Geopolitics

• [New] Rising economic integration appears to have caused China to share in economic and political risks deriving from North Korea's crisis escalation tactics and desire to prove itself impermeable to Chinese efforts to curb North Korea's challenge to regional and international stability.
• [New] Korea and other states bordering China will accept economic dependence and political constraints in order to join a peaceful-if hierarchical-China-centered system.
• [New] China's dominantly liberal views of the consequences of economic interdependence have a realist component: economic globalization and economic interdependence could be used as strategic tools for constraining a US superpower in a web of multilateral ties.
• [New] The Southern Positioning Augmentation Network which is being jointly developed by the Australian and New Zealand governments has recently completed an 18-month trial and will become fully operational in 2023.
• [New] As a consensus develops that China is the main strategic competitor to the United States and poses a paramount security threat to the West, a realistic understanding of China's political economy is more important than ever.
• [New] Germany should increase its political and financial support for the UN's Climate Security Mechanism, strengthening its capacity to provide guidance and advice to the Peacebuilding Support Office on climate-related security risks.
• [New] Recent events in the United States, such as yesterday's storming of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, by pro-Trump rioters hoping to overturn the election result, give rise to fears about a neo-fascist wave.
• [New] Although changing political environments threaten state parks and natural resources in favor of development, the RV industry's primary destinations include state and national parks in the United States, Australia, and China.
• [New] Washington politics and policy are lining up to create a trade environment that will incentivize companies to build up their North American supply chains and invest in expanding production capacity in the United States.
• [New] Discussions between states and intense lobbying will prevent the full implementation of new laws that limit the power of global digital platforms at a country level before 2023 or 2024.
• [New] Insider threats: With the growing polarization of political views within the United States, the threat of domestic violent extremists becomes even more real from day-to-day and week-to-week.
• [New] If China were to provoke a crisis over Taiwan, whether in 2021 or in a future year, some would no doubt argue that it's not Australia's business and that supporting a US response would increase the risk of devastating Chinese military, political and economic retaliation against us.
• [New] The issue of food security will become a key issue for China's political leaders, Catechis says, and one which will require them to co-operate with the United States, the world's dominant food producer.
• [New] As the Biden administration charts its course on China policy, a coming political appointment to a key Commerce Department post could offer clues to how the White House will address security risks posed by Chinese tech companies.
• [New] A sustained economic recovery will reinforce Libya's ongoing progress on the political track and pave the way for the gradual return of political stability.
• [New] While private sector development might depend largely on the realization of political stability, encouraging small and medium enterprises and broader private sector growth can help create jobs for Libya's youth and provide alternative pathways to militia members.

Last updated: 21 February 2021