Strategy & Policy

17

Jul

Atlantic Council, Belt and Road Initiative, China, Huawei, Iran, JCPOA, OPEC

Atlantic Council: No, Iran isn’t going to be a Chinese client state

PEJOURNAL - Iran is in the process of finalizing an agreement with China, cementing an arrangement to sell crude oil to the world’s second largest economy for the next twenty-five years. The deal drew attention within Iran after the eighteen-page “Iran-China 25-year Comprehensive Partnership Document” was leaked, prompting comments that the Iranian government had sold its country out as a “client state” of China. The price? Up to $400 billion in installments spread over a quarter of a century. The characterization is not unique to Iran’s case. Iraq, which exports one hundred thousand barrels of crude oil to China each…

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14

Jul

Corona virus, COVID19, Crisis, foreign policy, Geoeconomics, Liberal economies, Liberalism, PANDEMIC

Foreign Policy: The Pandemic Could Be the Crisis Liberalism Needed

BY: Matt Warner* , Tom G. Palmer* PEJOURNAL - The world may be reaching a dangerous inflection point for liberalism. According to the latest reports from Freedom House, over the last 15 years the share of unfree countries in the world has risen while the share of free countries has dropped. Today, government deficits are spiking in response to the public’s demand for intervention to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, and some warn that authoritarian leaders are seizing the opportunity to expand their control. Still, this may be a time when liberalism starts to gain ground, not…

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14

Jul

Europe, geopolitics, Macron, Merkel, multipolar world, NATO, Putin, SCFR, TRUMP, United States

SCFR: Europe’s Skepticism on Future of Relations with United States

PEJOURNAL - A professor of geopolitics, referring to some of the European leaders’ positions and moves toward secession from the United States, said: “However, it should not be assumed that Europeans have seceded from the United States and do not consider Washington as their ally.” But in the current situation in Europe, Europe is waiting for the results of the elections in the United States in the next four months and if Mr. Biden comes to power, the United States and Europe will be closer again.” Dr. Abdolreza Faraji Rad, in an interview with the website of the Strategic Council…

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13

Jul

ASEAN, Belt and Road Initiative, China, COVID-19, IMF, pejournal, Political Economy Journal, South Asian, South China Sea, Sri Lanka

China’S string of pearls in peril

BY: Navomee Ponnamperuma* PEJOURNAL - In recent months, China has come under much scrutiny for its policies, starting from their mismanagement of the current global pandemic to the renewed hardline approach taken towards Hong Kong. Amidst the chaos, many in the West have overlooked the economic stronghold China has been building in the South Asian region, thanks to President Xi Jinping’s project of the century, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).  A project that certain academics refer to as China’s ‘debt-trap diplomacy’. Contrary to Western institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, China offers a…

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10

Jul

China, Chinese apps, Galwan Valley, India, Ladakh region, pejournal, Political Economy Journal, Sino-Indian, Xiaomi

Political Economy Journal: India-China border skirmish: A conflict that led to ‘Boycott China’ campaign in India

BY : Chaitra Arjunpuri * PEJOURNAL - When acclaimed innovator and Ramon Magsaysay and Rolex Awards winner Sonam Wangchuk released a video calling for “Boycott Made in China” on 28 May 2020, as a response to Chinese aggression along the Line of Control (LAC) in Ladakh region, not many realized how popular it would become. Set in Leh with the Himalayas and river Sindhu in the backdrop, Wangchuk sitting on a stone, appealed to people to boycott products made in China, “software in a week and hardware in a year”. “Within one week I am getting rid of my phone, which is made…

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10

Jul

China, South China Sea, USA

SCFR: Reasons for US Military Buildup in South China Sea

PEJOURNAL - Developments in recent years in the South China Sea, namely China’s efforts to increase its maritime territory by building artificial islands and claiming ownership of some islands in the sea that have caused some controversy with neighboring countries such as the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and the like has led the United States, along with its allies Australia and Britain, to increase its military presence in the South China Sea.Reza Mirtaher – American Affairs Expert US action to increase its military presence in East Asia or the region known as the Indo-Pacific can be analyzed on two levels; At…

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08

Jul

Iran, JCPOA, Russia, UNSCR2231, USA, Weapon Sanctions

Political Economy Journal: Russian Federation and Iran Arms Embargo

BY: Daniel Ranjbar PEJOURNAL - In October 2020, the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) ended a five-year length of an embargo on exports - the import of heavy weapons and army equipment. However, already five months earlier than this date, the United States is making active efforts to prolong this legislative act through the UN Security Council. The United States voiced a position on this issue as early as April 25, 2020. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made a separate statement on Iran’s space program. In this statement, he called on the “peace-loving countries” to extend the embargo on…

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07

Jul

China, East, NATO, USA, West

SCFR: West’s Strategic Reflections on “Eastern Threat”

PEJOURNAL - Dr. Jahanbakhsh Izadi in an interview with the website of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, referring to the remarks of the NATO Secretary General on the need for greater unity of NATO member states to counter Beijing due to China’s growth in various fields, including military and economic, said: “In US contemplations the future strategic rival is China. If we look at the GDP growth of the two countries in 2019, the distance between the United States and China is much smaller than the United States with other powers. He added that US gross domestic product (GDP)…

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07

Jul

Egypt, Faiz al-Siraj, General Haftar, Libya, Moscow, North Africa, Paris, Turkey, Washington

SCFR: Libya; Scene of Turkey-Egypt Proxy War

PEJOURNAL - With the escalation of the armed conflict in Libya, and in particular the advance of the National Unity Government forces led by Faiz al-Siraj in areas beyond the capital, the domestic military scene in Libya and its equations have become much clearer. It has also led to obtaining further knowledge about international rivals supporting the either side in the Libyan conflict. However, the retreat of the so-called National Army forces under the command of General Haftar has also contributed to the controversy, prompting widespread reactions about the collapse of these forces (National Army). Western supporters and General Haftar’s…

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06

Jul

Geopolitica, Militarisation, Space, USA

Geopolitica: US Begins Active Militarisation Of Space

BY: Leonid Savin - On 19 June, the unclassified section of the Pentagon’s new space defence strategy was released, and it clearly states that the US views the environment as a field of operations. The publicly available document is short in length, but it clearly shows the position and intentions of the US military with regards to space – to achieve and retain US military superiority. In the spirit of previous strategies and doctrines, Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, none of which will give US citizens a peaceful night’s sleep, are once again used as justification. The moulding of public…

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