Among the many issues that Joe Biden has to deal with, what place does he reserve for the alliance of democracies project that he mentioned during his presidential campaign?
Chip Somodevilla/AFP
The new US administration has talked about setting up an alliance of democracies. For the time being, the project seems vague. Yet such an alliance is necessary.
President Biden has so far kept most of his predecessor’s tough-on-China policies.
Malte Mueller via Getty Images
A scholar of global relations says China seems worried about its future. Meanwhile, the US and Europe still treat China as a threat. The clash of world views could be destabilizing.
Influencers and women without huge numbers of followers are more effective than others at debunking conspiracy theories on Chinese social media.
AP Photo/Ng Han Guan
The type and amount of misinformation closely tracks tensions in US-China relations. Effectively countering the misinformation comes down to who does the debunking.
White supremacists clash with police in Charlottesville in 2017.
Evan Nesterak/Wikipedia
Despite moments of hope, worries about the present and fears that the future may be even worse have been rising for decades. What can geopolitics teach us about the global impact of fear?
Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un in the Korean demilitarized zone in June 2019.
Donald Trump avoided a major crisis with North Korea. But the North Korean nuclear issue remains unresolved as the country continues to develop its nuclear and ballistic capabilities.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel, connected via video with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, hold a news conference after a virtual summit with China’s President in Brussels on September 14, 2020.
Yves Herman/AFP
The October launch of the “EU-US Dialogue on China” shows that the two shores of the Atlantic have come to recognise the importance of coordination and cooperation when facing up to Xi Jinping.
The WHO has been criticised for being slow to recognise the scale of the COVID-9 pandemic. We suggest a new protocol on infectious diseases to help with faster data collection and more open sharing.
A 19th-century engraving depicts the Angel of Death descending on Rome during the Antonine plague.
J.G. Levasseur/Wellcome Collection
Societies and cultures that seem ossified and entrenched can be completely upended by pandemics, which create openings for conquest, innovation and social change.
European Council President Charles Michel (R) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speak as they attend a news conference following a virtual summit with Chinese President in Brussels, on June 22, 2020.
Yves Herman/Pool/AFP
Long lenient toward China, Europeans have recently taken a firmer approach. Beijing’s conduct during the Covid-19 pandemic and its general intransigence have had a lot to do with this.
The racial unrest in the US has drawn accusations of hypocrisy and questions on democratic legitimacy from around the globe, world, including those in Indo-Pacific.
African policymakers should strenuously safeguard their right to choose from the widest possible range of technology options that suit their countries’ development needs.
The US and its allies are demanding answers over how COVID-19 became a pandemic. But instead of pointing fingers at China, the inquiry should focus on scientific clues to help us thwart future disasters.
Members of a medical assistance team from Jiangsu province at a ceremony marking their departure after participating in the fight against Covid-19 in Wuhan, March 19, 2020.
STR/AFP
Emmanuel Véron, Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (Inalco) and Emmanuel Lincot, Institut catholique de Paris (ICP)
China is seeking to present itself as a model in the fight against the coronavirus – even if it means rewriting the history of the crisis and discrediting the governance of liberal democracies.
Suffering from sanctions, Russia is trying produce more and gain market share.
Yegor Aleyev via Getty Images
Has the world entered an era of ultra-low prices? An energy scholar argues that a long period of low oil prices will set the U.S. – and globe – back on the economy and the environment.
Demonstrators filled the streets in Port-au-Prince last month, denouncing corruption in their government and calling for President Jovenel Moïse to resign.
Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo
Jean-François Savard, École nationale d'administration publique (ENAP); Emmanuel Sael, École nationale d'administration publique (ENAP), and Joseph Jr Clormeus, École nationale d'administration publique (ENAP)
Haiti is embroiled in turmoil once again as people flock to the streets to protest rampant corruption in their government. But what are the roots of the problem?
A protester wearing a Guy Fawkes mask flashing a victory sign in Beirut in November 2019.
EPA-EFE/WAEL HAMZEH EPA-EFE/WAEL HAMZEH
Wars don’t produce winners and losers – they never really did.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan shake hands during a joint press conference following their talks in the Black sea resort of Sochi on October 22, 2019.
Sergei CHIRIKOV / POOL / AFP
The EU’s rhetoric after Turkey’s military incursion in Syria has not been backed by concrete action or a persuasive engagement with Erdogan’s government.
The Huawei Cyber Security Lab in Donggguan, Guangdong Province, specializes in cyber counterattacks.
Zhao Wang/AFP
China and the United States are not at war, but cyberspace has created opportunities for intelligence gathering, influence and sabotage that are already taking place.
Japanese Prime Minister’s Cabinet reshuffle reveals his strategy for final two years in office.
CSIS/flickr
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet reshuffle is an exercise in illusion. Yet it reveals some unwelcome truths about his political present - and future.
The attack on the Abqaiq oil facilities in Saudi Arabia has sparked geopolitical tensions but has had only a minor impact on oil prices.
Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters
Energy-wise, the fallout from the attack on Saudi oil facilities has so far been very muted. The surge in oil production in the US over the past decade helps explain why.