Does Jordan’s election change anything?
Jordan's elections were widely considered a success, but the country continues to face two critical challenges: dealing with overspill from the Syrian conflict, and a badly stumbling economy.
Jordan's elections were widely considered a success, but the country continues to face two critical challenges: dealing with overspill from the Syrian conflict, and a badly stumbling economy.
Lakhdar Brahimi has been the United Nations and Arab League envoy for Syria for less than five. But while his chances of orchestrating a peace deal are now vanishingly small, he should not quit quite yet.
The Mali conflict has caught the EU asleep at the wheel. But with support from across the Union and credible, limited aims, a European intervention in Mali can be successful.
The Israeli election on Jan 22 is not about Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu. It is best understood as a “Tribes of Israel” election that will take identity politics to a new level and may accelerate Israel's journey towards hegemonic nationalism.
Sanctions are the EU's sole coercive instrument of power short of military action (Brussels, mercifully, does not engage in warfare). The EU needs to understand their impact so that it can use them more effectively.
Do EU sanctions work?
The main theme of 2013 is likely to be the unraveling of the global economy and supporting political integration.