The year 2020 has understandably been a time of deep confusion in the world of diplomacy, marked by the parallel phenomena of a Donald Trump presidency that may come to an end in January 2021 and the ongoing global curse of COVID-19. Those factors and other more local ones — such as yet another...
What does Donald Trump’s victory mean for the future of the Korean Peninsula? I recently returned to the United States after living, working and studying in Seoul, South Korea, for the past six years. As I prepared to return to America last spring, the US presidential election and the...
Activists in Ireland are rallying against the US military’s use of Irish airspace for Washington’s wars. “We declare the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland, and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies, to be sovereign and indefeasible.” So declared the Irish...
US-China cooperation and a coherent strategy are necessary to roll back the nuclear ambitions of North Korea. In response to North Korea’s fifth nuclear test in September, Chinese and American diplomats are negotiating sanctions to limit the nation’s energy trade, according to sources at...
The problems facing the Spanish left mirror the crisis engulfing Europe. The current chaos devouring Spain’s Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) has mixed elements of farce and tragedy. However, the issues roiling Spanish politics reflect a general crisis in the European Union (EU) and a sober...
Fair Observer's five best articles of June. Even by recent standards, June has proven to be an historic month. Massive protests erupted in both Turkey and Brazil. In the former, the trigger was the impending destruction of Gezi Park, one of the few green places in Istanbul. What began as an...
Brandon Scott compares the professions IR students imagine working in, with the real world of actual IR professions. This is the last of a two part series. Read part one here. 6: You will be Living in Paris in a Swank Apartment This one should be a no-brainer — although I am still amazed...
Brandon Scott compares the professions IR students imagine working in, with the real world of actual IR professions. This is the first of a two part series. In my 13 years experience in the field of International Relations (IR), I have: run intelligence sources in Bosnia and Iraq; met with top...
As Obama prepares for another four years in the White House, questions arise as to which issues will define the president’s domestic agenda during his second term in office. Since his first electoral victory in 2009, die-hard Obama supporters have become a rare breed in the US. Barack Obama...
Obama’s second term will be eventful: another financial crisis might occur, Reaganism could die and America will be more assertive abroad. In the words of Justice Scalia, the American government was designed for obstruction. Fleeing authoritarian governments, Americans brought to life...
