Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov delivered a speech to the United Nations that was sharply critical of US foreign policy. His language was direct:
“Washington has openly declared its right to unilateral use of force anywhere to uphold its own interests ……Military interference has become a norm – even despite the dismal outcome of all power operations that the U.S. has carried out over the recent years.”
Lavrov cited the US interventions in Kosovo in 1999, Iraq in 2003, the war in Afghanistan, and the 2011 bombing of Libya. He was also critical of US actions against the Islamic State.
After a long period of negotiations, Afghanistan inaugurated Ashraf Ghani as its next President and Abdullah Abdullah as chief executive officer. The two men replace Hamid Karzai who had been President of the country since 2004. The election was highly contested and for a period of time it did not appear as if the succession would be smooth or legitimate. However, the US Secretary of State John Kerry worked diligently to achieve a resolution. The arrangement is an ad hoc one and likely quite fragile. The US is going to have to work very hard to assure the success of the new government.
Dominique Moisi is a Professor at the L’Institut d’études politiques de Paris (Sciences Po). He has written an essay using balance of power theory to explain contemporary world politics. The essay is insightful and the parallels are intriguing. But I do not think that the political dynamics of 1815 are comparable to 2014, although some states (like Russia) are clearly playing by the old rules.
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