Diplomacy & Crisis News

Elite fracture will come gradually and then suddenly.

To broker peace, America should draw on its past successes in the Middle East.

The Islamic Republic was built to withstand sustained unrest.

The U.S. president said he and the NATO secretary-general “formed the framework of a future deal” but provided few details.

As the United States blusters and threatens, European leaders are making tough choices.

An infrastructure project between Afghanistan, Iran, and India gets caught in Trump’s crosshairs—again.

Firing central bank governors may prove to be a red line.

The Kremlin may be using Africans as suicide bombers in Ukraine, reports suggest.

The continent is finally showing some strategic resolve. Will it last?

Lawmakers opted against using the power of the purse to forbid forcible annexation of Greenland.

Trump follows Greenland threats by announcing a “future deal,” while Canada’s prime minister describes it all as a “rupture in the world order.”

Voir aussi la version texte de ce graphique. / Palestine, Palestine (Gaza), Israël, Conflit israélo-arabe, Génocide, Crime de guerre, Terrorisme - Proche-Orient / Palestine, Palestine (Gaza), Israël, Conflit israélo-arabe, Génocide, Crime de guerre, Terrorisme

Takaichi wants public approval to undertake major policy changes – including ending the era of “excessive fiscal austerity.”

In his speech in Davos, Trump asked for the territory and said only the United States could defend it.

Delcy Rodríguez is the latest spare politician to be thrust into a top job.

Policy and security seems to be evolving rapidly, while well established structures for safety and deep traditions of liberal rights are rusting into dust. The erosion of Ministerial Responsibility, a deep rooted tradition in Parliamentary Democracies, have come to a place of almost a lost art as policymakers in Commonwealth countries continue to take policy decisions that have hurt the public without anyone in power losing their position or being held to account. The fact that the Prime Minister of Australia is still sitting in his role without his party ousting him rapidly or him resigning due to negligence that lead to the country’s worst terror massacre it its history does nothing to improve safety.

As is the tradition, Ministerial Responsibility means that whether a Minister knew, or did not know of an incident that hurt the public, it is their duty to resign as they were the only one in power who could have ameliorated the situation. Like in many Western nations, clear mass incitements have taken place alongside actual attacks, and as like those in Australia and abroad, awareness of threats are ever present. As in law, an act could be considered intentional, in that they knew of the coming danger and ignored it with intent, or in considerations of negligence, where they were so derelict of their duty in that position of power that it lead to tragic results. In either case it is considered a crime in law, so for a politician it is a matter of honour to step down and remove the humiliation felt by the nation by placing the onus on their own shoulders, thus taking the mantle of the responsibilities of his role. This concept exists for all fiduciaries in all structures in society, for a Prime Minister or Minister of the Crown to not have the scruples to remove themselves simply shames the nation, the tradition, and erodes society.

This challenge to Western nations and the insecurity felt by the public often has links to events abroad. When considering adversaries to the West, the main challengers must be considered based on public support locals have for their Government, as local often determines actions abroad. When considering Russia and its conflict with Ukraine and NATO allies, the support the public in Russia has for its Government sets it apart from other adversaries of the West. Due to the war not disuniting policy positions in the country, the war will most likely continue as sanctions did not have the intended effect on the popularity of Russia’s Government, and urban based Russian citizens are often the last in line to be placed in the military. If the war can drag on until the West loses it patience, as is often the case, the catalyst for these wars will continue, especially if Western leaders are willing to sit in power after several bouts of corruption.

A recent example of a population not supporting its own Government is the recent removal of Nicolas Maduro from Venezuela. While the Chavistas in Venezuela still hold onto Government power and have structural control of the country, the pressure put on their Government to reform to be benefit of Western powers is paramount after Maduro’s ouster, spurned on by a population that detests its own Government. While the change in Venezuela comes in drips and drabs, the Government can only suppress popular support against their regime to a point, while knowing that any move will lead to conflict with the United States. The only thing that could really salvage their regime would be a popular uprising in support of it, in the streets of Venezuela and abroad, or an American policy that grows weary of pressuring the Chavista regime in Venezuela. The task of the moment is to cut sources of funding to their regime so that the policy can outlast the invisible and ever present deadline for Chavismo in Venezuela, operating to effect not only Venezuela’s Government, but those allies in Cuba, China and Iran. The ripple effect will determine the future in 2026.

Iran at the end of 2025 is experiencing yet another wave of protests, to which the West and irresponsible governments therein continue to ignore to the detriment of citizens there, regionally and abroad. Unlike Russia, the citizenry in Iran do not support their government for the most part, and is moving towards the next step in changing the government. While this has been the case since 2009, the lack of Western support for the people and support galvanizing around a government during wartime means that the only policy solution for their regime is further conflict. With this policy, it is difficult to find a country bordering the regime that is not in conflict with it, and this policy may take these situations so far that even with regime change, conflict would continue for generations. Actions in the West are also tied to Iran, with attacks in Australia coming after evidence was found linking violence in the West to the regime. While it should always be up to locals to change their Government, the world never gave proper support for Iranians, a clear policy display that would be needed towards a change that would calm conflict in the region, abroad, and inside Iran itself.

The question of future conflict with China really comes down to whether or not families would be content donating the lives of their young men for the sake of taking over Taiwan. In most scenarios, China would be successful in dominating Taiwan but at the cost of many lives, just off the coast of some of their biggest cities and communities. It would be difficult to avoid stories of massive losses due to proximity, but also most likely due to families all finding out their one or two sons have been lost, with no one to care for their parents and small children as a result. The second front of the war would likely be in the cold mountainous regions with India, but it would become a conflict involving all of China’s regions. An ongoing conflict would involve defense around Taiwan from the US Navy and Taiwan’s defense forces in the south, Indian Army and Air challenging for lost territory in the West, and Japanese forces challenging in the North East. The conflict would block all trade by sea, removing China’s economic engine in an instant. Having stable trade, even if tariffed or lessened, is a lot easier path than modern warfare, especially from an Army that has not been in an active conflict in generations. China is most likely to act if the West is seen as weak, more reason to have responsible Ministers who are honourable, as opposed to radical entities stripping Constitutional rights from groups in the West for the sake of Anarchy and old hatreds. Most Chinese families would not wish to donate their sons for the sake of war with Taiwan. War can be avoided by both sides, if they choose the right path.

In the end, the this year will be characterized by the US and world economy, and if resulting electoral results will strengthen responsibility and values in the West, or have local politics hinder and neglect public safety and well established rights. Voting truly matters, and the decline is already apparent from bad policy and decision makers filled with negligent narratives. It is time for citizens to take onus of their own duties, their choices in leadership, and the effect on their community and their reputation among civilized nations. Those like the Prime Minister were elected, recently, with a majority government, and this was after many of the violent protests and actions had taken places on the once peaceful streets of his nation. There is no future without being responsible to the past, and honouring the values inherited from several generations that sought peace, order, and good government.

The Socialist Patriotic Youth League offers a window into how the North Korean authorities uses state-run organizations to govern.

Questions are being raise worldwide, including in Taiwan, about the credibility of U.S. economic, security, and other commitments under a more openly transactional “Donroe Doctrine.”

Geographically and politically, the region – and Kazakhstan in particular – is positioned as a natural bridge between emerging technological blocs.