Revolution or Evolution? The Iran-Saudi Deal

• March 17, 2023

The news that Iran and Saudi Arabia will restore relations, a deal brokered by China no less, has set tongues wagging. But is this a revolutionary development for the Middle East or an evolution?  It depends on where you stand.

For …

Afghanistan at a Crossroads: Securing Women’s Rights in the New Taliban Era

• March 8, 2023

The international community fought the Taliban insurgency for twenty years with blood and money, investing trillions of dollars and losing thousands of soldiers. However, Afghanistan’s Taliban swept to power in Kabul on August 15, 2021.

Eighteen months after, Afghanistan is …

It is Time for Environmentalists to Stop Blaming ‘Overpopulation’

• March 2, 2023

Like a zombie, the argument that the global population must be urgently reduced to address the global environmental crisis keeps popping up – no matter how often the argument is put to rest. Take a speech at COP 27 by …

Ukraine: One Year On

• February 23, 2023

It seems incredible to realize that it is a year since Russia invaded Ukraine.  Old certainties have seemingly been upended; new realities are apparently emerging.  What to make of it all?  Three things to consider.

First, the “West” is now …

The Rise of Violent Russian Entrepreneurs Amid Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine

• February 22, 2023

One year after the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, no doubt remains about the difficulties the Russian army faced in Ukraine. From over-ambitious strategic goals seeking to topple the Ukrainian regime, logistical issues to supply overextended military advances …

We Need to Rethink Aid to Fragile Contexts

• February 17, 2023

Fragile countries are those which are most in need of development aid. But to what extent can aid be effective in highly fragile situations? A recent systematic review of 315 individual evaluations of aid to Afghanistan, Mali and South Sudan …

Iran’s Revolution: Will the Islamic Regime Endure?

• February 16, 2023

A wave of protests over the past few months has rocked Iran, with protesters calling for an end to the theocratic regime, the Islamic Republic.

The ongoing protests have unleashed a torrent of speculations about the regime’s future. Some observers …

Scotland’s Global Footprint: Navigating the Challenges and Opportunities of International Affairs

• February 9, 2023

The Scottish Council for Global Affairs (SCGA) is a partnership between three Scottish universities, the Scottish Government and the UK government, providing a hub for collaborative policy-relevant research and non-partisan debate on international affairs.

SCGA seeks to facilitate and amplify …

Unpacking the Endgame: Examining the Possibility of Nuclear Escalation and Regime Change in the Russia-Ukraine War

• January 30, 2023

In my previous blog post, I pushed back at an analysis of how the Russia-Ukraine war may end by Samuel Charap and Timothy J. Coulton at the 2022 Daniliw Seminar at the University of Ottawa. I am troubled by …

Thinking Through Scenarios for the End of the War in Ukraine

• January 26, 2023

The study of how Russia’s war on Ukraine will end has been a niche subject, possibly due to the inherent difficulty of prediction, the surprise that greeted the full-scale invasion, and the Ukrainians’ success at stopping and rolling it back. …

Modern War: The Return of the Big Battalions

• January 17, 2023

There are better and worse ways of fighting engagements, wrote the great Prussian strategist Carl von Clausewitz. But, he added, these were just a matter of tactics and not what decided the outcome of wars.

The latter depended upon strategy, …

Canada’s Partnership with Japan: Strengthening Security in the Indo-Pacific

• January 13, 2023

One important element of Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS) is accelerated alignment with Japan. Japan is a frontline democracy, pinched in with threats from Russia, China, and North Korea.

In the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) military exercises around Taiwan last August, …