Diplomacy & Crisis News

A UN panel says such arms sales, while legal, are prolonging the conflict and facilitating human rights violations.

The RTAF receives four EC725 helicopters which will become operational next month.

South Korea's propaganda broadcasts are a powerful tool in inter-Korean diplomacy.

Nazarbayev University responds to allegations that a professor was terminated because of pressure from Russia.

The euphemistically-termed “Protection of Race and Religion” bills raise serious questions about the country's future.

Sri Lanka provides a glimpse of small power-great power relations in a future multipolar world order.

Responding to the plight of the Rohingya is an international human rights imperative.

Is Australia moving out of the “slipstream” of power?

Stock markets around the world have been roiled on Chinese policy and a slowing economy.

Martine L. Petauton, rédactrice en chef du site Internet Reflets du Temps, a consacré le 15 août 2015 une recension au dossier sur la Russie présenté dans le numéro d’été (2/2015) de Politique étrangère.

« Une fois passée la période – derniers feux de la Guerre Froide éteints – où la « super puissance américaine » Bushienne 1 et 2 flamboyait dans tous les médias, c’est du côté de l’ancien partenaire soviétique, que tous les regards se sont peu à peu tournés. 1991, éclatement du bloc de l’Est. Russie et ses satellites plus ou moins bougeants. Quid de la Russie ; quid surtout de la réalité de sa puissance ? Actuellement, il n’est guère question que d’elle, ses hydrocarbures, sa crise économique, ses mugissements sur la scène Ukrainienne, et son chef – Poutine, le rusé, Poutine, le craint, à tout le moins, le redouté.

La problématique de la toujours remarquable revue de l’Ifri, est, de ce fait, posée pile dans l’axe : Russie, une grande puissance, certes, mais peut-être faible. »

Pour lire la suite de l’article, cliquez ici.

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Le 20 août, Pierre Nkurunziza a été investi pour la troisième fois. Son investiture, annoncée le matin même, a eu lieu presque en catimini et les ambassadeurs européens et américains accrédités à Bujumbura étaient visiblement absents tout comme l’Union africaine. La multiplication des assassinats en août a conduit la présidence à organiser l’investiture à la sauvette.

Joaquín Guzmán Loera -- better known by his alias "El Chapo" or "Shorty" -- has again lived up to his legend. With his spectacular escape from a high-security prison in Mexico, the notorious drug lord outdid his first jailbreak in 2001, when he reportedly snuck out hidden in a laundry cart. This time his exit from prison befitted a man reputed to head one of the world's most powerful criminal organizations: through a tunnel dug under his shower, extending nearly one mile, complete with ventilation and lighting.

A wave of protests has brought Iraq to the edge of yet more serious conflict. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has introduced sweeping reforms to halt the deterioration but in a manner that may make things worse. An important course correction is needed if he is to survive politically and Iraq is to avoid what could become in effect a military takeover.

Formation ? Formatage ! La méfiance suscitée par les organisations politiques semble avoir déteint sur leur prétention à éduquer les militants. De Lutte ouvrière au Front national, comment les partis conçoivent-ils désormais leur fonction pédagogique ? / France, Culture, Éducation, Extrême droite, (...) / France, Culture, Éducation, Extrême droite, Histoire, Idées, Idéologie, Jeunes, Mutation, Parti politique, Politique, Sondage d'opinion, Stratégie, Extrême gauche, Société civile - 2015/01

Une dystopie est un « récit de fiction peignant une société imaginaire organisée de telle façon qu'elle empêche ses membres d'atteindre le bonheur ». A rebours de la vision bucolique du monde agricole qui continue de prédominer envers et contre tout, les tableaux photographiques composés par Alexa (...) / France, Agriculture, Culture, Écologie, Photographie, Environnement - 2015/08

Avec The Guardians, ouvrage érudit et agréablement écrit, fruit d'un long travail sur les archives, l'historienne d'origine canadienne Susan Pedersen explore la politique des mandats de la Société des nations (SDN), l'ancêtre de l'Organisation des Nations unies (ONU), dans l'entre-deux-guerres . Elle (...) / Palestine, Colonialisme, Conflit, Droit international, Histoire, Pacifisme, Organisation internationale - 2015/08

