Publishing Institution: Chatham House

Author:: Nicholas Westcott
Publication Date:: 10-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Institution:: Chatham House
Abstract:: Summits with Africa are in fashion: in August, President Obama hosted America's first; in April, the European Union staged the fourth EU-Africa summit in Brussels; the BRICS countries–Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa–held one in Durban in March last year; and in June 2013 Japan hosted its five-yearly conference on African development in Yokohama. Next year will see the sixth China-Africa summit. South America, South Korea and Turkey, which have all held summits with African leaders in recent years, have pledged return matches in Africa.
Political Geography:: Africa, America, and Europe

Author:: Richard Gowan
Publication Date:: 10-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Institution:: Chatham House
Abstract:: Imagine a dystopian future in which NATO, struggling against Islamist terrorism, has to deploy troops on a constant basis across Africa and the Middle East. Then all of a sudden it is struck by a series of calamities: more than 40 personnel are taken hostage in the Middle East, soldiers start dying on a weekly basis on the edge of the Sahara and an operation to handle an outbreak of ebola begins to spiral out of control. NATO, you might expect, would give up in exhaustion. After Afghanistan, western powers have little appetite for quagmires.
Topic:: NATO
Political Geography:: Afghanistan, Africa, and Middle East

Author:: Thomas Raines
Publication Date:: 10-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Institution:: Chatham House
Abstract:: British attitudes to the European Union have become generally more favourable over the past two years, according to a YouGov poll for Chatham House. Those who say they would vote to stay in the EU now have the narrowest of leads–40 per cent to 39 per cent. Two years ago, 49 per cent said they would vote to leave, against 30 per cent to stay.
Political Geography:: Europe

Author:: Mikael Oez
Publication Date:: 10-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Institution:: Chatham House
Abstract:: If you want to hear the language spoken by Christ, all you need to do is to take a short bus ride from Stockholm to the town of Södertälje. There you will find thousands of Syriac Christians speaking Aramaic as it was spoken in the time of Jesus.
Political Geography:: Iraq and Turkey

Author:: Michael Keating
Publication Date:: 10-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Institution:: Chatham House
Abstract:: This has been a roller-coaster year for Afghans. It has included vigorous presidential and provincial election campaigns, a protracted political crisis, the formation of a government of national unity, the inauguration of a president with big new ideas, a financial crunch, devastating natural disasters, widening Taliban attacks and a surge in the number of Afghans being killed. Meanwhile, the US-led International Security Assistance Force is winding down and will conclude in December.
Topic:: Politics
Political Geography:: Afghanistan and United States

Author:: Alan Philps
Publication Date:: 10-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Institution:: Chatham House
Abstract:: Two items from the exhibition tell revealing stories about life in Germany in the 20th Century. Both have a link to the Weimar School of Architecture and Design, called the Bauhaus, which pioneered modern design in the 1920s. Because of its socialist and internationalist outlook, the Nazis set out to destroy it.
Political Geography:: Germany

Author:: Christian Wolmar
Publication Date:: 10-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Institution:: Chatham House
Abstract:: The opening of the first high-speed line, the Japanese Shinkansen, ushered in a new era of rail travel but it has taken a surprisingly long time for the concept to spread. Indeed, 50 years later, there are still barely a dozen countries that boast trains that can be described as high-speed. And while there are lots of schemes in the offing, the huge cost and long lead times are proving a barrier for their rapid spread.
Political Geography:: Japan

Author:: Burhan Wazir
Publication Date:: 10-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Institution:: Chatham House
Abstract:: The Middle East is a landscape littered with unrealized peace treaties, broken promises and failed intentions. In the four years since uprisings and reprisals took hold of Egypt, Syria, Libya, Bahrain, Oman and Tunisia, two diplomatic constants have dominated: The limited influence of American power, and a dearth of leadership in the region. Political intransigence and sectarian violence weren't always the norm in the Middle East. Lawrence Wright's new book, Thirteen Days in September, chronicles an era, almost four decades ago, when compromise was considered an asset. Over 13 days at Camp David in Maryland in 1978, US President Jimmy Carter was able to extract a peace treaty from Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin. The accord is still the most lasting achievement to emerge from the Arab-Israeli conflict of the 20th century.
Topic:: Sectarian violence
Political Geography:: Middle East, Libya, Syria, Egypt, Bahrain, Tunisia, and Oman

Publication Date:: 10-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Institution:: Chatham House
Abstract:: C K Scott Moncrieff was born into a well-to-do Scottish family in the late 19th century. While a schoolboy, he received an entree into the gay literary coterie centred on Robbie Ross, Oscar Wilde's lover, leading to a lifelong friendship with Wilde's son, Vyvyan Holland.
Political Geography:: Italy and Scotland

Publication Date:: 10-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Institution:: Chatham House
Abstract:: Danny Dorling's book is presented as an opportunity to explore the cost of the growing disparity between the very richest in society and the rest. What results, however, is an attempt to correlate facts and figures to much broader societal trends, but not always with justification.
Political Geography:: Europe

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