Global Political Insight

The peace agreement signed in Minsk, Belarus, last week regarding eastern Ukraine is undoubtedly welcome. Though fragile, the ceasefire provides some longed-for relief for the population of Donbass. A moment of relative tranquility on its territory is certainly something Ukraine needed desperately for two main reasons. The conflict was a huge drain on the Ukrainian […]

For decades, the political systems of southern Europe have closely matched that of the United Kingdom’s, characterised by two dominant parties of Left and Right competing with each other for power and influence. Events of the last few years, however, have called into question the survival of the traditional two-party systems along the southern cone […]

It’s not clear whether Germany and France have co-ordinate their peace efforts with their allies across the Atlantic. French media reports claim the European leaders are going their own way this time… trying to beat a potential US plan to supply weapons to Ukraine. For more on the diplomatic attempts to end the Ukrainian crisis, […]

The recent referendum on Scottish independence, as well as affecting UK and European politics, has had farther reaching influence globally. With new calls for self-determination of ethnically diverse groups and regions, such as Catalonia and Kurdistan, Somaliland has become a self-declared independent state. Luckily for Somaliland, it is a region of relative political stability with […]

The fate of Mahinda Rajapaksa has been decided by the people of Sri Lanka, and when Maithripala Sirisena takes his oath as the new President of Sri Lanka, the island will leave behind what has been a tumultuous period of transition since the end of the Civil War in 2009. Despite having won his first […]

It may have taken India’s government a long time to notice, but optimistic forecasts on Africa’s economic growth may finally be pushing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to try to pinch away at the daunting gap of Chinese investment on the continent, where trade between both nations has ballooned to valued figures over $200 Billion USD. […]

The looming crisis of the Islamic State (IS) has propelled numerous countries into panic. Others, meanwhile, calmly stand their ground, even if their interests appear somewhat threatened by the advent of this transnational Islamist organisation. China is one such nation. 10 % of its oil is drawn from Iraq, where IS is most prominent. China […]

Since the global debate on how to combat the threat of terrorism began, the common phrase ‘One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter’ has dominated the dialogue, as unfortunately, it is relevant. Moreover, since the fall of 2000, multilateral organizations have continued efforts to develop a comprehensive convention on international terrorism with little or […]

Since September 11th 2012, the realm of international politics has revolved around the combat and suppression of international terrorism. It is difficult to understand why the threat of global terrorism has become such a struggle, as states are exposed to much greater security threats than that of an international terrorist attack. However, the alarmist nature […]

Headlines concerning a slumping rouble in Russia, infrastructure issues in Johannesburg, and slow growth in both Brazil and China might not be the bearer of bad news for everyone. For India, such a time represents an opportunity in the face of global economic woes. It has not been a good year in economic terms for […]

The rise of China as a global power over the last 30 years has led to much speculation about what this meant for the existing global order. China with it’s 1.3 billion people, and huge growth has fast become the world’s largest economy based on PPP according to an FT report which cited data from […]

The West can be forgiven for feeling a little smug about Russia’s current economic woes. But celebrating a weak Russian economy would be foolish – especially for Europe – for two primary reasons: economic ties with Russia and political instability. There is no denying that Russia is experiencing a currency crisis. The rouble continues to drop […]

ALTHOUGH they revile democracy, thousands of European Muslims have, in Lenin’s line, ‘voted with their feet’ and left free societies to join the most reactionary terror group in the world: the Islamic State (Isis). Over 3000 have left their families, relative material comfort and wealth, and in many cases university places, to go to the […]

While the disagreement over Ukraine remains a long-term irritant in Russian relations with Europe, it is still too early to speak about the beginning of the new Cold War. In other regions of the world, both sides face challenges that may demand joint cooperation. Currently, there are three main issues that require collaboration in the […]

Grace Mugabe may not be a name known to most people outside of Zimbabwe when they think of potential next presidents for the country. However with the ever aging president of Zimbabwe (Robert Mugabe is now 90 years old), there is growing speculations of who will be next in line to rise to the heights […]