The Saudi government has begun an ambitious process of economic reforms, but internal resistance and external disturbances – worsened by the Gulf crisis – are increasing costs and may lead to its failure.
Riyadh is keen to impose guardianship on its Gulf neighbours, but most of them resist, which mires the Gulf system in recurring conflicts. This will not be settled definitively unless their relations are based on the principles of equality and mutual respect.
Topic:
International Relations and International Security
This paper reviews the role of media fabrication and propaganda in the current political crisis in the Gulf. Propagandists have deliberately created a new political reality to demonise Qatari politics and political leaders with a detailed political approach to create a prefabricated reality.
Topic:
International Relations and International Security
Turkey's current strategic move is it is a continuation of Turkey’s new vision for regional politics within the context of the new regional geopolitical realities.
In 2005, Qatar imposed a self-moratorium on future gas developments in the North Field, but has recently lifted it in defence of the country’s leading LNG market share as new global players rapidly expand their production.
What will it take to jump start trilateral talks among Beijing, Seoul, and Washington over
the situation on the Korean Peninsula, including the denuclearization of North Korea? If this
subject has been on the minds of South Koreans in 2016-17 with some approaching their
counterparts in Beijing and Washington, DC in the hope that such triangular talks can be
launched—the more official, the better—not many Chinese have addressed what would be
necessary to enlist their country in this endeavor. This chapter argues that, at present, China is unprepared to take this route. A major factor is the sense that there are imbalances that
complicate the triangle. Beyond the substance of what would be on the agenda, Chinese are
concerned by South Korea’s alignment and how it would affect the course of the discussions.
Of five alternative approaches to addressing the North Korean threat to stability in East
Asia and beyond, this section is concerned with the possibility of just one—a diplomatic
approach via Three-Way Talks among China, South Korea, and the United States. We
single out this approach as the golden mean for reconciling the conflicting interests among
the parties best positioned to reshape the calculus of Pyongyang. It represents the path to
compromise. Among the alternatives, there is the Chinese appeal for a dual-track approach
through Six-Party Talks, aimed at a peace treaty on terms attractive to North Korea and
greatly transformative to the security architecture in Northeast Asia. This could hardly
be called a compromise, since Seoul and Washington regard this as a win for Pyongyang
and evidence that Beijing actually has been siding with Pyongyang. Another alternative is
Strategic Patience, which is a misnomer for the policy of the Obama administration, but,
in any case, refers mainly to reliance on increased deterrence as pressure is ratcheted up. In
fact, Obama was seeking a pathway to three-way talks, giving China time to shift in that
direction bolstered by new sanctions, while in 2016 also moving closer to a fourth approach: Unilateral Sanctions targeted at the Chinese firms assisting North Korea. A fifth option is Alliance Triangularity to force change in Pyongyang.
Topic:
Diplomacy, International Cooperation, and International Security
Although we are only into the first months of the Trump administration, many Koreans
recognize that the U.S.-led, market-oriented, liberal international order has been severely
shaken. In the background, the rapid rise of China and rather successful economic reforms
under Xi Jinping have dramatically reduced its vulnerability and sensitivity to the United
States. As one power’s grip is shaken and another’s is energized, two different orders are
emerging in East Asia. We accordingly witness a “Clash of Titans,” the fallout from which
could be fatal to the security and economy of the Republic of Korea.
Topic:
International Political Economy and International Affairs
During the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, the candidates reached a bipartisan consensus
on one issue: how to deal with North Korea. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both called
for China to do more to convince Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear program once and for
all. Candidate Trump said that China has “absolute control” over North Korea and promised to do whatever it takes to convince Beijing to use that leverage, including imposing penalties on Chinese firms. As president, however, Trump will have to navigate the reality of China’s extreme hesitance to use the only type of pressure likely to divert North Korea’s nuclear ambitions—the threat of regime-endangering punishment. If and how China should continue to fit into U.S. strategy for dealing with North Korea will thus be a key issue facing Trump and his advisors
For the proverbial visitor from Mars, the political situation in Northeast Asia is inexplicable. Sitting amidst a group of relatively stable, wealthy, and powerful countries, is a small, poor, belligerent nation that all agree is a threat to regional stability. Furthermore, the rogue state has been sanctioned and its behavior condemned by the United Nations for its weapons programs and its human rights abuses. Why can the Republic of Korea (ROK), Japan, the United States, Russia, and China not combine their considerable leverage to do something about North Korea?