Diplomacy and International Politics

Russia was absent from Africa for two decades while the European Union, the US and China expanded their relations with the rising states of the continent. Russia’s trade has remained small, in 2018 about $ 17 billion for all of Africa compared with the EU’s $ 156 billion with sub-Saharan Africa alone. But Russia’s posture in Africa is beginning to pivot to the continent.

President Donald Trump, convinced that he alone can break stalemates with adversarial counterparts on trade and security, will put his theory to the test in Argentina this week. Global markets and foreign capitals are eyeing him anxiously.

This year’s Halifax International Security Forum paid respect to the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One, but in its final plenary session, Future Tense: Our World in Ten, the attention shifted to the future. How will the issues discussed throughout this year’s Forum play out over the next decade? Will democratic states be able to defend their values and institutions from growing threats like great power politics and cyber-warfare? This diverse set of panelists spoke confidently and optimistically about the resilience of democracies to withstand this challenge.

Karl Kaiser, Senior Associate of the Belfer Center's Project on Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship, gives his view on the recent U.S. administration's criticism of the International Criminal Court in the latest issue of Metro U.N. magazine.

"What happens when, after another dozen major attacks, the chain of their barbarism outpaces the chain of our human solidarity? When is the permissible moment to start asking if we can muster as much wisdom and realism to fight terror as we do to harness emotions of solidarity? The recent increasing pace and widening geographic scope of terror suggest we are dealing with a qualitatively new kinds of terrorists — but the policy responses of governments and the emotional responses of entire societies suggest we have no idea how to respond to quell this monster."

Rami Khouri discusses Tunisia's notable yet often understated progress on the road to democracy.