China’s 2020 trade surplus increased by a quarter over the previous year and foreign reserves have hit a near-five-year high. For the whole of 2020, GDP grew 2.3 per cent, much better than the 4 per cent to 10 per cent declines for the US and euro-zone economies.
At best, Saudi Arabia is a partner whose interests often run counter to Washington’s and whose values rarely coincide with those of the United States at all.
Statistically speaking, there has never been a better time to be a woman in politics. Optimists point to the growing number of female elected leaders as a sign of progress; last year, more women served as parliamentarians, ministers, and heads of state than ever before.
Authoritarian states have not been immune to the global surge of antigovernment protests. Many autocrats have faced significant challenges from the street in recent years, especially from diffuse, leaderless protest movements of the type that have confronted numerous democracies.
Last week, the UK Supreme Court ruled by a unanimous decision that Shamima Begum, who left the country as a teenager to join ISIS, was not allowed to return and fight for her citizenship case.
While India-China border disengagement is welcome news, the 2020 Galwan Valley incident has destroyed the promise of peace. What is clear is that India and China are at the cusp of entering a period of increasingly armed, markedly competitive, and ever-cautious cohabitation.
After four years of one-way street relationships, Biden is looking to inject real reciprocity and a measure of conditionality into the U.S. relationships with Israel and Saudi Arabia.
At the start of 2021, Russia’s relations with the United States and Europe are uniformly bad. US President Joe Biden vows to be even tougher on Russia than his predecessor Donald Trump. Josep Borrell, having made the first trip to Moscow by a EU foreign policy chief in four years, certified that Europe and Russia are drifting apart, which could lead to consequences.
The ‘digital rupee’ could be India’s chance to move away from being an economy with one of the highest cash to GDP ratios.
Despite U.S. President Joe Biden’s long history as a supporter of liberal internationalism, Washington’s allies are deeply scarred by the last four years.
From its inception in 1925, the RSS has always followed the same agenda. They have set up official and unofficial organizations and even gone into coalition politics, but the organization has continuously been run by an upper-caste elite.
Throughout the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign, Biden asserted that under his leadership, the United States would be “back at the head of the table.” But a return to the pre-Trump status quo is not possible.
EU defense integration has been plagued by the issue of sovereignty and progress in high-end capability development has moved at a snail’s pace. What is needed is a clear, overarching strategic vision for European security and defense.
In a region where every aspect of daily life is affected by the war, the degree of trust in local authorities in the Donbas will be a crucial factor in shaping the future.
In 2012, archaeologists working with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power made an unsettling find at the edge of an alkali flat known as Owens Lake, at the southern end of the Owens Valley in eastern California.
As the new administration reassesses U.S. nuclear policy, it will be forced to make decisions about the future of the country’s ground-based, nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) arsenal.
President Biden has made clear that democratic values and principles are the foundation of American diplomacy. This represents an important shift away from the foreign policy of the previous four years.
While Israel will remain America’s closest ally in the Middle East, President Biden is planning a reset. Unlike his predecessor, Biden is likely to be a pro-Israeli president but not necessarily a pro-Netanyahu one.
All the complexities of trans-Pacific politics are being flattened into an escalating U.S.–China conflict. Just like polarization within a country marginalizes those who identify with neither pole, a polarized Pacific is one where the interests of even major players in Northeast and Southeast Asia get sidelined.
2030 will be a milestone for the Turkish president, who faces crucial elections and the Republic's centennial celebration. As he ramps up his charm offensive, Europe must be careful not to abdicate its values and interests.