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Global Edition | 9 September 2022 The Conversation has published a range of content on the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, from across our global academic network. A selection can be found below. In the hours and days to come we will of course carry many more articles on what her death means for the UK and the Commonwealth, and on the challenges that await King Charles III. Follow our extensive coverage here .Stephen Khan Queen Elizabeth II: the end of the ‘new Elizabethan age’ Laura Clancy, Lancaster UniversityBritain has gone through unimaginable change culturally and politically during Elizabeth’s 70-year reign.Elizabeth II: Britain’s longest-reigning monarch. Sipa US/Alamy Stock Photo Continue reading Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) →

Top of the Agenda UK’s King Charles III to Address Nation as World Mourns Queen Elizabeth II The United Kingdom (UK) began a period of mourning (FT) after Queen Elizabeth II died yesterday. Preparations for her funeral have halted parts of British public life, including sports games and the Bank of England’s monetary policy meeting. Meanwhile, tributes from world leaders have poured in (The Guardian). U.S. President Joe Biden called the queen “a source of comfort and pride for generations of Britons,” while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said she “personified dignity and decency in public life.”  Queen Elizabeth’s son King Charles III will address the UK today and is expected to hold an audience with Liz Truss, who became the country’s prime minister three days ago. His official accession to the throne and proclamation as a monarch are expected tomorrow.

Continue reading Council on Foreign Relations: Daily News Brief Sept. 9, 2022 →

Top of the Agenda

U.S. Officials Say Russia Seeks to Buy Weapons From North KoreaNew U.S. intelligence shows Russia is seeking to purchase artillery shells and rockets (Reuters) from North Korea, American officials said yesterday. While Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations denied the allegations, White House spokesperson John Kirby said Moscow’s inquiry shows Russian President Vladimir Putin’s desperation amid the war in Ukraine. 

UN sanctions currently bar North Korea (AP) from selling weapons to other countries. It has attempted to strengthen relations with Russia since the start of the war and also expressed interest in sending workers to rebuild Russia-occupied territories in eastern Ukraine.

Analysis

“The only reason the Kremlin should have to buy artillery shells or rockets from North Korea or anyone is because Putin has been unwilling or unable to mobilize the Russian economy for war at even the most basic level,” the American Enterprise Institute’s Frederick W. Kagan tells the New York Times. 
Continue reading Council on Foreign Relations – Daily news brief Spet. 7, 2022 →

In July 2022, Iran provided the Russian military with training for using Iranian-produced weapons, including the Shahed-129 drone, displayed here at a 2019 military show in Tehran. Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Published: August 30, 2022 1.20pm BST The Conversation

Author

1. Aaron PilkingtonUS Air Force Analyst of Middle East Affairs, PhD Student at Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver

Disclosure statement

Aaron Pilkington is a U.S. Air Force analyst of Middle East affairs now studying at the University of Denver, conducting research on Iranian national security strategy. He will later join the Military & Strategic Studies department at the U.S. Air Force Academy. The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Department of Defense, Department of the Air Force, the United States Air Force Academy, or any other organizational affiliation.

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The war in Ukraine is helping one country achieve its foreign policy and national security objectives, but it’s neither Russia nor Ukraine.

It’s Iran.

Iran is among Russia’s most vocal supporters in the war. This has little to do with Ukraine and everything to do with Iran’s long-term strategy vis-à-vis the United States.

Continue reading A winner is emerging from the war in Ukraine, but it’s not who you think →

Top of the Agenda Delayed UN Report Details China’s Human Rights Violations in XinjiangA UN human rights office report [PDF] issued yesterday said the Chinese government’s detentions of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim groups in the Xinjiang region could constitute “crimes against humanity.” The report noted (NYT) that two-thirds of former detainees interviewed described treatment “that would amount to torture and/or other forms of ill treatment.” The report stopped short of calling China’s actions “genocide,” as the United States has done.  Human rights groups have criticized UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet over a nearly yearlong delay in the report’s release. The report asks that Beijing (AP) release those who have been arbitrarily detained and disclose the whereabouts of individuals who are missing. Beijing denounced the report as a fabrication, while Uyghur activists celebrated its release.

Continue reading Council on Foreign Relations: Daily News Brief Sept. 1, 2022 →

Daily News BriefAugust 29, 2022

Top of the Agenda Over One Thousand People Killed in Catastrophic Pakistan FloodsPakistani officials are appealing for international aid (CNN) as uncharacteristically strong monsoon rains cause nationwide flooding. The floods, which climate change minister Sherry Rehman called a “climate catastrophe,” have so far displaced more than three million people, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. While Pakistan usually sees four rainy periods per year, it is currently experiencing its eighth, Rehman said. The flooding comes as Pakistan experiences an economic crisis (FT). Some preliminary estimates put the cost of the damages (Reuters) around $4 billion, though Pakistan’s foreign minister said it is likely higher.

Continue reading Daily News Brief August 29, 2022 →

Foreign Policy’s Sitrep Aug. 25, 2022

If the record-breaking $3 billion military aid package announced by the Biden administration on Wednesday to mark Ukraine’s Independence Day is any indication, U.S. support for Kyiv against Russia’s six-month-old full-scale invasion has entered a new phase: long-term planning.

