by Daniel Warner | 4 Feb 2022 | Politics, Ukraine
Reminiscent of tensions during the Cold War, the Ukraine crisis represents the most serious East-West confrontation since the end of the Soviet Union. A Ukrainian guard patrols the border with Russia near Hoptivka village, Kharkiv region, Ukraine, 2 February 2022. (AP...
For a deeper dive into the history leading up to the war in Ukraine, consider this report from Daniel Warner, a political scientist, lecturer and expert in international organizations. While diplomatic negotiations have failed, the article provides an overview to decode historic ties between Russia and Ukraine, NATO’s actions, the potential impact on energy supply chains and thoughts on the future of the security architecture of international alliances.
Exercise: This article was written three weeks before the conflict began. Ask students to compare the theoretical discussion of conflict to what is happening in reality. What do they think was the tipping point for Russia to invade?
by Sarah Edmonds | 12 Feb 2020 | Asia, Health and Wellness, North Korea
Wary of the coronavirus, North Korea has all but shut its borders, choking its economic lifelines. How grim a toll might the disease take? A wedding in Pyongyang (Photo by Sarah Edmonds) North Korea vaulted back into international headlines this month, with Western...
by Jonathan Lyons | 3 Dec 2019 | Media Literacy, Middle East
Iran’s nuclear programme has held much of the world in suspense for years. But what if the real story, largely overlooked by the media, is elsewhere? Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, hold a poster of a Hezbollah leader during a rally in Sanaa, Yemen, 3 March...
by Robert Holloway | 14 Aug 2019 | Personal Reflections
In a world with nuclear weapons, every agreement counts. So the decision by the U.S. and Russia to scrap a disarmament treaty does matter. Demonstrators with masks of Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Donald Trump...
by Malcolm Davidson | 4 Mar 2019 | Asia, Decoders, Islam, Terrorism
A decades-long conflict over Kashmir escalated rapidly last week. Here’s why fights between India and Pakistan matter to the world. Indians wait to welcome the return of a captured Indian pilot at the India-Pakistan border, 1 March 2019 (AP Photo/Prabhjot Gill)...