Reports

While Japan has known prosperity and stability under the leadership of longtime Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, it faces demographic challenges that will require difficult decisions. Social cohesion is of the highest importance for the Japanese and many see immigration as a threat, but the rapidly dwindling population will need to ...

When in March 2019 Italy became the largest EU country to sign a memorandum of understanding with China on its Belt and Road Initiative, it put Italy-China relations in the spotlight. Like other European governments, the leadership in Rome is struggling to balance economic interests with its security interests and ...

When he came to power, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi initially set his country on a relatively liberal path. After several years, however, he had to change tack to fight radical Islamism. Despite being ostracized by the West, he has made major strides, especially in improving his country’s economy. To continue ...

The new head of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, has some novel plans for the future of her organization. She wants to redefine its core aims to address climate change, economic fairness and gender equality. If she achieves her mission, the IMF could transform from a tough, economic reform-minded lender of ...

After over a decade of Western involvement in Syria and Iraq, the region remains unstable and vulnerable to Iranian interference. In Syria, the Kurdish conflict seems set to endure now that the U.S. military has been largely withdrawn from the area. Iraq is facing a wide-scale insurgency against its ruling ...

Nigeria is a federation by necessity, given its size and very high ethnic and geographic diversity. To keep the country in one piece, the system is centralized and uses a matrix of quotas to try to keep all groups and regions together. This design, however, combined with overall poor leadership, ...

With French President Emmanuel Macron on a mission to reform the EU before allowing membership for Balkans states, the southeastern European region remains both divided and politically isolated. Russia has been making inroads, especially in Serbia, which sees an opening to spoil some of the progress toward Euroatlanticism that the ...

Over the last decades, China experienced a transformational period of spectacular growth, becoming one of the top global players from both an economic and geopolitical standpoint. These recent accomplishments have convinced its citizens of the legitimacy of the current system. However, younger generations will expect the government to earn their ...

Likud, Israel’s long-time ruling party, has been losing ground to a new coalition led by a fierce opponent of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This enmity, along with a small party’s unwillingness to join either side, has led to a year-long parliamentary standoff. If next March’s elections fail to break the ...

Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister since the end of World War II, has made a huge imprint on his country’s politics, especially through “Abenomics” and his drive to beef up defense capabilities. His eventual successor will have a host of domestic challenges to overcome, including a growing demographic imbalance ...

With the governing body of the European Central Bank bitterly divided over monetary policy at the times of political pressure and economic uncertainty, new President Christine Lagarde faces an extraordinary challenge of putting Europe’s most important financial and regulatory institution back on an even keel.

Because of rising tensions in “water diplomacy” around the Mekong River, the region could become another geopolitical hotspot along the South China Sea. China’s clutch of hydropower dams control the water flow to downstream countries, leaving them vulnerable to drought and political blackmail. The lack of external major-power involvement from ...

The U.S.’s killing of Major General Qassem Soleimani is a huge blow to the Iranian regime, and Washington had valid reasons for making the move. Though many fear the repercussions, the U.S. could not shy away from self-defense for such reasons. And for now, it looks likely that Iran will ...

In France’s ideal republican model, the enlightened elite lead the public toward a unified, egalitarian system. The model is corrupted, however, with the some “more equal” than others, and increasing centralization causing distrust within society. The result is a lack of accountability for those governing, which has led to increasing ...

Experts forecast a considerable growth of oil supply in Brazil, but similar predictions turned out to be overly optimistic in the past. For such predictions to become a reality, the Brazilian government would need to remove the regulations that discouraged large and private oil companies from investing during the latest ...

For years, China has combined skillful diplomacy with economic might to build partnerships in Southeast Asia. The U.S. has been more focused on security issues, with its economic involvement there shrinking. Japan, India and Europe all hold crucial stakes as well. How the great power competition develops in the region ...

Despite deepening political discord on the federal level and structural problems such as growing public debt and entitlements cost, the U.S. can rely on the strengths of its democratic institutions, its innovative and wealth-generating economy, an active civil society and an unparalleled military to play a dominating global role in ...

With the international community paralyzed by political strife, the Libyan conflict appears set to intensify in the weeks ahead. If the Libyan National Army enters Tripoli, the ensuing fight will be incomparably more brutal than previous battles. It is likely that Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar and his army will break ...

The leader of Ukraine had high hopes for the December 9, 2019, Normandy Four talks in Paris. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy promised Ukrainians the start of a vigorous peace process with Russia. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin is in no hurry to end the Donbas conflict. The United States has lost ...

Europe is hesitating in the face of the Chinese technological challenge. The current tensions between Washington and Beijing open plenty of opportunities to cooperate with China. At the same time, however, the U.S. administration is putting pressure on its allies, counting on a common front against Beijing. Choosing either side ...

The burgeoning relationship with the United States is a crucial part of India’s foreign policy. With the election of Donald Trump as president, New Delhi was unsure what to expect. So far, it has leveraged its strategic importance and the leaders’ friendship to its benefit. And while trade remains a ...

Despite modest achievements, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has maintained his man-of-the-people image throughout his first year in power. While he has attempted to combat inequality with several ambitious welfare programs, he has done little to solve the security and economic crises that face the country. Left unaddressed, either ...

Formerly Europe’s growth engine, the German economy is now lagging behind other eurozone countries, and could potentially affect growth in the entire region. This poor performance is partly caused by the looming threats of U.S. tariffs and a disorderly Brexit. However, systemic problems, like a lack of technological innovation in ...

Turkey and Russia, with their history of centuries-long rivalry in the Black Sea and the Middle East, are both pursuing deft regional policies that reflect a complex web of aligned and conflicting strategic interests