Global Geopolitics

Renovating an Embattled City

By Jillian Kestler-D'Amours
Every day, Anas Maraka sees his family’s home, but can’t go inside. “It’s hardest for my grandfather,” said Maraka, referring to the house overlooking Shuhada Street, once the central marketplace in Hebron’s old city.

U.N.’s Last Stand on Arms Trade Treaty

By Thalif Deen
Amidst a politically divisive debate on gun control in the United States following a rash of mass shootings, the United Nations will meet in March to finalise an Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) after nearly two decades of negotiations.

The ‘Flattening’ of Gaza

By Eva Bartlett
On Nov. 17, four days into Israel’s eight-day assault on the Gaza Strip, deputy Israeli Prime Minister Eli Yishai publicly called for the Israeli army to “blow Gaza back to the Middle Ages, destroying all the infrastructure including roads and water”.

Bedouin Seek Democracy in Israel

By Jillian Kestler-D'Amours
As campaign posters pop up around Israel ahead of the country’s upcoming parliamentary elections, Bedouin citizens of the state are still reeling after being denied the chance to elect their own local council representatives.

Kerry Chosen for U.S. Secretary of State, Hagel Still in Limbo

By Jim Lobe
U.S. President Barack Obama nominated Massachusetts Senator John Kerry on Friday to succeed Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, calling him "the perfect choice to guide American diplomacy in the years ahead".

The Politics of Polio in Pakistan

By Ashfaq Yusufzai and Zofeen Ebrahim
The murder of nine health workers vaccinating children against polio in Pakistan’s northwest cities of Peshawar and Charsadda in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, and its southern port city Karachi, have elicited shock and outrage.

Marching Toward a Third Uprising?

By Pierre Klochendler
While the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip hasn’t been so quiet for the past two decades, it’s now the turn of the occupied West Bank to show signs of eruption.

South Korea’s Park Wins Presidential Election

By AJ Correspondents
The daughter of South Korea's former military ruler has won the country's presidential election, promising in a speech to her supporters to heal a "divided society".

Neo-Cons, Israel Lobby Mobilise to Pre-empt Obama Pentagon Favourite

By Jim Lobe
Neo-conservatives and leaders of the powerful Israel lobby are mobilising their forces in what looks like an all-out campaign to pre-empt the nomination by President Barack Obama of an outspoken former Republican senator and decorated Vietnam War hero to replace Leon Panetta as secretary of defence.

Ahead of Mali Resolution, Worries Grow over Military Intervention

By Carey L. Biron
Even as U.S. and French officials suggest that a United Nations resolution on military intervention in Mali could come by the end of the week, concerns are rising that such action could do far more harm than good.
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The Frightening Scenario of the Nuclear War

By Ira Helfand*
Soon after President Barack Obama was elected in 2008, hundreds of leaders of the global medical community wrote an open letter to him, and to newly elected Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, urging them to make the abolition of nuclear weapons their highest priority:

Detained at the Eastern Border – Part 2

By Claudia Ciobanu
Twenty-two years ago today, on Dec. 18, 1990, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.
Roberto Savio Credit:

China is Opening a Confrontation on the Sea

By Roberto Savio
The victory of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the recent Japanese elections, with Shinzo Abe coming back as prime minister after five years, will probably mean an escalation of tensions with China. Both countries are embarking on a fresh burst of nationalism, but for different reasons.
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Rate of U.S., Russian Nuclear Disarmament “Slowing”

By Carey L. Biron
Although the United States and Russia have massively reduced their collective number of nuclear weapons since the heyday of the Cold War, the rate of that reduction is slowing, the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) warned Monday.

Remittances Soothe the Scourge of Militancy

By Ashfaq Yusufzai
Fifty-nine-year-old Sherdil Shah, a resident of South Waziristan – a hotbed of militancy in northern Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) – used to run a modest grain shop that fetched enough money to keep his family of 10 well-fed and looked after.

Kashmiri Separatists Scrabble for Political Relevance

By Athar Parvaiz
Amid growing scepticism among Kashmiri people that the separatist leadership has lost relevance in the region’s fast-changing political landscape, the All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference – an alliance of separatist political parties and religious and social groups - is making a Herculean effort to reclaim some relevance in this disputed region.

U.S. Pivot Heightens Asian Disputes

By Richard Heydarian
With newly re-elected President Barack Obama having chosen Southeast Asia as his first foreign destination, where he also attended the much-anticipated pan-Pacific East Asia Summit, the U.S. has underscored its commitment to its so-called strategic ‘pivot’ to the Asia-Pacific region.

OP-ED: A Universal Climate Change Agreement Is Necessary and Possible

By Christiana Figueres
The results of the United Nations climate change conference that closed in Doha, Qatar on Dec. 8 show once again that the international negotiations are moving steadily in the right direction, but alarmingly slow.

Washington Struggles for Relevance as Assad’s Fall Approaches

By Samer Araabi
This week, the United States officially recognised the newly-formed National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces as the legitimate representatives of the Syrian people, culminating a two-year process of legitimising the Syrian opposition with the U.S. government.

Despite Crises, Migration Still a Political Hot Potato

By Thalif Deen
The United Nations will commemorate its annual International Migrants Day next week amidst reports of a rising tide of anti-migrant sentiments – primarily in Europe.

Brazil’s Economic Model Offers Ray of Hope

By A. D. McKenzie
As governments struggle to find ways out of the persistent global financial crisis, Brazil’s development model offers an alternative path to recovery and growth, according to some economists and politicians.
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