Reflectii

What is the global refugee crisis?

There are now 82 million forcibly displaced people around the world—more than at any time in modern history. These are people who have fled extreme dangers, whether to escape relentless bombing, an invading army, gang violence, or other life-threatening circumstances.

Those who have been uprooted from their homes often face further struggles on their journey to find safety, including lack of access to essential needs like clean water, food, shelter, personal security, and health care.

Abstract

Although a significant body of literature in the field of International Relations has emerged over the past decade proclaiming the coming end of American primacy – whether due to American decline, the rise of China and other emerging powers, or a combination of both – this article argues that when considered objectively, the United States’ primacy and position as the arbiter of the international order is safe for the time being. Despite apparent cracks in the so called liberal international order, especially since the election of Donald Trump in late 2016, this article argues that due to the United States’ privileged financial position, the liberal international order remains largely resolute and continues to privilege the United States over the rest. However, this article argues that the growth of cryptocurrencies potentially undermines American primacy because it threatens the privileged position of the US dollar as the unchallenged global reserve currency. Independent cryptocurrencies, due to their privacy and decentralization, operate beyond the scope and power of the state, giving them the potential to be counter-hegemonic. Furthermore, potential revisionist states – especially China or Russia – may try and weaponize cryptocurrencies to challenge the United States. While this article acknowledges the volatility of independent cryptocurrencies and the inherent limitations of state-backed ones, it is argued that, regardless, the technological revolution they are precipitating is disruptive and should eventually undermine and change the international financial system. This, in turn, could hasten the decline of the United States from its current prime position and arbiter of the international order.

The liberal international order (LIO) has long been playing a central role in current analyses of and debates over U.S. foreign policy. Even though there are numbers of different attributions and characterizations, the LIO comprises first several institutions that has been created by the US after the second World War. Those institutions include security alliances in Europe (NATO) and Asia (the US bilateral hub and spoke system), Bretton Woods institutions and the United Nations (Glaser 2019). LIO comprises several normative assets such as openness, free-trade, democracy promotion, freedom, respect for human rights as well. Therefore, LIO is generally defined as an international system in which norms, rules, obligations and rights are broadly settled under institutional procedures and they are followed by the community of nations (Ikenberry 2001, p.36). Thus, what LIO is an aggregation of these rules and institutions, many of which Western (American) in their origin.

Apesar de, nos últimos meses, a questão dos refugiados não ter estado em foco nas agendas mediáticas, há migrantes que continuam a arriscar a vida no Mediterrâneo à procura de paz.

The U.S. military has been fighting the Global War on Terror (GWOT) for more than two decades now. This means that for the first time in American history a servicemember can have both enlisted and retired during an active war. Further, at no time in its history has the U.S. sustained urban combat for this length of time.

The Shia Ulema Council at a press conference on Tuesday urged the Taliban to ensure that they will treat all faiths and ethnicities with equality and justice.

They said the next government should ensure the participation of all religions and ethnicities.

The lightning-quick advance by the Taliban rapidly overran Afghanistan and led to the absolute collapse of the Afghan army and security forces.

As the Taliban were posing for pictures inside the presidential palace, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was fleeing the country to Uzbekistan even before the United States could withdraw its own diplomats. Crowds were rushing to the tarmac of Kabul airport trying to get out before the Taliban take over.

With the Taliban sweeping through provincial capitals, and massing near Kabul, the Afghan government is thus far vowing to resist. In this Q&A, Crisis Group experts Laurel Miller and Andrew Watkins explain that outside powers’ priority should now be to minimise further human suffering.

Introduction by the editor and translator: To preface, I am well aware that the opinion line taken in this guest post will come across as very controversial. That said, I would urge those who claim they want to listen to local Syrian voices about the situation in Idlib to take seriously this guest post, written by a friend from the village of Qalb Lawze in the Jabal al-Summaq area of north Idlib province. The current status quo in Idlib may well be better than the alternatives, but one should also recognise the costs at which it has come. Among other things, Uyghurs who have no business being in Syria have seized and occupied homes of many of the original inhabitants of Qalb Lawze. The original Druze inhabitants of Qalb Lawze who have remained were long ago forced to declare conversion to Sunni Islam, and even so the Uyghurs, who belong to a jihadist faction called Katibat al-Ghuraba’ al-Turkistan, have treated them with disdain and hostility, and their abuses have not been held to account.