World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

The German approach to the eurozone crisis (greater fiscal austerity) gets a boost from Sarkozy.  It appears as if Angela Merkel has held fast against lending by the ECB and/or the issuance of eurobonds. Sarkozy’s move is likely to lead to the end of his government–the French economic position will now only deteriorate more quickly.  How fast France slows down is the key determinant of when the eurozone splits.  The meetings scheduled for Thursday and Friday will tell all.

Iran claims to have shot down a US drone flying over its territory.  That the US is spying on Iran is not unexpected.  The loss of a high-tech weapon to Iran (and presumably, its close ally, Russia) is a serious setback for the US.  The covert war against Iran continues.

A rare public criticism of Israel by Secretary of State Clinton.  There are a number of laws being considered by the Israeli Knesset that would alter some fundamental principles of liberal democracy.  These concerns follow an ad campaign launched by Israel to American Jews warning them of the dangers of assimilation.  Tensions between Israel and the US continue to simmer below the surface.

The violence continues in Syria, with little sign that Assad is thinking about stepping down.  The Arab League deadline to Assad is Sunday, 4 December.  Interestingly, Russia and China have isolated themselves from the Arab League with their refusal to consider sanctions–an index of how seriously both countries take the principle of non-intervention in internal affairs.  The other outlier in this standoff is, of course, Iran, who stands to lose an important ally if Assad is forced out of office.  The chess pieces are being moved every day.

As I have indicated in class, there are many issues surrounding the status of labor in the world.  The Guardian, a reliably lefty British newspaper, published a very dismal article about who produces the toys for Christmas and the conditions in which those toys are made.  Don’t get carried away by the fact that the story addresses the status of labor in China–the article could have been written about a lot of places in the world.

The question concerning German objectives in the current economic crisis in the eurozone is whether it will choose to exert hegemonic-like leadership.  It seems very clear that the internal domestic politics of Germany push it away from this role.  It is unclear, however, whether Germany can prosper without taking the necessary action to preserve the euro.  It’s a classic case of short vs. long term interests.

I am posting this article about how to use Google search more effectively as a public service.  There won’t be any questions on the quiz about this particular article.

The pressures on Iran continue to build.  The US Senate passed a very tough sanctions bill (very similar to the British sanctions that precipitated the takeover of the Embassy in Tehran).  What’s notable about the bill is that President Obama opposed the bill, but it still passed 100-0.  Jennifer Rubin, a conservative blogger at the Washington Post, interprets the bill as a sign foretelling a tougher policy vis-a-vis Iran.  The Israeli newspaper, Ha’aretz, generally a lefty-leaning paper, puts the sanctions in the context of an already ongoing war against Iran.  I won’t even speculate about how this stand-off will evolve–there are far too many variables.  But the situation is clearly getting more intractable.

The US hands over its largest military base in Iraq to the Iraqis.  It is hard to believe that the war seems to be winding down, although the difficulties facing the Iraqi people are extraordinary.  One hopes that the United States can maintain a helpful presence, one that genuinely speeds up the process of reconstruction.

A revealing chart from The Economist showing the correlation between corruption and development.  Finally, the world is beginning to take the issue of corruption seriously.

Secretary of State Clinton is in Burma, signaling the possibility of a change in US-Burmese relations.  Ending martial law will be a difficult process–each side will have to take small steps before confidence can be created.  But the risk is worth it–the Burmese people deserve a far better government.  Aung San Suu Kyi is truly one of the great heroes of the 20th and 21st centuries.

2011 was the 10th warmest year on record.  The climate talks in Durban continue, but the initial days were mostly filled with reports and few conversations about a replacement treaty for Kyoto.  The lack of media coverage is disquieting.  One would think that the world would be paying closer attention.

The world tries to figure out a proper response to the takeover of the British Embassy in Tehran.  The strongest sanctions are, perversely, the most deleterious to the global economy.  Iran’s Achilles’ Heel is its dependence on oil exports.  The world’s dependence on Iranian oil is its Achilles’ Heel.

I am not certain that this link to an article in the Financial Times will work (the FT is a subscription newspaper, but sometimes they allow access to some articles).  If it doesn’t work, let me know and I will bring a photocopy of the article to class.  But its title says a lot: “The Long Shadow of the 1930s” by Gideon Rachman.  The article assesses the likelihood of the current economic turmoil in Europe leading to the chaos of the interwar period.  Definitely creepy.

