World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

North Korea has launched a satellite into space.  The launch proves that the North Koreans have the capability to launch a long-range missile with the capacity to carry a nuclear warhead.  The UN Security Council has passed a resolution forbidding long-range missile tests by North Korea and this launch clearly violates that prohibition.  North Korea believes it has the right to conduct satellite launches and it is impossible for the Security Council to deny a state the right to pursue that option.  But in this particular case the difference between a weapons launch and a satellite launch is negligible.  All neighboring states are furious at the launch, but it difficult to figure out what an appropriate sanction might be.

The North Korean Rocket Launch

The Syrian Government gains against rebel forces around the city of Aleppo has led other states to contemplate intervention.  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has indicated that Turkey should be prepared to enter the conflict indicating that Turkey should not repeat the same mistake it made when it refused to participate in the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in March 2003.  Saudi Arabia and the United Arab  Emirates has also indicated that they are willing to send ground troops into Syria.   Such interventions would pose a serious escalation in the conflict and would undoubtedly force the Russians and Iranians to make a countermove.

China is carrying out a policy that has serious consequences for the global economy.  For years China has been a major exporter of manufactured products, selling far more to outsiders than it purchases from them.  That behavior allowed the Chinese to build up foreign reserves that reached nearly $4 trillion–the largest in the world.  Recently, however, the Chinese have been forced to sell some of these reserves in order to maintain the value of its currency, the yuan.  A state props up its currency by buying the currency on the open market.  The steady reduction in the Chinese foreign reserves have led some to question whether the yuan can be maintained at its current value.   If outside investors believe that the yuan cannot be maintained, there will be a flight of foreign money from China, perhaps leading to a marked reduction in the economic growth of the country.