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Diplomacy & Crisis News

Les métamorphoses du delta du Gange

Le Monde Diplomatique - Fri, 29/05/2026 - 16:34
À la frontière entre l'Inde et le Bangladesh, deux géants se jettent dans l'océan : le Gange et le Brahmapoutre. Alors que leurs bras se divisent, ces fleuves forment le plus grand delta du monde, qui s'étend sur plusieurs milliers de kilomètres carrés. Longtemps en conflit, grands félins et (…) / , , , , , ,

The Glass Blue Helmet: Progress and Persistent Challenges for Women Military Peacekeepers

European Peace Institute / News - Fri, 29/05/2026 - 16:18

Women’s meaningful participation in UN peacekeeping operations has advanced since 2020, but progress remains uneven and fragile. While dedicated training initiatives, peer-support structures, and women’s visibility in leadership roles have expanded, women peacekeepers continue to face structural barriers that limit their operational participation, safety, and career advancement.

This policy paper draws on interviews with eighty-five women military peacekeepers from forty-three troop-contributing countries, along with consultations with UN officials, force commanders, and mission personnel. The paper examines the gap between the UN’s commitments on women’s meaningful participation and the realities women encounter in mission environments. It highlights persistent challenges including role misalignment, harassment, exclusion from operational decision making, inadequate equipment, and weak accountability systems.

The paper argues that leadership is the decisive variable shaping women’s deployment experiences. It calls for linking training nominations to deployment commitments, tracking participation in substantive tasks rather than headcounts, embedding gender-responsive indicators in leadership evaluations, establishing confidential reporting channels outside national chains of command, and auditing equipment standards before deployment.

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The post The Glass Blue Helmet: Progress and Persistent Challenges for Women Military Peacekeepers appeared first on International Peace Institute.

No Enemies, Stronger Army: Kazakhstan’s Strategic Bet

TheDiplomat - Fri, 29/05/2026 - 16:06
Kazakhstan’s military modernization efforts reflect an adaptive response to growing great power competition.

What Does Quad’s New Surveillance Initiative Mean for Indian Ocean Security?

TheDiplomat - Fri, 29/05/2026 - 15:35
An Indian Ocean-focused initiative is welcome. But it will need to support a democratic information-sharing culture, if it is to attract participation from all regional countries.

Why Does Okinawa Have So Many US Military Bases? 

TheDiplomat - Fri, 29/05/2026 - 15:26
Author Jon Mitchell’s new book offers some answers.

What the 1980s ‘Japan Panic’ Tells Us About Today’s ‘China Threat’

TheDiplomat - Fri, 29/05/2026 - 15:13
It’s almost eerie how easily contemporary China discourse parallels U.S. rhetoric about Japan in the 1980s – especially given the huge differences between the two countries.

South Korea’s Matchmaking Boom Is Turning Inequality Into Compatibility

TheDiplomat - Fri, 29/05/2026 - 15:12
South Korea’s demographic crisis is exposing a deeper problem: how class, gender, education, housing, and family background shape who is considered marriageable.

Penpa Tsering’s Re-election and the Institutional Future of the Tibetan Movement

TheDiplomat - Fri, 29/05/2026 - 15:03
The Tibetan movement has long been dependent on the personal moral authority of the Dalai Lama. In a post-Dalai Lama world, the Central Tibetan Administration will need to step up. 

China and Maritime Chokepoints: Hormuz, Malacca, and Indo-Pacific Vulnerability

TheDiplomat - Fri, 29/05/2026 - 14:48
Disruptions in Hormuz immediately generate concern regarding Malacca, another vital maritime chokepoint.

How the China-US Reset Recasts the Quad

TheDiplomat - Fri, 29/05/2026 - 14:33
With the shift in China-U.S. relations, India is emerging as the strategic cog in the U.S. wheel, Pakistan as a tactical partner, NATO as the anchor of the Atlantic alliance, and the Quad as a tool to serve the Indo‑Pacific.

Strategic Implications of Myanmar’s Offensive in Chin State

TheDiplomat - Fri, 29/05/2026 - 14:17
The Tatmadaw’s advances will have implications not only for Myanmar’s internal conflict, but for neighboring India and Bangladesh.

Anti-War Orthodox Priest Arrested in Kazakhstan to Face Forced Psychiatric Treatment

TheDiplomat - Fri, 29/05/2026 - 13:57
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.

Are China and Pakistan Rebranding CPEC Through B2B Conferences?

TheDiplomat - Fri, 29/05/2026 - 10:49
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.

Indonesia’s Aceh Province Continues Caning as a Form of Punishment

TheDiplomat - Fri, 29/05/2026 - 10:20
But the ultra-conservative Indonesian province is not the only place in Southeast Asia where the punishment is used.

Why Southeast Asia’s Just Energy Transition Partnerships Have Stalled

TheDiplomat - Fri, 29/05/2026 - 10:03
Despite high hopes and billions in funding pledges, the scheme has paid insufficient attention to the political and economic realities of the recipient countries.

Middle East : Sanctioned Chinese satellite images continue to circulate via Telegram

Intelligence Online - Fri, 29/05/2026 - 06:00
Despite Washington's attempts to crack down on images of its facilities in the Middle East, Chinese satellite images continue to [...]

Russia : Tensions run high in Russian services ahead of parliamentary elections

Intelligence Online - Fri, 29/05/2026 - 06:00
With just months to go before Russia's 2026 State Duma elections scheduled from 18 to 20 September, tensions are mounting [...]

Thailand : The Amari Bangkok, a hub for security diplomacy

Intelligence Online - Fri, 29/05/2026 - 06:00
Bangkok has no shortage of luxury hotels, but civil servants from Thailand's National Security Council (NSC) have found that the [...]

China : Beijing fights back against foreign extraterritorial laws

Intelligence Online - Fri, 29/05/2026 - 06:00
The long-standing efforts of Chinese leader Xi Jinping to realign the Chinese diaspora will soon be put to the test. [...]

France : Financial fraud investigator Tracfin looks to build crypto asset and SIGINT capabilities

Intelligence Online - Fri, 29/05/2026 - 06:00
The French finance ministry's anti-money laundering unit Tracfin plans to [...]

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