The UN has approved sending 300 additional observers into Syria. It’s hard to figure out the decision since the 30 observers already there have witnessed serious breaches in the “cease-fire.” I suspect it is a signal that the Security council is serious about the cease-fire, but the UN should not commit itself to a course of action unless it is prepared to back it up. There is a possibility that back-room deals have been made between the Assad government and the UN, but it’s hard to figure out what they may include. We’ll continue to monitor the situation.
The economic crisis in Europe is beginning to affect the formerly strong northern European states. The situation in the Netherlands, once considered a country on a par with germany, is going through a difficult budget process as it tries to make sure that its budget deficit remains within the 3% EU rule. The right-wing parties once again seem to be critical to a possible coalition. We’ll see what happens in France on Sunday–that election will determine much about the future of Europe. The Czechs are also expressing great discontent.
Many people are trying to develop algorithms that can predict civil war. The effort is at least a century old, but recent quantitative techniques are making the process more reliable and usable. For those of you who are interested in a more scientific and quantitative approach to the study of world politics, this field should be of great interest.
World Politics News 
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