Until late October, the big questions about China’s role in the Ukraine conflict centered around whether Beijing would choose to expand its support for Russia to include lethal aid, or if it might engage in more active peacemaking to end the conflict. Then, on November 4, the Pentagon confirmed that North Korea sent more than 10,000 troops to Russia’s Kursk oblast, where Ukraine had captured some territory earlier this year. Days later, the State Department confirmed that North Korean soldiers had begun fighting Ukrainian troops.

Type: Analysis

Conflict Analysis & Prevention;  Global Policy

Afghanistan’s precarious economy is facing a new set of multidimensional risks as humanitarian aid — delivered in massive shipments of U.S. cash dollars — shrinks rapidly amid competing demands from other crises around the world. The dollar inflows, moved under U.N. auspices, have helped stabilize the Afghan economy, cover its mammoth trade deficit, and inject monetary liquidity into commerce. With much smaller cash infusions, in line with a general reduction in aid, the suffering of Afghanistan’s poverty-stricken population is likely to increase.

Type: Analysis

Economics;  Global Policy

On September 15, one of the most important and contested legacies of Mexico’s then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador — a constitutional reform that will see future judges being elected by popular vote — went into effect. After two failed attempts to pass the reform, López Obrador, colloquially known as AMLO, capitalized on his party Morena’s electoral victories earlier this year. These wins gave him control of the Chamber of Deputies, a near-qualified majority in the Senate and dominance in most state governorships and state-level legislatures. This ensured the continuity of his project with his protégée Claudia Sheinbaum, who was sworn in as Mexico’s first female president in October.

Type: Analysis

Democracy & Governance

After Palau held its presidential election on November 5, incumbent President Surangel Whipps Jr. was announced as the winner this week. Palau — an archipelago of more than 300 islands to the east of the Philippines and southwest of Guam — is one of Taiwan’s few remaining diplomatic partners in the region and has seen an increasing U.S. military presence in recent years, making it a focal point for competition between the United States and China. Palau gained independence from the United States in 1994 and has maintained a close relationship with Washington ever since under the Compact of Free Association.

Type: Question and Answer

Democracy & Governance;  Global Policy

Diversity is a 21st-century reality, as people and faiths are intermixing as never before. Fear of the religious “other” leads to divisions, hostility, instability and violence impacting people and places. Consequently, it is essential to recognize how sacred spaces can also serve as powerful catalysts for peace and understanding rather than focal points for conflict. While the news often emphasizes violence and destruction, there are inspiring examples of sacred sites fostering inclusion and dialogue.

Type: Analysis

Religion