Tensions are mounting on the Korean Peninsula as North and South Korea find each other in an arms race. As a frozen conflict with its origins in the Korean war—which has not yet formally ended—both sides are attempting to resume peace talks while balancing strategic interests in the region. In 2018, both Koreas began re-establishing dialogue towards denuclearization and keeping regional peace.
Read More
Since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s takeover of the country, many questions have arisen regarding women’s rights in the country. The Taliban announced that they would lead an inclusive government where women would work “shoulder to shoulder” with men, promising to govern differently than before, says Al Jazeera.
Read More
On Tuesday, September 21, the Taliban requested to address world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York and nominated Suhail Shaheen as Afghanistan’s UN ambassador, according to Reuters. This was one of many strategic efforts by the Taliban as it continues to woo world leaders in a bid for recognition as the official political authority in Afghanistan. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates were the only countries that recognized the Taliban when it ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
Read More
The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan is deepening the country’s long-standing refugee crisis. According to the United Nations, there were around six million Afghan refugees and internally displaced people at the end of 2020. Another half a million could leave by the end of the year.
Read More
The United States intervened in Afghanistan to hunt down the perpetrators of the September 11 terror attacks and deter another incident of such magnitude. Although this mission was successful at first, the Taliban’s return to power raises serious questions and concerns about the likelihood of a renewal of terrorism in Afghanistan and its implications for the American homeland.
Read More
Violence erupted in late 2020 between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory self-declared as the Republic of Artsakh by its majority Armenian population. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the region became a tinderbox waiting to erupt into conflict following the 1994 ceasefire.
Read More
Following its establishment in 1945, the United Nations adopted a central commitment to the right to self-determination and decolonization of all non-self-governing territories. General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV), adopted in 1960, called for the “respect for the principles of equal rights and self-determination of all peoples” and declared that “all people have the right to self-determination by virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.” It is on this basis that Western Saharans continue to push for their right to self-determination and independence from Morocco.
Read More
The Spanish autonomous region of Catalonia is one with its own rich and distinct culture, customs, and language developed over thousands of years. Catalonian separatist movements have strengthened their presence and reignited the debate of whether there should be an autonomous Catalan state.
Read More
Among global separatist movements, the Kurds stand as the largest nation without an independent state and make up the fourth-largest ethnic group in the Middle East, according to BBC News. There is an estimated population of 30 million Kurds scattered across the mountainous regions within the borders of Armenia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. The Kurds often say that they have “no friends but the mountains.” The Economist also reports that “internal division has been one of their worst enemies.”
Read More
Over a year after the world first felt the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, countless vaccines have been produced at record speed. Vaccine diplomacy, the practice of using shots to enhance a country’s regional ties and global status, provide nations like China the opportunity to flex their diplomatic muscles by using resources and development to their advantage. If vaccine diplomacy is a competition, then China is winning.
Read More