Regions

South Africa’s Congress of the People (COPE) appears to be setting itself up as a watchdog for all sorts of political malfeasance and thus to be positioning itself as the legitimate opposition party to the African National Congress (ANC). In recent days COPE has both defended the ANC’s Kader Asmal against supposed hate speech from […]

On the  15 year anniversary of the Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty, the focus is on how much has not changed and how much more work needs to be done. Namely, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to destabilize the region and prevent cooperation between every country. In an interview with Middle East Progress, Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, Jordan’s […]

Is the African National Congress’ internal reckoning coming? I have for years argued that the ANC’s tripartite coalition of the ANC itself, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), and the South African Communist Party (SACP) is, in the long run, untenable. The ANC is a party of the left and always, to be […]

SE Asia:  The NY Times has an article discussing East and Southeast Asian economic integration.  Thai prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, believes that the regions should be looking for a new growth model, one that is less reliant on the consumption of Western nations.  This would mean increasing domestic demand and increasing aid between Asian nations.    […]

With a neo-con editor who believes that “with the Russians, if you don’t demand and threaten a little, you get zero”, the New Republic is the last place to find a reasoned view on Russia.  Or on Iran for that matter, considering this famously faux-liberal magazine’s hawkish anti-Islamic stance. So imagine my surprise at finding […]

In the past week or so there have been growing signs that the Obama administration is likely to choose an Afghan strategy closer to McChrystal’s counterinsurgency plan than VP Joe Biden’s counterterrorism stance.  However, most of these signs do not come directly from the administration as they have been rather tight-lipped and mainly just voiced […]

The Palestinians recently embarked on another effort to search for a real leader that can unite all factions, work effectively with Israel toward a resolution, and maintain international legitimacy as a pro-democratic figurehead. Although that might be a little too much to ask. The Palestinian Authority announced last week its intention to hold presidential and legislative […]

The latest round of bitterlemons opinions includes a wide array of opinions on the impact of Palestinian reconciliation on the peace process and relations with Israel. Ghassan Khatib’s article describes reconciliation as “against Israel’s interests,” with the author stating: “Israel doesn’t want Palestinian unity, because that would shift the political balance of power more in […]

On October 23, the House passed HR 3619, the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010. While the bill delineates the appropriations for the Coast Guard, the significance of the bill for Arctic affairs is Section 311, the Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment Implementation. This section was originally a stand-alone bill, HR 2865, written by Representative Don […]

© AP Photo/Al Grillo The International Arctic Fisheries Symposium convened in Anchorage, Alaska last week to discuss management of fish stocks in the world’s northern waters. 150 people from the fields of science, politics, and industry shared ideas about migratory, transboundary, and straddling fish stocks.  Geopolitics, then, are even affecting cod and char.  The symposium […]

Check out fellow FPA blogger Sean Murphy’s recent post on a movie regarding the Second Lebanon War. By Sean Patrick Murphy Sunday, October 25 7:34 pm EST In the summer of 2006, southern Lebanon was under a barrage of Israeli firepower. The war was nominally between Israel and Hezbollah operating out of Lebanon. What this film […]

Turkey’s dream of becoming the energy hub of the region, benefiting from all the pipelines either up and running or on paper, in Eurasia, is one step closer to reality. Oil companies from Italy, Russia and Turkey have signed an agreement to move ahead with the South Stream gas pipeline on the seabed of the […]