation of the GDPR if they are seen to breach the new rules and have that breach linked to a citizen of the EU. The penalties are designed to not only deter local European based companies from violating the new regulations, but also gives the EU the power to levy massive fines on international corporations who do not adhere to the new data privacy standards. The EU has applied strict enforcement to many of their regulations, and are not timid in the application of billions of Euros in fines on large multinational corporations in the past when found abusing competition regulations in the EU. The effect of these settlements that would calculate the fine to be a punishing double digit percentage of the international value of the company in violation is meant to deter future illegal activities by significantly crippling large companies who conduct themselves in an improper manner, hitting them precisely where it hurts the most.

From a company perspective, new rules and regulations with penalties that could theoretically destroy a company may be difficult to adhere to with the new regulations not yet being tested in court nor experts completely agreeing to what constitutes full compliance. Companies are scrambling to find the best experts and set up entire data privacy compliance departments in an effort to throw as much as possible against the wall and hope that they meet the standards of compliance with the new regulation. In effect, no one wants to become the test case for the new regulations, as past cases on competition breaches lead to now famously large fines against companies in the past. Non-EU companies will have to also consider how the new regulations affect their data privacy policies, as companies outside the EU may be just as vulnerable as those based in Paris or Munich. After breaches in the finance industry by HSBC and other large companies, bank and finance companies worldwide set up Compliance Departments in order to not violate US and EU banking regulations, even if they were not located or even operated in the US or EU. Like many competition regulations, the economic weight of the European Union may as well be considered as a development in international policy, but with new rules abroad, the difficulty in ensuring compliance when most of the experts are based in the EU adds an additional layer or chaos and confusion in applying GDPR worldwide.

From a consumer perspective, many of the regulations applied on European and international companies are meant to lower the actual cost of services, allow for more options, and protect an individual’s privacy, savings and even the security of EU citizens. The question of what an official might call a discrepancy in accounting practices or policy could reach into the range of billions of dollars, and it is appropriate and significant that a formal and effective deterrent is applied so that the loss of large amounts of money do not pass as simple disagreements in accounting standards. The disappearance of so much money from consumers or the public severely costs communities, makes so that infrastructure, housing and hospitals so not get built, and even leaves the sick without beds essential in receive humane treatment. Actions that seek to prevent public authorities from accessing information that can have such a great effect on citizens are particularly horrendous. The practice of midnight raids used by EU authorities, entering companies at night in order to find valid evidence of breaches in policy has become part of their tool kit for this reason. This became the rationale the competition authority of the European Union used to set the standard in punishing companies like Microsoft and Google when they tried to push out their competition, effectively taking any financial benefits away from their illegal actions. With GDPR in effect in the EU, it would be logical for other countries to adopt many of the same measures as the EU, not simply to avoid any fines coming from the new regulations, but to give their citizens a better standard of protection on their personal data. No one should expect less from their public authorities and breaches should be applied diligently. The EU has likely set the global standard on data protection, and until the new policy matures and finds its place through legal jurisprudence, members of government and the business community should work in good faith to set a global standard that protects individuals. Appropriate punishments need to be effective but not enter the realm of abusing those who attempt to work within their understanding of regulatory obligations. If the regulation becomes a political tool, it will degrade its effectiveness and betray public trust on its application by local EU and authorities abroad.

The post New European GDPR Rules Affect Everyone appeared first on Foreign Policy Blogs.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government is abusing international law enforcement institutions to target its critics.

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A new summary of the country’s troubles by a special inspector general doesn’t paint an optimistic picture.

A prominent Pakistani doctor suspects he is on the no-fly list. He’s demanding the right to find out why.

Moscow and Riyadh are conspiring to rig global oil markets against the United States.

Without deft diplomacy, confrontations in Syria, protests in Gaza, and tensions over the Iran nuclear deal could plunge the Middle East into chaos.

In a dramatic presentation on Monday, the Israeli prime minister outlined revelations on Iran’s secret nuclear weapons program that most of the world had already accepted.

