Group items tagged

This is a little random, but I stumbled upon this interesting infographic. Fun Fact: China exports to the US are valued $337.8 billion (roughly 15% of our total imports)

Highlights the fact that we would be in BIG trouble if our relationship with China went downhill- which may be a reason that we haven't gotten too involved with their government, even with all its problems.

Further development in the relationship between the US and Russia in Syria. John Kerry will meet with Russia's Sergey Lavrov in Lausanne, Switzerland on Saturday along with foreign ministers from a few other countries that support the rebels and possibly Iran (which supports Assad). PS: This article is way more interesting than my first one so I recommend this one more unless you're in the mood to question humanity and be sad.

I read this article and Aleisha's article about the Syrian civil war, and I was surprised at how complicated the conflict is. I also was not aware of the growing tension between the United States and Russia, so it was interesting reading about the power dynamic happening again. The CNN article, published just one day before the NYT article, portrays US involvement very differently, so I'm interested to see how that develops.

A follow-up to the article I posted earlier about the dispute with China over maritime territory. It is interesting to watch as tensions between two of the world's greatest superpowers, one economic and one political, are resolved; neither country could thrive without the other, whereas the two governmental systems are so incompatible. The way in which the United States resolves the maritime conflict with China could very well be an indicator for the continued relationship, and future relationship, between the two countries.

Interesting article on the US's action and relationships in the middle east right now given the current violence in the West Bank and Gaza. Also, the article gives us insight on the relationship between Israel and the US after the controversial Iran Deal.

Do you think that prisoner swaps are a good thing for countries to have fair deals, or is the fact that these countries are taking prisoners for minor reasons a problem in the first place? Does this situation really help settle tensions with Iran, or does it establish a problematic relationship?

This is a really thought provoking and I found this quote specifically interesting: "But another senior administration official who briefed reporters on Saturday said he was "hopeful" the trade could signal a future willingness by Iran to discuss its broader relationship with Washington."

This is a little older but I feel as if it still is topical in unraveling Mexico's complex foreign policy

"Some democratic countries like Turkey, which has a growing relationship with China, were not invited to the gathering, while democracies with authoritarian tendencies like far-right Jair Bolsonaro's Brazil and Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi's India, which has antagonistic ties with Beijing, were included.  Turkey is both a NATO ally and the Middle East's most powerful democracy. But for Washington, it is not Turkey's democratic system but the country's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's more independent political mindset - which sees no problem acquiring Russian S-400s against Washington's protests due to Turkey's air defence needs - that is a problem. "

At the end of this article, links to "Better Understand the Russia-Ukraine War History: Here's what to know about Russia and Ukraine's relationship and the causes behind the conflict. On the Ground: Russian and Ukrainian forces are using a bevy of weapons as a deadly war of attrition grinds on in eastern Ukraine."

In our last few classes we have focused on Jamaica and how its relationship with the IMF has greatly impacted Jamaica's economy. As we all know, Greece is in desperate need of economic help, which is why finance officials from all over the world have come together to decide on how to rescue Greece. But that is easier said than done. This article mostly explains that the IMF wants to change their original agreement with Greece, but Germany, the biggest contributor to the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) wants to keep the original policy.

I think it is interesting how the IMF's stance has varied between Jamaica and Greece. From what I understood from the movie, the IMF did not give Jamaica the time of day when it asked for a modification on its loan to make their economy improved and sustainable- their interest seemed more in making it a reliable market place for foreign exports. Greece, on the other hand, has exports that other rich consumer countries want (shoes, oil, and cars come to mind), so it gets greater consideration from the IMF. Since these consumer countries represent a significant portion of the voting power within the IMF, the interests of the IMF and of Germany are understandibly different: Germany wants its money back, and the other countries want Greece to reestablish a functioning economy so they can et their goodies. Side note: Germany has 6% of the voting power in the IMF, and the US has close to 17%, http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/memdir/members.aspx

Great find, Michelle! So relevant to our Jamaica discussion.

This situation reflects on Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations" in an interesting way. It appears that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad prioritized Syria's relationship with Iran, what some might call a civilizational tie, over the political interests of Syria as an individual state in his decision to turn down a deal with Israel that would have returned the Golan Heights to Syria's control. The discussion of the influence of upcoming elections in Israel and the US on the release of this news also adds an interesting dimension. Is it the Obama administration that is manipulating the facts about these peace talks so as to appear more effective in Middle East policy? Or is it Netanyahu who is misrepresenting his involvement in an effort to appear strong and unyielding towards the rest of the Arab world in an election year?

