The Islamic Republic no longer wants to work with Europe, but rather against it. Counterintuitively, the EU should still seek areas for potential cooperation in a hard-nosed, interest-driven way to create an opening into Iranian society. September 16 will mark one year since the death of Mahsa Jina Amini in …
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Judy Asks: Can the EU Be a Global Player?
Lizza Bomassi – Deputy director of Carnegie Europe Despite its regulatory and market power, the EU does not live up to its foreign policy potential. Its ability to exert influence largely depends on member states’ political dynamics and appetite for further integration. Yes, it can, and it certainly has the …
Read More »America’s Digital Achilles’ Heel
The United States’ Reliance on Sensitive Technology Leaves It Vulnerable to Attacks For all its tremendous benefits, digital technology carries innumerable downsides. Cellphones enable location tracking that erodes privacy. Data can be manipulated and destroyed. Mechanical systems can be hijacked by a malicious actor who finds chinks in their digital …
Read More »Iran’s New Patrons
Why China and Russia Are Stepping Up Their Support On assuming power in 1979, Iran’s revolutionaries prided themselves on rejecting the global order. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the country’s first supreme leader, declared that his state would be “neither East nor West.” Khomeini viewed the United States as “the Great Satan”—the …
Read More »US top general talks Syria, NATO with new Turkey counterpart
Gen. Mark Milley’s first announced call with newly appointed Turkish armed forces chief Metin Gurak follows reports that the United States is exploring alternate routes for Ukraine’s grain exports. Washington’s outgoing top general, Mark Milley, spoke by phone Wednesday with his counterpart in Turkey, Metin Gurak, in their first announced …
Read More »Syrian Kurdish commander Kobane acknowledges Arab grievances as tensions ease in Deir Ezzor
In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Syrian Kurdish commander Mazlum Kobane discussed the recent clashes in Deir Ezzor between local tribes and Kurdish forces. A rare tribal uprising in eastern Syria against the United States’ top local ally has been successfully suppressed after more than a week of fierce clashes …
Read More »Will the G20 Summit help India become the voice of the Global South?
This year’s Group of Twenty (G20) Summit will start on September 9 in New Delhi. Under the theme “One Earth, One Family, One Future,” India has used its G20 presidency to focus discussions at ministerial meetings throughout the year in preparation for the summit. The agenda that has emerged will …
Read More »Torrid Times in Eastern Syria
A U.S.-Iran understanding may have calmed tensions, but this was followed by Kurdish-Arab fighting that did precisely the opposite. The summer was hot in northeastern Syria, as has been the transition to autumn. The season began with increased tensions between U.S. forces, which maintain a presence in the northeast, on …
Read More »Challenges And Opportunities Of Connecting Central Asia And South Asia Through Afghanistan – OpEd
Due to its strategic location, Afghanistan is an essential player in South Asia and Central Asia’s trade, energy, and commerce sectors. Numerous initiatives, such as the TAPI Pipeline, TUTAP Power Project, CASA-1000, and TAP, have attracted the country due to its ability to link these two regions. These initiatives aim …
Read More »Economic Growth In G7 Versus BRICS: A Reality Check – OpEd
In the United Kingdom, the BBC prepared and published data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in January about different nations’ growth forecasts for 2023 and 2024. The BBC foregrounded some really bad news for the UK. Of nine major industrial economies—the G7 (the U.S., Canada, Japan, Germany, the UK, …
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