Reports

Twenty-five years ago, peace talks in Dayton, Ohio, ended the Bosnian war. However, the resulting political compromise has not allowed Bosnia and Herzegovina to develop a functioning state. Republika Srpska’s ability to veto Bosnian government policy is creating near-constant gridlock, a situation that has delayed the country’s accession to the ...

China, the United States and other technologically advanced countries are in an epic race to develop the next generation of computing machines – with designs based on quantum physics’ principles. The state that achieves an early breakthrough in this contest could gain scientific, military, economic and geopolitical advantages of historic ...

Modern-day iconoclasts are removing objects and symbols of Western civilization as part of moralistic campaigns. By doing so, they are falsifying history and attacking the very foundation of democracy.

The Covid-19 crisis offered embattled Chilean President Sebastian Pinera a lifeline after months of protests had rocked his administration. Instead, his mismanagement of the response to the pandemic has nearly led to the collapse of his governing coalition. Now, as the country gears up for a referendum on a new ...

Even before the pandemic, the Nigerian economy faced structural issues. Highly dependent on oil exports for revenue, the country could spiral into a deep recession because of the recent collapse in oil prices. High production costs will also hamper recovery even when global demand returns. If constantly pushed for full ...

The Covid-19 crisis presented EU leaders with an opportunity to regain popularity by handing out billions of euros in aid. Doling out such huge sums is sure to weaken the market by emphasizing bureaucratic activity over competition and innovation. For now, the EU’s problems have been papered over, but when ...

Russian intervention in Belarus could take many forms: formal assistance granted at the request of the collapsing Lukashenko regime; a stabilization operation amid chaotic conditions or the armed invasion of a new Belarusian state controlled by the opposition. All those options would entail massive economic and political costs for Moscow, ...

Intervention in elections, whether by foreign or domestic actors, is nothing new. The enormous amount of political energy spent on denouncing such practices and accusing the other side of benefiting from them impedes solving more important problems. Today’s emphasis on such allegations is dangerously paralyzing politics and serves as an ...

Europe is on a mission to increase its production of batteries by establishing a foundation for large-scale supply chains on the continent. It is a tricky proposition, not least because it is an expensive plan to carry out and China already holds the dominant position. Success, however, could benefit a ...

Colombia can no longer fall back on economic expansion after its generations-long internal conflict and a controversial peace agreement with a narco-terrorist group. Enter the pandemic-related economic and social crises, and the daunting challenges faced by President Ivan Duque become clear.

In 2019, Malawian President Peter Mutharika won a second term with a narrow margin. But the opposition coalition, alleging irregularities, brought the matter to court and obtained an annulment of the results. A second election in June 2020 saw the opposition leader peacefully elected – an anomaly in a region ...

China’s new, more aggressive foreign policy has been dubbed “wolf warrior diplomacy,” after a Rambo-style movie popular in the country. President Xi Jinping believes he can take a stronger hand, since he considers it inevitable that China will soon take over the U.S.’s global leadership role. But the adversarial stance ...

The statistics describing the condition of the world economy three months after the lockdowns seem reassuring: We have not had a V-shaped recovery but GDP growth in the second part of 2020 appears to be firming up and predictions for 2021 are optimistic. However, trouble is brewing in labor markets. 

In the aftermath of the Chinese Communist Party’s harsh crackdown on Hong Kong’s independence, many observers believe Taiwan will now face increased pressure from Beijing to fall in line with the political and economic goals of mainland China. While the West has done little in response to the Hong Kong ...

The recent normalization of ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates came as a shock to many, dispelling the mythical belief that solving the Palestinian issue was a prerequisite to any new peace deal. Like other Gulf states, the UAE has felt threatened by Iran, and sees Israel as ...

With a new import ban on 101 kinds of weapons, Narendra Modi is continuing his quest to expand India’s domestic arms industry. The lack of arms manufacturing has been a concern since the 1960s, and despite criticisms, the latest efforts are bearing some fruit. But India still has a slow ...

Measures to contain the Covid-19 pandemic have reduced the prevalence of other communicable diseases, like measles. But they also interrupted the delivery of vaccines against such illnesses. In some countries, inoculation programs were suspended, and in others, a lack of supplies meant vaccines were unavailable. It all adds up to ...

With two months to go until the 2020 presidential election, U.S. policy on Venezuela faces new urgency. While the country has been used as a political football for domestic reasons, the crisis in Venezuela has serious consequences for the interests of America and its regional partners. Resolving that crisis is ...

The Chinese craft intrusions in the territorial waters and airspace of Japan’s Senkaku Islands put Tokyo in a quandary. It has worked hard to have good relations with Beijing. The question marks over the reliability of Washington’s support for U.S. Asian allies further complicates the Japanese position.

The start-up of a new reactor in the United Arab Emirates has again trained the spotlight on nuclear capabilities in the Middle East. Outside of Iran’s controversial program, Saudi Arabia’s budding nuclear ambitions could prove the most destabilizing in the region. As its technology advances, Riyadh will soon have to ...

Discoveries of rich hydrocarbon deposits under the Eastern Mediterranean seabed have added a new driver to the region’s old rivalries. Athens claims nearly all of the Aegean Sea as exclusive economic zone and the delineation of sea borders near Cyprus prompted Turkey’s reaction. Now, NATO and the European Union have ...

Italy's left-wing government has decided it won't let a good crisis go to waste. It is using measures ostensibly aimed at curbing the economic crisis and 209 billion euros of incoming EU rescue money to increase its involvement in the economy. Though the meddling is unlikely to bring growth or ...

The UAE is among a number of regional and global powers that have inserted themselves into the years long civil war in Libya. The small Gulf state has been keen to influence maritime dynamics, control energy infrastructure and preserve access to the Sahel. The UAE will likely follow a softer ...

At the pandemic’s onset, few paid any attention to exchange rates. The U.S. dollar has weakened significantly since March 2020, surprising many observers. Some of the drop can be ascribed to the diminished international trade flows, which cut the demand for the globe’s leading exchange currency. There may also be, ...