In fact, the weapons deliveries—which will include six Norwegian-made air defense systems, nearly 250,000 rounds of 155mm artillery ammunition, and novel so-called Vampire systems that can shoot down Russian drones—will have to be contracted and provided from U.S. and international defense companies, meaning that they won’t be ready for months.

Continue reading The United States looks to build “enduring strength” in Ukraine →

Massive dark money windfall: New conservative group got $1.6 billion from single donor

By Casey Tolan, Curt Devine and Drew Griffin, CNN

Updated 2145 GMT (0545 HKT) August 22, 2022

(CNN)A new group led by a prominent conservative lawyer has received $1.6 billion from one donor — the largest single contribution to a politically focused nonprofit that’s ever been made public, and a fortune that could be used to fuel right-wing interests.

The nonprofit, Marble Freedom Trust, received the contribution in the form of stock and then funneled more than $200 million to other conservative organizations last year, a tax form CNN obtained from the IRS shows.

Marble Freedom is led by Leonard Leo, the co-chairman of the conservative Federalist Society, who advised former President Donald Trump on his Supreme Court picks and runs a sprawling network of other right-wing nonprofits that don’t disclose their donors, which are often referred to as dark money groups.

Continue reading US Dark Money Politics →

What’s going wrong in Cuba?

Al Jazeera English – 9 thg 8, 2021

Food, medicine and fuel shortages have driven Cubans to protest for “patria y vida” or “homeland and life”. And then there’s the pandemic. #AJStartHere with Sandra Gathmann looks at why life in Cuba is so tough.

By Max Boot, CFR Expert

August 16, 2022 3:56 pm (EST), Council on Foreign Relations

A year after the U.S. withdrawal, half of Afghanistan’s population faces a food emergency, and the Taliban regime acts with cruelty and indifference.

One year after the United States ended its longest war, there remains considerable disagreement over whether the war in Afghanistan was winnable or worth fighting. Congress has chartered a bipartisan commission to investigate the war and draw lessons for the future. But however one views the conflict, few would dispute that the exit from Afghanistan at the end of August 2021 was a chaotic mess—or that the United States has limited options for dealing with the Taliban regime.

Continue reading The U.S. holds limited influence in the Taliban’s Afghanistan →

Amnesty International’s recent attack on Ukraine raises yet again the issue of how the size, governance, and influence of the largest human rights organizations may damage the cause of human rights.

Blog Post by Elliott Abrams, Council on Foreign Relations

August 16, 2022 10:55 am (EST)

The cause of human rights is now at risk from the largest organizations dedicated to its protection.

Earlier this summer I wrote, here at the CFR web site, an article entitled “Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?” and a blog entry of the same title. There I argued that “the issues of oversight, governance, and bias at the two largest NGOs, which dominate the field globally, cannot be overlooked.” Those two organizations are Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. As I wrote,

In 2021, Human Rights Watch had $256 million in assets and revenue of $130 million. It employs more than 500 staff members in 105 locations globally and has an annual budget of $97 million. Amnesty International is even larger, raising $436 million in 2020 and spending $376 million.

Continue reading Amnesty International’s Attack on Ukraine →

CFR Daily Brief 

Daily News Brief August 18, 2022

Top of the Agenda

Turkish, Ukrainian Leaders Hold First Face-to-Face Meeting Since Start of War

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is meeting (AFP) with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and UN Secretary-General António Guterres in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. They are expected to discuss diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine, as well as a deal that Turkey and the United Nations brokered to resume grain exports from the country. Continue reading Council on Foreign Relations: Daily News Brief Aug. 18, 2022 →

afritechnews – by Angeline Mbogo

July 7, 2020

The fact that several African countries have been under the influence of the French for about 75 years now is stunning. Unable to let its colonies go, France continues to exploit African countries with unfair obligations, one of which has raised a raging debate over the years.

Dubbed the colonial tax, the infamous obligation on CFA Franc Zone members requires them to “keep 50 percent of their foreign exchange reserves in an operations account held at the French Treasury.”

Continue reading What is the French Colonial Tax? →

US Department of Staate

REMARKS

ANTONY J. BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE

UN HEADQUARTERS

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

AUGUST 1, 2022Play Video

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Good afternoon.  Secretary General Guterres, President Zlauvinen – thank you – Director General Grossi:  Thank you all for your longstanding leadership on nonproliferation.

I noted that Prime Minister Kishida of Japan is here as well this morning, which sends a very powerful message.  Earlier this year, he reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to nonproliferation in a joint statement with President Biden.

And a very special thanks to the foreign ministers, the deputy foreign ministers, the teams who have traveled to New York for these meetings and to get us off to a good start.

It’s great to be with you all here in person today, especially – especially – given the critical role the NPT has played in upholding the global nonproliferation regime.

More than five decades ago, at the height of the Cold War, representatives of 18 nations drafted the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

In the years that followed, nearly every country on Earth has joined the NPT.

Continue reading US State Secretary Antony J. Blinken’s Remarks to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference →