Author: M Barbu

Is US Dollar Hegemony Under Threat? – Analysis

This analysis provides a reassessment of dollar hegemony and power relations in the international monetary system.

Summary
Despite renewed predictions that dollar hegemony has reached its peak, the greenback continues to dominate global trade, finance and the reserve portfolios of central bankers around the world. But can high inflation, geopolitical tensions and the sanctions levied on Russia by the US and its allies dent its global dominance? Focusing on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the sanctions on Russia, and the ‘steep hike’ of interest rates by the Federal Reserve, this paper reassesses power relations in the international monetary system and analyses the state of dollar hegemony. It finds that, although the US dollar still reigns supreme, there are certain undercurrents that indicate the slow erosion of its global dominance and the gradual shift towards a multipolar currency order. To prevent, or at least slow down, the pace of further fragmentation, the West ought to re-evaluate the use of financial sanctions as a foreign policy tool and offer the Global South more voice in international monetary relations.

The Wagner Group: A Tool Of Hybrid Warfare – Analysis

The Wagner Group has furthered Russia’s foreign policy objectives around the globe. The organisation remained secretive till July 2022, when the presence of the group was accepted in the Russian media. The Wagner has gained infamy for its role in the ongoing ‘Special Military Operation’ in Ukraine. There are, however, signs of growing schism between Wagner and the Russian Ministry of Defence.

Turkey’s jailed Kurdish leader quits active politics after Erdogan’s victory

Selahattin Demirtas’ announcement comes amid heated public debate over whether Kemal Kilicdaroglu would resign after he was defeated by President Erdogan in Sunday’s runoff.

The ongoing public debate in Turkey over whether the country’s main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu would resign the Republican People’s Party leadership after his presidential election loss took a surprising twist on Wednesday with the announcement of a departure from another opposition figure.

Turkey’s beleaguered Kurds weigh new strategies after Erdogan’s win

The key question following the vote is whether the alliance between the HDP and the main opposition Republican People’s Party and its Table of Six partners can endure.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s electoral victory is roiling the country’s Kurdish movement, with its most popular leader declaring from jail that he is withdrawing from active politics. The announcement Wednesday by Selahattin Demirtas, former co-chair of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), presages debate on a future course to be charted ahead of critical local elections that are to be held in March 2024. Kurdish voters are poised to play a key role as they did in 2019 when they helped the opposition wrest key cities, notably Ankara and Istanbul, from Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Sudan Conflict Straining Fragility of Its Neighbors

The conflict between Sudan’s rival military factions is triggering massive population displacements that are stressing the region’s already fragile coping systems.

Highlights

The conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) commanded by General Abdel Fattah al Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) headed by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo has thrown into turmoil a region that was already straining under record levels of humanitarian stresses. Even prior to the outbreak of conflict in Sudan, there were more than 13 million people in Sudan and its 7 neighbors who were refugees or internally displaced (IDP). More than 40 million people in these countries were facing acute food insecurity. Resources to assist these populations will now be even further stretched.

Sudan in Crisis

Amid protracted conflict in Sudan, the United States should work to lower the temperature amongst external actors, and support Sudanese citizens, who remain steadfast in their aspirations for a civilian-led government.

EUROPEAN REBEL WITH RUSSIAN ROOTS

Classical anarchism through the eyes of the Russian radical Mikhail Bakunin.
The history of true anarchism with a Russian aftertaste is closely connected with the personality of Mikhail Bakunin, whose contribution to the fate of the whole world turned out to be colossal. A real Russian man, brought up on European philosophy, his main goal was to create a world where all people will be equal and free, and where lives will not be measured by the thickness of a wallet or the height of a social pedestal. Bakunin’s utopian ideas ran counter to the thoughts of Marx, for whom the radical suddenly turned out to be nothing more than “that fat Russian.” So who is he, and is his philosophy alive today?

CONFLICT IN UKRAINE. GENESIS

It is quite convenient for representatives of the Western community to rally around NATO narratives about the causes of the armed conflict in Ukraine and not put themselves in a position of discomfort of doubt and testing of the postulates that dominate public opinion.