Author: M Barbu

Biden’s Mideast Visit Doesn’t Seem to Make Sense. So Why Is He Coming?

With all due respect to the commentary about Saudi oil production, there may be other reasons behind Biden’s Middle East trip next week, at a time when he has so many problems at home

Ostensibly, U.S. President Joe Biden’s trip to Saudi Arabia and Israel next week doesn’t make sense. The cost-benefit calculus is questionable as the tangible costs are clear and significantly outweigh any possible benefits. Unless it’s about something other than just visiting Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia Reportedly Mulls Trilateral Meeting With Israel, U.S.

An unprecedented meeting could happen as soon as this month, according to a report citing one of Mohammed bin Salman’s advisors as U.S. President Biden is slated to arrive in Israel

An unprecedented meeting could happen as soon as this month, according to a report citing one of Mohammed bin Salman’s advisors as U.S. President Biden is slated to arrive in Israel

Inflation, recession fears and tax cuts: any new UK chancellor faces an unenviable in-tray

The flood of ministerial resignations from UK prime minister Boris Johnson’s government in recent days started with Rishi Sunak’s resignation as UK chancellor of the exchequer on July 5 2022, alongside health secretary Sajid Javid’s. His resignation letter cited differences of opinion over the economy, saying that a “low-tax, high-growth economy and world-class public services” could only be “responsibly delivered if we are prepared to work hard, make sacrifices and take difficult decisions”.

Summit speed read: How the G7 and NATO pushed back on Putin

Heading into this week’s Group of Seven (G7) and NATO summits, many observers (and the Kremlin) anticipated a weakening of Western support for Ukraine as inflation, soaring energy prices, and domestic political distractions continued to mount in the United States and many European countries.

Experts react: Boris Johnson is resigning. What’s next for the United Kingdom on the world stage?

Boris Johnson announced on Thursday that he would leave his post as prime minister of the United Kingdom as soon as a replacement from within the Conservative Party is selected, after a series of scandals resulted in a revolt from within his administration. So what happens now to the “Global Britain” that Johnson was trying to build? We reached out to our experts to gauge the reaction in foreign capitals to the drama in Westminster, and what the future might hold for the United Kingdom.

The Myth of the Global

Why Regional Ties Win the Day

Aconstant and largely unquestioned refrain in foreign policy is that the world has globalized. Closets are full of clothes stitched in other countries; electronics and cars are often assembled far from where consumers live. U.S. investment flows into Asian markets, and Indians decamp to the United States for graduate school. The numbers show the magnitude of international exchange. Trade among all countries hovers around $20 trillion, a nearly tenfold increase from 1980. International capital flows also grew exponentially during that period, from $500 billion a year to well over $4 trillion. And nearly five times as many people are traveling across borders compared with four decades ago.

Nigeria’s Second Independence

Why the Giant of Africa Needs to Start Over

Nigeria has always seemed like an impossibility. From the moment of its independence in 1960, observers questioned the country’s viability as a multiethnic, multireligious state. How could a country divided among two major religions and hundreds of different ethnic groups possibly stay together? When the devastating Nigerian civil war broke out in 1967, that skepticism appeared warranted. Perhaps, many concluded, Nigeria wasn’t meant to be.