Geopolitics

• [New] Leveraging funding to achieve a political settlement in Syria: The United States, the EU, and Arab countries could play a role in a future reconstruction of Syria, using financial resources as leverage to produce preferred outcomes, such as a reduced Iranian presence and influence in Syria. / Wilson Center
• [New] In the short term, due to geopolitical uncertainties, China's tech development could be slowed a bit. / Nikkei Asia
• [New] China is keen to avoid economic collapse in the North in case it triggers a humanitarian crisis and political turmoil that could end in the peninsula being controlled by South Korea and the US. / The Guardian
• [New] As global populism has intensified in recent years, the Western Balkans face the potential risk of conflicts between parties appealing to major ethnic groups. / Edison
• [New] The CCP grasped the health crisis as an opportunity to fortify its political allegiances with Turkish actors who could potentially be useful for the advance of its Xinjiang interests. / Sinopsis
• [New] China could benefit from greater involvement of Xinjiang's Muslims and their transnational ties and potential in its diplomacy toward Central Asia and the Middle East, particularly since it considers Xinjiang the BRI's core region. / Sinopsis
• [New] The strategic reality of global politics is that there are now two genuine superpowers, the U.S. and China, both of which know that at some stage in the coming decades their military and economic strength will become effectively equal. / The Mainichi
• [New] Even though Mexico now fulfills the broadest definition of a liberal democracy, the rise of drug cartels signifies a large threat to stability. / FSI
• [New] Crises of political violence, the economic and civic collapse of Venezuela, severe natural and weather disasters, and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have caused people to seek different livelihoods outside their countries' borders. / The Globe and Mail
• [New] Chad's stability is in Nigeria's interest as it will make the environment conducive enough for the implementation of the new Lake Chad policies which are crucial to returning economic stability to the troubled area. / Nairametrics
• [New] To keep up with China and other rival countries and maintain America's leadership role, geopolitical dominance and global supremacy, they contend, the U.S. will need higher rates of population growth than recently experienced in order to achieve much larger future population increases. / TheHill
• [New] China is the largest contributor to IUU fishing worldwide and poses a geopolitical threat to economic stability in the Indo-Pacific and abroad. / Defense One
• [New] The Chinese people will never concede to anyone attempting to challenge the Communist Party of China, China's political system, or its structure of leadership. / Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China
• [New] There are opportunities for the United States and others interested in advancing peace and reform to support longer term processes and political dialogue to develop a new road map to sustain the political opening, decrease polarization and end political violence. / United States Institute of Peace
• [New] The expectation of common defence, of common protection in a world of threats - electronic as well as physical - underpins faith in a political system. / NZ Herald
• [New] In Israel, political parties coalesced around anti-Palestinian policies without fear of alienating a vital ally that was ostensibly aiming to broker Israeli-Palestinian peace. / Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
• COVID-19 has already widened global gender gaps, as measured by indicators of economic opportunities, education, health and political leadership. / Bundesbank
• Half of Myanmar's population could be living in poverty in 2022, driven by the combination of the pandemic and the political crisis sparked by the military coup. / SBS News
• The economic weight of China, coupled with the centralized command structure of the Chinese Communist Party, will provide the country leverage in international politics that will be difficult for the United States to counter in East Asia. / U.S. Naval Institute

Last updated: 09 May 2021