Diplomacy & Crisis News

Modi's China visit was a triumph of style over substance, but cultural diplomacy may produce a meaningful shift in the relationship.

À l’occasion de la parution prochaine de son numéro d’été 2015, la revue Politique étrangère vous invite à la rencontre-débat organisée autour du thème : « La Russie, une puissance faible ? ».

Avec Tatiana Kastouéva-Jean, responsable du Centre Russie/NEI de l’Ifri où elle dirige la collection électronique trilingue « Russie.NEI.Visions ».

La rencontre sera animée par Marc Hecker, rédacteur en chef de la revue Politique étrangère.

Rendez-vous le jeudi 18 juin à 19h à la librairie La 25e Heure (8 place du général Beuret, Paris 15e).

L’entrée est libre et gratuite dans la limite des places disponibles.

Over the weekend I did a quick interview with Ryan Crocker, the veteran American diplomat. Here it is: Was the current situation in Iraq inevitable?  No. Actions have consequences to the 60th order and beyond. The consequences of what we set in motion were beyond imagination. But inaction also has consequences. Our inaction since 2011 ...

A friend who is a retired Army officer makes this point: “We (the U.S.) have maneuvered ourselves into a position where tactical/operational victory in Iraq (neutralize ISIS) translates into strategic defeat — Iraq firmly under the influence of the Iranians.”

Gideon Rose’s 2010 book, How Wars End, suggests that when confronting a strategic challenge, it can be helpful to start with the desired political end state and then think backwards to determine the steps needed to get there.

La multiplication des alliances entre des Etats qu'a priori tout oppose rend plus délicate la compréhension des relations internationales. Et l'information accélère sans cesse la cadence, ce qui accroît la confusion ambiante. Dans ce contexte chaotique, comment conjurer les replis identitaires et (...) / France, Démocratie, Extrême droite, Idées, Idéologie, Information, Médias, Mouvement de contestation, Politique, Relations internationales, Stratégie, Extrême gauche - 2015/05

Afghanistan Afghan envoy met Taliban officials in China A peace envoy from Afghanistan met with former Taliban officials in western China last week in an effort to keep formal peace negotiations alive (NYT, WSJ). The meeting, which took place on Wednesday and Thursday, was held in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, and was partly organized ...

But what looks like a scary arms race with Washington may not be what it seems.

Ban Ki-moon says he is not interested in running for the South Korean presidency. The polls say he is the front-runner.

By Paul McLeary with Ariel Robinson   Here it comes. In what may be the biggest test yet of the Iraqi armed forces’ strength — and the ability of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to wrangle the various Shiite, Kurd and Sunni factions — Baghdad on Tuesday launched what it says is a major offensive in ...

A U.N. spokesman announced on Sunday that peace talks between the warring parties in Yemen — set to be held later this week — have been postponed. No new date was mentioned. It had been unclear who would attend the talks, which were only set last week, but the postponement is a serious blow to ...

Colombia’s peace process faces its most serious crisis yet, after the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) suspended a five month old unilateral ceasefire. Instead of more measures to de-escalate the conflict ahead of a final peace agreement, there are now new risks that the confrontation will escalate, causing fresh humanitarian damage, crippling trust between the parties and further weakening public support for the process.

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United Nations-backed containment measures aimed at stemming the deadly cholera epidemic in western Tanzania&#39s Lake Tanganyika region appear to be working, the Organization&#39s refugee agency (UNHCR) announced today amid a tapering off in the number of reported deaths among both Burundian refugees and locals.

(Own report) - Today, Tuesday, German Minister of Defense Ursula von der Leyen will begin several days of talks in New Delhi on questions of military and arms policies. India's new armament projects are the immediate reason for von der Leyen's visit. India wants, among other things, to construct German submarines under license, and Berlin is seeking a more intensified cooperation in foreign and military policy. This visit will prepare numerous agreements, within the framework of the German-Indian government consultations, scheduled for October. It takes place in the context of India's efforts to roll back China's influence in the Indian Ocean - an effort Berlin supports. Sri Lanka is a current point of contention of this power struggle. Over the past few years, this strategically important island nation has begun to ally itself closely with Beijing. To avoid a too strong dependency on China, the new Sri Lankan government - in office since January - is seeking to reduce its ties to China and strengthen relations to the West. Last week, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany's Minister of Foreign Affairs, welcomed his Sri Lankan counterpart in Berlin, to reinforce Germany's position in Sri Lanka - in light of the power struggle with Beijing.

Libre-échange, la déferlanteComplément inédit au Manière de voir de juin-juillet 2015, « Libre-échange, la déferlante », cette carte interactive permet à la fois de visualiser les différents accords de commerce plurilatéraux à travers le monde — « Le millefeuille des accords commerciaux » —, et d'observer (...) / Libéralisme, Mondialisation, Commerce, Néolibéralisme, Organisation internationale - La valise diplomatique

Last year, on the Friday before Memorial Day, I was robbed on the train to Brussels, losing most of valuables including my passport, wallet, and laptop.

How will warfare change when we know our foes by name, face, and DNA?

What it's like to fight for your life in North Korea.

Empire may have fallen out of fashion, but history shows that the only other option is the kind of chaos we see today.