Frozen Syria? Assessing the state of play and opportunities for engagement

On Sept. 14, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights released a statement warning that, “Syria cannot afford a return to larger-scale fighting, but that is where it may be heading.” Syria’s frontlines have been frozen since March 2020, and while cross-line and insurgent attacks continue on a near daily basis, the level of violence is significantly reduced compared to previous years.

IntelBrief: Afghanistan in a State of ‘Durable Disorder’ Under the Taliban Government

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine seems to have captured worldwide attention; yet under the Taliban, Afghanistan continues to exist in a state of ‘durable disorder,’ limping along without either fully collapsing or stabilizing.

The immediate future in Afghanistan looks bleak, with little confidence that the Taliban will be able to fix a country that seems fundamentally broken following four decades of conflict, war, and political instability.

Can Emmanuel Macron relaunch France as a global security player?

Don’t let the war win is the mantra of members of Emmanuel Macron’s close circles. This means tackling a wide range of crisis situations that have been triggered by the conflict in Ukraine.

The French president went into this weekend with a significant foreign and defence policy agenda to both promote and defend, so that Paris can carve out a role as a significant player on the world stage as well as the leading force in Europe.

IntelBrief: French Withdrawal from Mali Leaves UN Peace Operation Vulnerable

Last Wednesday, November 9, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the end of Operation Barkhane, the counterterrorism operation established to address the jihadist threat in Mali.

The departure of French counterterrorism forces will leave the UN peace operation in Mali – the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) – increasingly vulnerable to terrorist attacks.

IntelBrief: United Arab Emirates Uses Vast Financial Resources to Influence U.S. Foreign Policy

According to the Washington Post, several U.S. officials discussed with journalists a classified assessment that portrays a vast, multifaceted effort by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to influence U.S. foreign policy.

The UAE funds various lobbying efforts, reports by influential U.S. think tanks, and recruitment of ex-U.S. officials to try to shift U.S. policy in ways favorable to it and allied Persian Gulf states.

Sahara occidental : Staffan de Mistura, mission impossible 2

Why the Country’s Elites Are Struggling to Break With Putin

Even in a war that has gone poorly for Russia, the Russian Defense Ministry’s November 9 announcement of a full retreat from the city of Kherson marked a special kind of disaster. Kherson was the first major Ukrainian city seized by Moscow after the invasion, and it was one of the four regions that Russia had illegally annexed just five weeks earlier, following sham referendums. In October, the city’s occupying authorities had plastered its streets with billboards declaring that Russia would be there “forever,” and Moscow had told Russian citizens that the city’s occupation was one of the war’s major successes. But by the time of the annexation, Russian forces were already struggling to hold their lines in the face of continued Ukrainian advances. Eventually, Russian leaders were forced to withdraw and to shore up defenses around Crimea and in the east.

From the History of Global Politics and International Relations: The Clausewitzian Viewpoint of War

The focal questions about war

In dealing from both theoretical and practical points of view about war, at least six fundamental questions arise: 1) What is war?; 2) What types of war exist?; 3) Why do wars occur?; 4) What is the connection between war and justice?; 5) The question of war crimes?; and 6) Is it possible to replace war with the so-called “perpetual peace”?