The Global Agora

,,The United States is very concerned by the People’s Republic of China’s provocative military activity near Taiwan, which is destabilising, risks miscalculations, and undermines regional peace and stability,” US state department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement . What is behind the record number of Chinese military planes entering Taiwan's air defense identification zone? China watcher, ed...

Is Brexit going badly? According to a recent YouGov poll , 53 percent of Britons think so. But does it mean that they want to rejoin the EU? I talked to Martin Farr , a Senior Lecturer in Contemporary British History at Newcastle University. We also discussed how to put the current fuel crisis in the UK into a historical perspective and what's next for the Labour...

A new poll conducted by the European Council on Foreign Relations ( ECFR ) shows that EU citizens view Germany as a trustworthy, pro-European power and Angela Merkel’s approach of searching for compromises between competing interests is a major source of Berlin’s positive image. But, of course, there is a but. Merkel is leaving politics. What is the most positive and the most negative aspect of he...

We're gonna have to spend years looking at this to really work out what the hell just happened with CDU/CSU. This is how Alexander Clarkson , Lecturer in German, European and International Studies at King's College London, sees the situation just before the election in Germany. Looking at the polls , it seems Social Democrats might get between 25-27 percent of votes, while Christian Democrat will...

When was the last time the Labour Party in Norway didn't win the parliamentary election? In 1924. And the series of victories didn't stop on September 13. While the Labour Party won only 26,3 percent of votes, which is historically one of the weakest results, they will still have 48 seats in the parliament and everybody expects that they will establish a governing coalition with the Soci...

Is Pope Francis happy with his job? And even if he is, he is also 84, which means he is not the youngest. Are there any indications that he may resign? About Francis' papacy, I talked to John Allen , the editor of Crux , and a senior Vatican analyst for CNN. He has written eleven books on the Vatican and Catholic affairs. Pope Francis is just visiting Slovakia and his trip will last more than thre...

A day that changed the world. This is how 9/11, 2001 is often described. And it's true. The world looked in disbelief when planes piloted by Al-Qaeda terrorists hit The World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Almost 3 000 people died and subsequently it affected the fate of millions. Colin Clarke is a New Yorker and he admits that the 20th anniversary of Al-Qaeda attacks is very emotional for hi...

What does Afghanistan withdrawal means for international politics? Is America still a superpower? And what is and could be the role of Europe in all of this? ,,There is no military power that can stand up to United States in a head to head competition. Having said that, if we measure power by your ability to get what you want, the United States is weaker because it doesn't know what it wants." Thi...

,,I think we, no matter what, need to be doing everything practically at our power to get people out of Afghanistan that want to leave the country". This is how Melissa Siegel , Professor of Migration Studies at Maastricht University and the United Nations University-MERIT, sees the current situation in Afghanistan. We also discussed what kind of coordinated approach the European Union a...

Ukraine celebrates the 30 anniversary of its independence that was established on August 24, 1991. The country's sovereignty might be limited by the annexation of Crimea and  by the war Russia started in 2014. But the fact that Ukraine was able to keep its independence is not a small thing. This is according to Susan Stewart , Senior Fellow at Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik ( SWP ) - The G...

Russia has recently published a new National Security Strategy . What does it mean for the Russian Armed Forces? How were they changed by recent wars, reforms and modernization programs? How bad or good is the West in reading Russia's military intentions? I talked to Johan Norberg , Senior Military Analyst from the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI). What does he think about the risk of the Wes...

Will Tehran return to nuclear talks? What to expect from a new Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi? How differently will US President Joe Biden deal with Iran compared to President Donald Trump but also to President Barack Obama? And how to react to Iranian provocations and attacks? I talked to Barbara Slavin , director of the Future of Iran Initiative, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Coun...

In July, The Foreign Affairs Council adopted a decision setting up an EU military training mission in Mozambique (EUTM Mozambique). The aim of the mission is to train and support the Mozambican armed forces in protecting the civilian population and restoring safety and security in the Cabo Delgado province. The mandate of the mission will initially last two years. During this period, its strategic...

Japanese athletes are winning more medals and the country is getting more COVID-19 infected people. This is a current reality of the Tokyo Olympics. What is the media image of the Games in Japan? What do people think about the situation and will it affect the politics in the country as the parliamentary elections will take place in October? Political scientist Yuki Shiraito thinks that at this mom...

The Forbidden Stories consortium and Amnesty International had access to records of phone numbers selected by Israeli NSO Group clients in more than 50 countries since 2016. An unprecedented leak of more than 50,000 phone numbers shows how NSO's technology, commonly known as the Pegasus spyware, has been systematically abused for years. As The Forbidden Stories and Amnesty emphasize, potential tar...

It's the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack by Norwegian far-right extremist Anders Breivik. On July 22, 2011 he detonated a car bomb outside the prime minister's office in Oslo. The explosion killed eight people. Brevik than drove to Utøya island where he shoot 69 people who gathered at a Labour Party youth camp. His victims were mostly kids. Breivik ended up behind bars, perhaps indefinite...

The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) just came out with a report Cyber Capabilities and National Power: A Net Assessment . The countries covered in this report are the US, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, Israel, China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. The IISS has divided the 15 states into three tiers of cyber power. But taking...

Evil reigns in Poland and we want to fight it. That's reason enough, you don't need any other justification. Those are the words of Donald Tusk aimed at the ruling Law and Justice Party. Polish ex- Prime Minister and former President of the European Council will give up his role as president of the European People's Party to be able to fully engage in Polish affairs and to run the opposition Civic...

The Chinese Communist Party was founded in July 1921. What is the brightest and what about the darkest hour of the CPP, and why? Is the party ashamed of something? And how long will Xi Jinping rule the Party and the country? About the CCP’s past, present and future, I talked to Rory Truex . He is an Assistant Professor in Princeton's Department of Politics and School of Public and Intern...

Can Spain's divisions be settled? "It's best for Catalonia and for Spain and it's in accord with the Spanish Constitution. The government will work for understanding and not for confrontation." This is what Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez said when he announced a pardon for nine Catalan leaders serving prison sentences for their roles in Catalonia's 2017 independence referendum. But what does this m...

We, the Heads of State and Government of the 30 NATO Allies, have gathered in Brussels to reaffirm our unity, solidarity, and cohesion, and to open a new chapter in transatlantic relations, at a time when the security environment we face is increasingly complex. This is how the communiqué from the NATO summit that took place on June 14th starts. The document should direct the Alliance towards an u...

Speculations about his death were hugely exaggerated in the past, but it seems that the leader of Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram Abubakar Shekau is  really dead. What does it mean for the organization that it's known for its brutality? Will the possible collapse of Boko Haram strengthen a rival group The Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP)? And BTW, if Shekau is finally dead, wha...

American President Joe Biden will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. Their summit takes place in Geneva on June 16. But does this meeting make any sense? Will it make any difference? Should it make any difference? And what to expect from Biden and from Putin? My questions were answered by Tom Nichols , U.S. Naval War College professor, and an adjunct at the U.S. Air Force School of Strategic F...

How big is the shadow of the former US President Donald Trump over NATO? What can the Alliance expect from Joe Biden, his successor in the White House? What are the main threats and how should the transatlantic organization deal with Russia, China or climate change? The NATO summit takes place in Brussel on June 14 and the leaders of member states will discuss the future of the Alliance and the NA...

How successful is the Israeli air defense system Iron Dome? How does this military technology work? What are the limitations of the Iron Dome? And how much does the system create an atmosphere of false safety and what about related political implications? I have tried to find some answers to those questions with Franz-Stefan Gady . He is a Research Fellow for cyber, space and future conflict at&nb...