Interesting!

This article is about cyberattacks on the various companies, specifically Saudi Aramco, an oil company. Apparently Iran is behind the attacks. I find it interesting how cyber warfare might become an even bigger part of conflicts today. It's also interesting how the US and Israel have both been attacking companies from Iran, which isn't scrutinized, yet as soon as Iran does it, it's a huge issue.

I think the relationship between nuclear security and cyber attacks is interesting. The US does not receive much criticism for deploying Stuxnet (designed to damage Iran's nuclear program), but Iran is criticized for deploying computer viruses aimed at other elements of US defense. This raises interesting questions about whether or not Western states have a right to deny non-Western states nuclear acquisition.

Great point in your post about emphasis of investigations, Robert

Illustrating how the Bank's role in Latin America and the Caribbean has evolved in recent decades, countries in the region now turn increasingly to the institution for more than direct lending, including such services as risk insurance, commodity swaps, and climate adaptation finance.

The region is doing worse. "Latin America and the Caribbean finds itself in the fifth year of an economic slowdown and the second consecutive year of GDP contraction. Worsening external conditions coupled with domestic challenges have reduced expectations for regional growth to -0.7 percent in 2015, with economic activity projected to drop to -1.3 percent in 2016." But also, Mexico and the Caribbean are experiencing 2% growth, while South America is declining 1.7% or more. Why?

I think it is because (and this is just a theory, I do not know for certain) Mexico and the Caribbean have a direct relationship with the USA, which gives them extra economical assistance outside the World Bank.

- China's consumption boom is not enough to succour the world economy. - Today, rising from the once-modest streets is a gaudy building intended for a new kind of model citizen: consumers.

Definitely has a lot of interesting insights, particularly the relationship between tourism and consumption in China

It is interesting to note the effects of China's one child policy and how it affects the workforce and overall economy. In fact, it seems only logical that China's economy continues to struggle through the generations of only children. In my opinion, that was a obvious and significant flaw of the one child policy and I wonder how the government has prepared to address it in coming years as the work force continues to shrink.

This article is about the importance of Germany to the EU and the relationship between East Germany and the EU. The article makes the point that East Germans did not have to gain acceptance to the EU, but rather when East and West Germany came together, they were automatically accepted whereas other former Soviet-block countries had to work hard for membership and they had to become more "European" in a pragmatic sense.

Seeing as how we just finished our discussions on the EU, this article is about Russia's request to formally participate in an EU committee. Russia wants to have more of a say in Europe, and Germany seems open to the idea (note that Germany is a major European ally for Russia). Medvedev, Merkel, and Sarkozy will soon meet up to discuss the idea. Germany carries a lot of influence in the EU, but I'm curious as to how the other member states truly feel about it.

Sorry, but I just have to make the distinction (with Larkin) that Russia isn't trying to join the EU, but rather requesting to participate in an EU committee. The summit that is occurring between the 3 leaders is about strengthening the EU-Russia relationship. The NY Times article I posted was about Russia trying to join the EU political and security committee. Now that the summit has occurred, here are some more recent articles about it. Hopefully they're more clear. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/19/world/europe/19iht-summit.html?src=twrhp http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-10/20/c_13565527.htm

To Larkin's comment: Yes, that is very interesting, as we learned in class some countries join the EU for the fiscal benefits or the security benefits; however, they must join the entire EU and that is when we said the benefits that a niation get from the EU should outweight the things that the EU will make the country take part in that they may not want to. It's sort of funny that Russia would try to avoid the EU only in some areas.

This is a great follow up to our discussion in class about how closed off NK might or might not be. Can any country actually maintain a wall that is impermeable to information? This suggests not. Good find, Catherine! Quotes follow: "Conventional wisdom holds that the people of North Korea are trapped in a world of rigid conformity, totalitarian discipline and complete isolation from the rest of the world. But increasingly another picture is emerging: North Koreans are far more aware of the outside world, according to evidence provided by North Korean refugees, South Korean humanitarian aid workers, Chinese traders and others. "One of the most underrated realities about North Korea is its very dynamic relationship with China, and the amount of information that flows across that border. Students; business people; it's a continuous stream of traffic," he says. With that traffic come thousands of DVDs, CDs, cellular telephones, used computers and videotapes - many of them from China and South Korea."

For those interested, here is one of the articles about the relationship between our iPods/computers/cell phones, etc. and the minerals in Congo. Judd presents the ethical dilemma we must consider -- video as well.