The SADC mission shows how difficult it is to run a large-scale military intervention, especially if the host government is not taking full ownership and supporting the operation.
M23 rebels in Kibumba in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Glody Murhabazi/AFP via Getty Images.
The recent kidnapping of a US nurse has put a focus on the plight of Haitians living with organized crime every day. But few governments are willing to intervene.
French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo (R) during Macron’s visit in July 2022.
Photo by Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images
Macron’s recent visits to Africa tell a story in which France is doing penance for its colonial crimes while trying to maintain influence gained through colonialism.
White Americans who hold racist attitudes are likely to prefer military action over diplomacy in foreign countries like Iran and, in particular, China.
Frank Rossoto Stocktrek via Getty
Analysis of US survey data finds that white people who hold racist views are more likely than others to favor military action over diplomacy in China and Iran, and to endorse the global war on terror.
A soldier participates in a training during a tactical leader’s exercise at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.
REUTERS/Bryan Woolston
Data show that the US intervenes more in other countries’ affairs than it did in the past. It also currently hires fewer career professionals for ambassadorial or foreign affairs positions.
Death in detention: the aftermath of an airstrike on the Tajoura camp in Tripoli in July 2019.
EPA
As rival factions vie for control over Venezuela, many of the country’s 31 million people are suffering prolonged power outages, food and water shortages, and limited access to medicine.
Clashes between opposition protesters and Venezuelan soldiers at the Venezuela-Brazil border have killed an estimated 25 people.
AP Photo/Edmar Barros
Robert Muggah, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) et Adriana Abdenur, Escola de Guerra Naval (ESG)
Brazil’s president has threatened military intervention in neighboring Venezuela, called its leader a ‘dictator’ and sent troops to the border. But Brazil’s military is quietly working to avoid war.
While the Syria strikes were clearly violating international law, using force to uphold the ban on chemical weapons is becoming acceptable in the international community.
By intervening in Zimbabwe’s politics the military could plunge the country into a prolonged period of uncertainty. Could President Emmerson Mnangagwa be its saviour?
Waving the Libyan national flag in Tripoli.
EPA/Stringer
Donald Trump suddenly appears to have been overcome with a sense of responsibility towards the people of Syria. How can that be explained?
Gambia’s President-elect Adama Barrow waves after his inauguration at Gambia’s embassy in Dakar, Senegal. But will he be able to go home?
Reuters/Thierry Gouegnon
Military intervention is sanctioned and executed by states. It is thus always a function of state interests rather than the objective enforcement of law. The case of The Gambia is no different.
The recent revelations about the savage treatment of Yazidi women at the hands of Islamic State, or ISIS, fighters is the latest in a shocking set of disclosures regarding the group’s behavior. It sadly…