Months after the outbreak of the uprising in Syria, Damascus continues its steady descent into sectarian strife and is at the epicenter of a regional struggle that may well shape the new political contours of the Middle East.
While IR has grown far beyond its boundaries, the plurality of what we refer to as “international relations” has changed so dramatically that it is difficult for students to decide exactly where they should fall on the spectrum.
The political positioning of Russia as a European country has never been seriously challenged in Russian political discourse, which asserts Russia as a European country in terms of its history, culture and identity. Yet, relations with European countries are marked by a series of crises.
Greece is trapped in a vicious economic crisis. The situation in Greece already is a disaster and the strain on the Greek people is intolerable. The consequences of a ‘Grexit’ are even grimmer.
While it might seem optimistic to think that a tool for forecasting genocide can break down the political calculations that so often seem to obstruct effective responses to genocide, it is surely a hope worth chasing.
Current events suggest that the trajectory of religious extremism in Central Asia is likely to persist. Policies of repression and the exclusion of Islamic groups from legitimate governmental procedures will continue to cause them to seek out different ways to express their grievances.
The focus on the South China Sea at the Shangri-La Dialogue will be a welcome addition to the diplomatic efforts to avoid conflict. But it will take many more years of concerted diplomacy to settle this thorny issue.
U.S. ratification of the Law of the Sea Treaty will eventually happen, not for any foreseeable political change of heart, but for the all too sadly foreseeable continued disappearance of the Arctic ice in an arena in which the United States has no say – but will need one.
One can see why some would argue that the Annan plan has failed. However, it is important to retain a realistic perspective about how much a third-party mediator can hope to achieve given the circumstances.
Russia has a role to play as the regional leader of the Eurasian Union, and perhaps of the former Soviet space. Putin pragmatically recognises the importance of the Soviet Union’s legacy.
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