Diplomacy & Crisis News

Hieromonk Iakov Vorontsov, arrested on drug-related charges after attempting to establish a non-Moscow aligned Orthodox church in Kazakhstan, now faces forced psychological treatment reminiscent of Soviet-era repression.

Unlike Chinese investments in the past, which were state-backed and focused on infrastructure, the B2B model is more commercial and a business-driven partnership.

But the ultra-conservative Indonesian province is not the only place in Southeast Asia where the punishment is used.

Despite high hopes and billions in funding pledges, the scheme has paid insufficient attention to the political and economic realities of the recipient countries.

Despite Washington's attempts to crack down on images of its facilities in the Middle East, Chinese satellite images continue to [...]

With just months to go before Russia's 2026 State Duma elections scheduled from 18 to 20 September, tensions are mounting [...]

Bangkok has no shortage of luxury hotels, but civil servants from Thailand's National Security Council (NSC) have found that the [...]

The long-standing efforts of Chinese leader Xi Jinping to realign the Chinese diaspora will soon be put to the test. [...]

The French finance ministry's anti-money laundering unit Tracfin plans to [...]

How to counter Beijing’s unauthorized "distillation."

A deal with Washington is the island’s best hope.

Gender-responsive peacekeeping operations are designed and implemented in ways that recognize gendered differences and inequalities and advance gender equality and the rights, protection, and participation of all genders as a core part of mandate delivery. Yet while normative commitments on women, peace, and security (WPS) have expanded considerably over the past two decades, these commitments have been unevenly translated into practice.

This policy paper examines how gender-responsive peacekeeping has been operationalized in the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the African Union missions in Somalia (AMISOM and ATMIS), with a focus on mandates, institutional design, force composition, leadership, and community engagement. It finds that gender responsiveness depends less on formal commitments than on whether missions embed gender analysis into the operational systems that shape planning, protection, and decision making.

The paper highlights how institutional placement of gender advisers, leadership support, deployment of women peacekeepers, and sustained community engagement can strengthen both mission effectiveness and legitimacy. At the same time, it underscores the persistent gap between procedural responsiveness to meet institutional requirements and transformative responsiveness that changes how missions operate and protect civilians in practice.

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The post Are Missions Delivering on Gender-Responsive Peace Operations? Lessons from South Sudan and Somalia appeared first on International Peace Institute.

Rare earth projects require a solid commitment across political cycles, a challenge that the United States has not yet been able to overcome.

The Putin-Xi joint statement is not merely a statement of bilateral friendship. It is a war-era manifesto.

Recently, the chief prelate or custodian of eight sacred sites in Sri Lanka was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting and raping a child. He is out on bail.

China intends to keep making low-tech goods alongside its push into advanced technology. That's bad news for advanced and developing economies alike.

By tying caste recognition to religion, the law risks excluding those who continue to face the same discrimination it seeks to remedy.

The overland route presents a limited lifeline for Tehran, but cannot substitute for sea-based oil trade. 

China wants to welcome foreign investment, but its red lines are shifting. That’s not an attractive proposition for many companies.

Canberra’s position – that Indo-Pacific stability depends not only on military deterrence, but also on the protection of trade flows, energy supplies, critical technologies, and economic sovereignty – has moved to the fore.