World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

For the first time the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, formal talks have been held between the PRC and the breakaway province of Taiwan.  In 1949, the Kuomintang leaders of China fled the mainland and set up a government in exile on the island of Taiwan.  For a long period of time, Taiwan held the Permanent Seat on the UN Security Council reserved for China, largely through the backing of Britain, France, and the United States.  That policy ended in 1972, when the US recognized that there was only one China and that the PRC was the government of China.  Nonetheless, Taiwan has remained aloof from the PRC, and a constant irritant to normal diplomatic relations in the region.  The opening of formal talks holds out the promise that a reunification might be possible.

An unknown group has launched rocket attacks at German targets in Greece.  The group claims that its attack are targeting the “German capitalist machine” in protest against the austerity measures imposed on Greece because of its budget crisis.  Germany has pushed hard for very stringent economic measures as a way to solve the budget crisis, but many in Greece believe that those measures are primarily designed to protect the loans given to Greece by German banks.  It is not clear how support this armed group has within Greece, but the escalation of violence suggests an intensification of the anxiety in Greece.

The American media coverage of the Olympics has been weird.  Some outlets seem to think that the Cold War is still going on (or, perhaps, would like to see it revived).  There are, to be sure, policy differences between Russia and the US, but the silent glee at every snafu in the Games is juvenile and in bad taste.  Jason Jones does a great job of skewering American stereotypes of Russia.