"Good Riddance to 2018" - Javier Solana

Those who oppose democracy, the rule of law, and multilateralism have had a good year. But there have also been signs suggesting that those who uphold these principles have not lost the will to fight back.

"Donald Trump Versus the Jungle" - Thomas L. Friedman

The president’s fantasy is that the U.S. can ignore the global forces of nature.

"Dérèglement mondial" - Anthony Samrani

C’est la revanche de Hobbes sur Kant. Le retour à un système international où les normes sont sans cesse remises en question et où seule compte la loi du plus fort. La dynamique est enclenchée depuis plusieurs années déjà avec la montée d’un mouvement global, bien qu’enraciné dans un cadre national, qui se caractérise notamment par la progression de l’autoritarisme et le rejet de la démocratie libérale. Il en est ainsi de la Russie de Vladimir Poutine, de la Chine de Xi Jinping, de la Turquie de Recep Tayyip Erdogan ou encore de la Hongrie de Viktor Orban.

"PHANTOM DEMOCRACY: A PUZZLE AT THE HEART OF CHINESE POLITICS" - John Keane

The notion of a globally menacing ‘authoritarian China’ is too simplistic. Dig deeper, and you will find signs of local democratic experiments, thanks to its skittish rulers afraid of losing control

"The Western Crack-Up" - Javier Solana

By imposing tariffs on US allies and cozying up to brutal dictators such as North Korea's Kim Jong-un, US President Donald Trump is sowing deep mistrust within the West. But if Trump thinks a divide-and-rule strategy can "make America great again," he is in for a rude awakening.

"Who Lost the South China Sea?" - Brahma Chellaney

The South China Sea is central to the contest for strategic influence in the larger Indo-Pacific region. Unless the US adopts a stronger policy to contain Chinese expansionism there, the widely shared vision of a free, open, and democratic-led Indo-Pacific will give way to an illiberal, repressive regional order.

"WHY DID THE U.S. AND ITS ALLIES BOMB LIBYA? CORRUPTION CASE AGAINST SARKOZY SHEDS NEW LIGHT ON OUSTING OF GADDAFI." - Joe Penney

SEVEN YEARS AFTER the popular uprising against Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi and the NATO intervention that removed him from power, Libya is extremely fractured and a source of regional instability. But while Congress has heavily scrutinized the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi a year after Gaddafi’s overthrow and death, there has been no U.S. investigation into the broader question of what led the U.S. and its allies to intervene so disastrously in Libya.

"Calling the Chinese Bully’s Bluff" - Brahma Chellaney

The more power China has accumulated, the more it has attempted to achieve its foreign-policy objectives with bluff, bluster, and bullying. But, as its Himalayan border standoff with India’s military continues, the limits of this approach are becoming increasingly apparent.

"A Future for Western Sahara" - Ana Palacio

International politics is replete with unresolved territorial disputes, from conflicting claims by China and Japan over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea to the prolonged disagreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. But one such dispute, over Western Sahara, is often overlooked, despite the very real possibility of resolving it.

"Assad est-il réellement le moindre mal ?" - Anthony Samrani

Cartoon de Tom

Pourquoi les Occidentaux n'auraient rien à gagner à se rapprocher du régime syrien.

"What's Trump's plan for Syria? Five different policies in two weeks" - Spencer Ackerman

Until late last month, Donald Trump was fine with Bashar al-Assad remaining in power. Since then, his administration has struggled to articulate a clear plan

"Extraordinarily Dangerous: Chomsky on How Trump's Threats Toward N. Korea Could Backfire"

President Trump will be meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday at his Florida resort Mar-a-Lago. Ahead of the meeting, Trump said in an interview with the Financial Times he would be willing to take unilateral action against North Korea over its nuclear weapons program. Trump said, "If China is not going to solve North Korea, we will." His warnings come after the U.S. and the South Korean militaries staged weeks-long training drills throughout March, while North Korea launched rocket engine and missile tests. For more, we speak with world-renowned political dissident, linguist and author Noam Chomsky.

"The Dalai Lama Factor in Sino-Indian Relations" - Shashi Tharoor

Relations between India and China haven’t been particularly warm in recent months. But they have lately taken on an icy chill, with Chinese leaders furious over the Dalai Lama’s visit to the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as its own. On April 8, over loud protests from China’s government, the Dalai Lama addressed devotees from far and wide at the historic monastery in the border town of Tawang, where the sixth Dalai Lama was born more than three centuries ago.

"Putin’s Dance with the Taliban" - Brahma Chellaney

Russia may be in decline economically and demographically, but, in strategic terms, it is a resurgent power, pursuing a major military rearmament program that will enable it to continue expanding its global influence. One of the Kremlin’s latest geostrategic targets is Afghanistan, where the United States remains embroiled in the longest war in its history.

"TRUMP, PUTIN, AND THE NEW COLD WAR" - Evan Osnos, David Remnick, Joshua Yaffa

What lay behind Russia's interference in the 2016 election - and what lies ahead?

"Duterte’s Flip-Flop Into Bed With China Is a Disaster for the United States" - Max Boot

With the Philippine president ditching Washington for Beijing, the contest to control the South China Sea just got a lot more complicated.

"India Stops Turning the Other Cheek" - Shashi Tharoor

For two and a half decades, Pakistan has pursued a policy of inflicting on India “death by a thousand cuts” – bleeding the country through repeated terrorist attacks, rather than attempting an open military confrontation which it cannot win against India’s superior conventional forces. The logic is that India’s response to this tactic would always be tempered by its desire not to derail its ambitious economic development plans, as well as the Indian government’s unwillingness to face the risk of a nuclear war.

"Há Durão, mas também há Guterres" - Daniel Oliveira

... Concordo que há razões para satisfação com a eleição de António Guterres, discordo que ela resulte de qualquer melhoria da imagem do País. A primeira razão para satisfação é negativa. O golpe alemão não resultou. O processo transparente, prometido nesta eleição, venceu. A segunda está no perfil de António Guterres. Muito mais do que ser português, conta na sua candidatura ele vir da ACNUR. A escolha de um homem vindo desta frente da ONU é um sinal de preocupação com aquele que será, até mais por razões ambientais do que políticas, um problema cada vez mais grave. E estou convencido que António Guterres virá a ser o melhor secretário-geral que a ONU teve até hoje. O lugar assenta-lhe como uma luva. A terceira razão é interna. Ver premiado o percurso de António Guterres, que saiu da política nacional para continuar a entregar-se ao serviço público, é uma boa forma de ilustrar uma frase feita: que na política há de tudo. Há Durão mas também há Guterres.