Canada announces that it does not intend to renew its commitment to the Kyoto Protocol, the international treaty designed to limit the emissions of greenhouse gases.  Not an auspicious beginning to the climate talks that began today in South Africa.

The quiz on Wednesday, 30 November, for the Mount Holyoke class will be on the news articles from 25-28 November, and the following readings:

Lecture Notes on the Responsiblity to Protect

Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. Revised Edition ed. London and New York: Verso, 1991, pp. 5-7

Alexander Wendt, “Anarchy is what States Make of it: The Social Construction of Power Politics,” International Organization, Vol. 46, No. 2 (Spring, 1992), pp. 391-425 (Excerpts)

Gary J. Bass, Freedom’s Battle: The Origins of Humanitarian Intervention (New York: Vintage Books, 2008), excerpts from Chapter One, “Humanitarianism or Imperialism?” pp. 11-24

Adam Curtis, “Goodies and Baddies,” BBC News, 28 March 2011

Noman Hanif, “The Caliphate: Islam’s Challenge to Global Order?” Media Monitors Network, January 31, 2006

The Arab League made good on its threat to impose sanctions on Syria.  The Syrian press reported the news in a very matter-of-fact manner.  The Iranian press had a different take on the event.

Some members of the Israeli government have called for stricter sanctions on Hamas in the Gaza Strip in order to signal a warning against reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah (which rules in the West Bank).  There is growing concern that the instability in Egypt is creating concern within Israel of the possibility of a less sympathetic Egyptian government.  It would be very difficult for Israel to exert its control over the Gaza without strong Egyptian support.

The elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo are nearing to an end.  The stakes are extraordinarily high for the country, the region, and Africa as a whole.  We’ll see if Joseph Kabila will hold onto power.

A US military strike within Pakistan has killed Pakistani security forces.  The violations of Pakistani sovereignty have been going on for some time, but Pakistan has denied that US forces are attacking terrorist suspects within its borders.  This time the denials will ring hollow and Pakistan is appropriately angry that the attack went so awry.  Relations between the US and Pakistan have deteriorated steadily since the US operation against Osama bin Laden, and this incident will resonate loudly for some time.  It remains to be seen whether the US-Pakistani alliance can survive.

The protests in Egypt continue to grow, ahead of the first round of parliamentary elections scheduled for Monday.  It appears as if the movement is a revival of the one in the spring, and not instigated by the Muslim Brotherhood or any other organized group in anticipation of the return of civilian government.  The focus of the protests seems to be exclusively on the role of the military in shaping the next political round.

Discussions on the likelihood of the break-up of the eurozone are proliferating.  This article in The Economist offers one of the best summaries of the issues I’ve read thus far.

The next round of climate talks begins on Monday in Durban, South Africa.  The last climate conference in Copenhagen was an unmitigated disaster–no agreements of note were reached, and the division between rich and poor countries on mutual responsibilities in protecting the climate deepened.   The Durban meeting opens with very low expectations, but the urgency of the issue is acute.

The European economic situation became sharply worse this week, and today was dramatically bad.  Italian 10-year bonds rates rose to almost 8%, Hungary’s bonds were classified as “junk,” and Belgium’s credit status was downgraded from AA+ to AA.  European banks are trying to sell assets to raise capital, but there are no buyers–no one wants to be holding euros.  Pressure is building on the European Central Bank to buy sovereign debt from European countries, but Germany adamantly refuses to allow that course of action.

You’ve heard of the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), but now people are talking about a group of countries with even faster growth rates:  the CIVETS (Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey, and South Africa).  Keeping up with acronyms in world politics is an impossible task.

The Arab League’s ultimatum to Syria will be tested soon.  Odds are that Syria will not submit to the League’s ultimatum.

The failure of the Germans to sell all their bonds today signals a dark turn for the euro.  I don’t think that the lack of demand for German bonds reflects a lack of confidence in the German economy (although there have been signs of an economic slowdown there) but rather the fear of investors to hold anything denominated in euro.  That fear suggests that the euro will fall in value.  Not a good day for the European Union.  But it’s not a good day for the rest of the world, either.  The economic slowdown in Europe is having a serious effect on economic activity in China.

Truth.

Listen.

Have a great Thanksgiving!