Yearly Archives: 2021

Will Taiwan’s Dongsha Islands Be the Next Crimea?

Russia’s 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine prompted much international outrage but little meaningful action. President Vladimir Putin was able to forcefully redraw his country’s borders, shrugging off the international sanctions that the United States and European Union imposed in response. Putin’s success augmented “the belief among some …

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Turkey and Egypt Open the Door to a Diplomatic Thaw

In mid-March, Turkey and Egypt confirmed they’d had their first diplomatic contact since breaking off relations in 2013. Though the talks were described by Egyptian sources as preliminary, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted as saying, “Contacts at the diplomatic level have started.” The thaw comes after a decade …

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The Persistence of Borders in a Globalized World

Back in 1990, when the Soviet bloc was crumbling into new nations, Kenichi Ohmae, a Japanese organizational theorist and management consultant, had the audacity to suggest that humankind was on the cusp of a new “borderless world,” in a book of the same name. Ohmae’s goal was mainly to sketch …

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How a submarine deal sparked a major diplomatic crisis

Australia’s move to ditch a $66bn submarine deal has spiralled into an unprecedented diplomatic row between Western allies. Australia’s decision to cancel a multibillion-dollar order for French submarines in favour of American and British technology has sparked a diplomatic row of unprecedented proportions between longtime Western allies. The French foreign …

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Afghans who fled Panjshir: ‘Everything can change by the hour’

As resistance forces continue to battle the Taliban on Afghanistan’s last war front, residents who fled the province say there is no clear winner yet. Since the Taliban claimed “complete control” over the Panjshir Valley in Afghanistan’s northeast earlier this month, the group has been accused of “widespread atrocities”, forcing …

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TSUE zdecydował. Wielka kara dla Polski za każdy dzień działania Turowa

Pół miliona euro za każdy dzień działalności kopalni Turów będzie płacić Polska do chwili podporządkowania się decyzji TSUE o zawieszeniu wydobycia. Tak zdecydował Trybunał Sprawiedliwości. Premier Morawiecki jeszcze w maju przekonywał, że ugoda z Czechami jest prawie zawarta. Decyzja TSUE zapadła dziś, ale naliczanie kary zacznie się w chwili formalnego …

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Opinion | Sous-marins : ces questions en suspens

Tandis que la polémique autour du « contrat du siècle » des sous-marins français pour l’Australie gonfle, il est quand même curieux d’observer que peu de monde n’évoque les contrats eux-mêmes. Or c’est quand même cela qui est essentiel. En fait, tout le monde parle de ces sous-marins sans pourtant …

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Saudi military trains with Greek forces

Saudi Arabia and Greece signed a missile deal earlier this year and are both allies of the UAE and Egypt. Saudi soldiers arrived in Greece on Tuesday for a joint training exercise with their Greek counterparts. Paratrooper units and special security forces from the Royal Saudi Land Forces participated in …

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What is Neoliberalism? A Primer

“Neoliberalism” has been a hot topic for a few decades, but by now the word is sloppily used often enough that many claim that the word has become meaningless. However, it doesn’t work that way. The word neoliberalism has a definite meaning, even if it can be a tricky one, …

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Wagging the Bitcoin Dog

On Wednesday, thousands of Salvadorans celebrated the 200th anniversary of the country’s independence by marching in protest against President Nayib Bukele’s administration. President Bukele’s decision to make Bitcoin an officially recognized currency in El Salvador succeeded in getting a lot of attention. And that was precisely the point. The boldness …

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