In the aftermath of World War II, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was established in 1949. The alliance was formed as part of an effort by the United States and its European allies to dissuade any expansion of the then-Soviet Union (USSR) and to lessen the likelihood of conflict on the continent by supporting deeper political unity among its countries. It has …

South Africa has requested the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to take an interim measure aimed at stopping Israel from committing acts defined as “potential genocide”. The primary action requested is for the court to call for a halt to combat operations. Initially, South Africa’s plea was not met with nearly as much urgency and attention as it is now. …

On January 1st, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, and Muse Bihi Abdi, the leader of Somaliland, surprised the international community with an announcement. During a joint press conference in Addis Ababa, they disclosed that landlocked Ethiopia would lease a naval port and a 20km stretch of the Red Sea coastline in Somaliland. In return, Somaliland would receive shares in Ethiopian …

Background The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is an organisation which aims to achieve unity and cooperation amongst petroleum exporting countries, particularly in regards to their exporting policies. The organisation thus operates to achieve a certain stability in the market. In order to join, a state has to have a substantial net export of crude petroleum. An advantage of …

Public diplomacy refers to any of the different government-sponsored operations aimed at directly connecting with foreign publics. Public diplomacy encompasses all official efforts to persuade certain segments of foreign opinion to support or tolerate a government’s strategic goals. In our contemporary world, when economies all around are working together, embassies conduct more than simply diplomatic duties. Embassies not only assist with …

The serious consequences of a funding gap become more apparent as the obscure scepticism rests over Western support for Ukraine. The White House’s latest warning that Ukraine’s aid money may run out by the end of the year raises serious concerns regarding the country’s battle against Russian attacks. The United States was proving Ukraine with air defence, artillery, small arms ammunition, …

Due to its position, Egypt is more vulnerable to the consequences of the conflict in Gaza. Sharing a border with the region, it has often been pressured to play a more active role, specifically, to welcome Palestinian refugees. Egypt has historically determinately refused to do so claiming that it would mean to abandon the Palestinian cause. The recent developments, however, …

The war between Israel and Hamas has divided public opinion is a way that other conflicts have not. Importantly, the whole West has been identified with Israel. A process that was facilitated by the, at least initially, unwavering support given by Europe and the US to Israel. Nonetheless, this conflation of the West with Israel has been widely instrumentalised by …

Australia has recently entered into bilateral security accords with Papua New Guinea focusing on enhancing its police capabilities and sustaining peace. However, the agreement also has far-reaching ramifications against growing great power rivalry in the Pacific. Under this agreement, Australia will increase support to internal security needs of Papua New Guinea, through training, equipment and provision for the justice sector issues …

At a recent summit in San Francisco, Chinese President Xi Jinping openly stated that Beijing will reunify Taiwan with mainland China. According to the officials present at the meeting in question, Xi told Biden that China would prefer a peaceful reunification. Nonetheless, were that impossible, according to the anti-secession law passed in 2005, China would be compelled to act militarily. …