The BRICS Bank: Now Comes the Hard Part
No sooner had the dust settled from the World Cup than Brazil played host to the five leaders of the BRICS countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. An immediate outcome of the Fortaleza summit was the formation of the New Development Bank, a development finance institution to rival the World Bank. The group also announced a currency reserve pool as an alternative to the IMF. Done right, both initiatives could change the institutional landscape for multilateral development financing.
Emerging Cyber Capabilities in the Asia Pacific: Potential Military Impact
Synopsis
The Asia Pacific comprises diverse countries with conflicting ideologies and different states of development. Given the variety of challenges and tensions over territorial disputes and geopolitical uncertainties across the region, a careful analysis of cyber capabilities and their possible impact would be valuable.
Indonesia’s Disputed 2014 Presidential elections: What next?
Synopsis
Rival presidential candidates Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto have both claimed victory in Indonesia’s recently concluded presidential election. While the standoff is unprecedented in Indonesia and created uncertainty, the issue can be settled by the responsible electoral institutions. Of greater concern is the rivalry between Jokowi’s patron former president Megawati Sukarnoputri and the outgoing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Japan’s Rising Security Challenges
Synopsis
Japan’s decision to reinterpret its pacific constitution to allow the right to collective defence has angered China. It is crafting a more active role in security and defence in response to rising instability in Northeast Asia.
Abe Doctrine: US-Japan Alliance, International Law and ASEAN
Synopsis
Japan PM Shinzo Abe’s speech in Singapore highlighted three key principles for its foreign policy - uphold intenational law, strengthen US-Japan security relations and enhance relations with ASEAN. They signal Japan’s intention to be a contributor of peace in the region.
How Will Indonesia’s Next President Bend the Arc of History?
Indonesia is at a crucial moment in its history. Stretching behind it are 16 years of a post-Suharto era that saw the country quit authoritarianism, cold-turkey style, and plunge headlong into democracy and decentralization. The last decade has been under outgoing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who will reach his constitutionally mandated two-term limit in October. On July 9, he will hand the reins to one of two candidates standing in the country's presidential election.
The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood’s Failures
To understand Egypt’s current political situation, it is crucial to examine how and why the Muslim Brotherhood—a leading political actor just over a year ago—met its demise so suddenly and forcefully. Though it had to operate in a hostile political environment, the Brotherhood ultimately fell because of its own political, ideological, and organizational failures.
Moscow’s Task is to Build a Nation Not an Empire
If the Maidan protests and their aftermath did not disabuse Russia of the hope of a Eurasian Union that includes Ukraine, the signing last week of EU association agreements on economics and trade with Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova should have done so. Three former Soviet republics are now linked, however loosely, to the EU.
U.S. Foreign Policy on Syria and Iraq: Between Words and Actions
Failed US policy toward the Syrian conflict plays a large role in the current Iraq crisis. As the advance of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has shown, the Iraq problem cannot be understood in isolation from Syria. This means that the United States cannot be effective in its engagement in Iraq unless it addresses both crises simultaneously.
Rethinking China’s Monroe Doctrine
It is too early to worry about China's Monroe Doctrine. Asian countries need to think about how to deal with its new Nixon Doctrine in the near future.