The World Today Middle East - The Shi'a: Arcs and Crescents The balance of power in the Muslim world has changed for good - the ‘Shi’a crescent’ benefitting at the expense of the Sunni arc. America’s war in Iraq has encouraged expectations, drawn attention to divisions and empowered critical voices at the expense of long-term allies.
The World Today British Policy - Middle East and Terrorism: Talk Long, Reflect Little The conflicts and crises of the Middle East are now inter-linked, but not in the ways currently set out in the official British approach.
The World Today French Policy in Africa: Calls for Change With the French presidential elections approaching, Sylvian Touati examines if a new generation of leaders could bring change to France’s influence in Africa and whether the recent shift towards multilateral action is a sign of things to come for the continent.
The World Today Serbia and Kosovo: Making Moves For most of the last six months politics in and around Serbia and Kosovo has consisted of everyone trying to second-guess what moves the other players would make next in a game of three- dimensional chess.
The World Today Germany - The European Union and the G8 Presidencies: Leading the Leaderless European leadership is either in transition or confusion, not a promising moment for Germany – which luckily escapes on both counts – to take over at the helm of the European Union and the G8 group of leading economies.
The World Today Georgia and Russia: Feeling the Heat The stand-off between Russia and Georgia is nothing less than the worst relationship between Russia and any other former Soviet state – any state at all in fact – since the fall of Communism in 1991. A small cold war is heating up. And the heat matters because of Georgia’s tilt to the west and the implications for managing Moscow.
The World Today Armenia and Azerbaijan: Fearing the Worst Its diplomatic boots bogged down in the Middle East, Darfur and North Korea, the international community lacks the agility to consider an obscure unresolved conflict in the Caucasus. But in the case of Nagorny Karabakh, greater effort now could save anguish later. A younger generation of Azerbaijanis is sounding aggressive and there is much to lose internationally from conflict in this key area.