The first step towards peace is lowering your expectations.

There are plenty of lessons to draw from America's diplomatic gambit in Korea — just probably not the ones you think.

The Jewish community of Bangladesh is virtually non-existent thanks to the persecution of minorities in the country.

In the wake of the increased persecution experienced by Buddhists, Christians and Hindus in Bangladesh, one must ponder, what happened to another persecuted minority group that used to reside in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent? According to Asian Jewish Life, in 1947, there were 4,000 Jews who lived in West Bengal primarily in Calcutta and about 135 Jews who were residing in East Bengal, which became Bangladesh.

According to local reports, most of Bangladesh’s Jews resided in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital city. These Jews were involved in various occupations including being in business and being traders. Other Jews ran hotels and restaurants in the country including the Baneda Restaurant. Jews have also played a prominent role in Bangladeshi history. In 1971, it was Retired Lieutenant General JPR Jacob, an Indian Jew that today resides in New Delhi, who liberated East Pakistan during this war. In addition, Bangladesh’s National Assembly Building was designed by Jewish American architect Louis Khan and it is ranked as the world’s largest legislative complex.

But despite this history, today, the Jewish population of Bangladesh is virtually non-existent. According to local sources, there are only 4 Jews living in Dhaka and they keep their identity private. Furthermore, there is no active synagogue within the country. However, Bangladeshi dissident Salah Uddin Shoib Chowdhury differs, claiming that there are 3,500 Jews of Bangladeshi origin but that due to religious persecution, most of Bangladesh’s Jews who remain in the country claim that they are Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Regardless, according to various reports, most of Bangladesh’s Jews have immigrated to either America or Israel. “Jews in this country are in the most vulnerable situation,” Choudhury, editor of The Weekly Blitz, told the Baltimore Post Examiner. “The government, the political parties, the religious institutions and even most Bangladeshis want to see the elimination of Jewish existence in this country.”

However, there are remnants of what used to be a Jewish community in Bangladesh. According to Shipan Kumer Basu, the President of the World Hindu Struggle Committee, there is a mysterious building in Purana Paltan that used to be a Jewish club/synagogue: “Abdul Fida Chowdhury, an elderly resident of Purana Paltan, said that 50 years ago, there were a number of Jews in the community who gathered in that building which is titled ‘Freemasons Hall 1910’ but after the War of Independence in 1971, they were no longer seen. Presently, the building was confiscated by the land owners and it now belongs to the Bangladeshi government.”

According to reporter Larry Luxner, there is nothing that identifies that building as a synagogue today. He is a bit skeptical of the claims put forward by Chowdhury who nevertheless insists, “The government would like to hide any trace that it was a synagogue, but I can assure you this building was used as a synagogue from 1910 to 1948.” However, according to the Jewish Chronicle, there are some Jewish expatriates in Bangladesh who do meet for both Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah every year to date. Yet according to one of their sources, “The only Jews you will find in Bangladesh are those merchants with extensive business reasons to stay in Bangladesh.”

This is because of the negative treatment the Jewish minority in Bangladesh has encountered. The Bangladeshi government considers Jews to be enemies. They have so much animosity for Jews that they refused to have diplomatic relations with Israel even though Israel was among the first countries to recognize Bangladeshi independence. Similarly, the Hindus of Bangladesh are treated with suspicion and often have their loyalty questioned as well. Based on the lie that the Hindus are not loyal citizens, their women are being raped, their homes are being confiscated, their holy places are being desecrated and they are slowly being ethnically cleansed from the country. Indeed, the plight of minorities in Bangladesh including the Jewish and Hindu ones is horrific. After the Jews have all pretty much left Bangladesh, Hindus, Buddhists and Christians are also leaving Bangladesh in droves in recent times. If this trend will continue, Bangladesh will soon be an exclusively Muslim country.

The post What happened to the Jews of Bangladesh? appeared first on Foreign Policy Blogs.

The U.S. ambassador’s threat to punish states for voting against the U.S. at the U.N. didn’t work out so well.