Même si les thèmes liés à l'environnement occupent largement la scène publique, les partis qui placent ces questions au cœur de leur engagement ne passent pas la rampe électorale. / France, Démocratie, Écologie, Élections, Parti politique, Politique, Stratégie, Environnement, Décroissance - (...) / France, Démocratie, Écologie, Élections, Parti politique, Politique, Stratégie, Environnement, Décroissance - 2015/04

Статья Елены Милашиной «Халифат. Приманка для дураков!», на примере дагестанского села Саситли рассказывающая о том, как устроен трафик наших граждан на войну в Сирию, спровоцировала бурную дискуссию в Сети. Эксперты и жители Дагестана обсуждают факты, оценки, выводы. Мнения разделились: кто-то рад, что наконец-то озвучена версия о том, как российские спецслужбы открыли радикально настроенной молодежи дорогу в ИГИЛ (организацию, запрещенную на территории России) и теперь делают все, чтобы разочаровавшиеся оттуда не вернулись.

Americans are divided over whether or not to accept the deal with Iran regarding its nuclear program. The numbers – deep cuts in enriched uranium stocks and centrifuges – and the most intrusive inspection regime ever make the deal look good. But even those who believe it defuses the Middle East's literally most explosive situation for nearly a generation – a world-politics eternity – must acknowledge that many Americans are dissatisfied.

Brazil is often seen by its own people as a fallen economic angel. Once the great success story of an emerging market titan and key member of the BRICS, Brazil is now returning to the poor economic conditions it was stuck in twenty-five years ago. Many Brazilians were proud to see their country break out from a history of credit devaluations and transform itself into one of the only countries that successfully weathered the 2007–08 economic crisis, better than most of their European and North American counterparts.

Today, protests against the government are fueled by the realization that the opportunity to change Brazil has been squandered. Corrupt practices by large industry leaders and the ruling political party were exposed after President Dilma Rousseff narrowly won her second term as president. This scandal came about after years of pouring money into national infrastructure projects that were designed to satisfy the needs of foreign companies and the International Olympic Committee over those benefiting the citizens of a democratic Brazil.

The August 2015 protest is the fourth mass protest that has taken place pushing for the Rousseff’s impeachment. While there is no legal mechanism to force her impeachment, her political party’s connection to a scandal linked to one of Brazil’s biggest oil companies has led to her having one of the lowest approval ratings of any elected official in the world. While the strength of Brazil’s economy has dwindled, peaceful protests and the actions by some in Brazil’s activist community to expose the scandal have shown Brazil to be a country that holds values like fairness and democracy close to its heart.

The catalyst for the first wave of protest movements was Brazil hosting the 2014 World Cup. Many in Brazil resented the fact that the country’s love of the beautiful game would take away from the government’s ability to look after the country’s more basic needs. Funds went to various international agencies in order to put on sporting events and were given precedence over building up Brazil and its people. The government’s actions sparked anti-FIFA protests, some of which ended with the deaths of several protesters. The recent corruption scandal and the upcoming Olympic Games has done nothing more than fan the flames of almost universal outrage among all Brazil’s political factions, placing the PT party in jeopardy and getting even the once-loved former president, Lula Da Silva, into legal trouble.

With the 2016 Olympic Games coming up, mass protests could reach such an extreme so as to lead to the end of the PT party in Brazil and perhaps even the Olympics as beloved “brand.” That would be more than acceptable if it meant Brazil would become a more democratic country. The hit the games can have on the democratic system has scared, and perhaps will continue to scare, some away from bidding for the Olympic Games.

Nevertheless, a number of cities and countries still view hosting the games as an appropriate and responsible idea even when they are burdened by massive amounts of debt. Sure, Boston wisely backed out of the most recent bid process. But Toronto is currently considering a bid despite the fact that Ontario has the highest amount of sub-sovereign debt in the world. Los Angeles is also under consideration even though California has the second highest sub-sovereign debt in the world, second only to Ontario. Along with the economic conditions of candidate cities being ignored, investigations into allegations of corrupt practices are being currently conducted against IOC officials. It seems that some will just never learn.