Latest Articles about Foreign Policy
Steinmeier Writes an Open Letter to Obama
German Minister of Foreign Affairs Frank-Walter Steinmeier has addressed a lengthy open letter to U.S. President Barack Obama on the eve of his inauguration. Published in Germany’s mass-circulation weekly Der Spiegel (January 12-18), Steinmeier’s letter is an unconventional diplomatic step and unprecedented in its pathos-filled style. Echoing... MORE
Where Will Turkish-Israeli Relations Go After Gaza?
As Israel's only ally in the region, increasingly vocal criticism from Ankara and the streets of Turkey about the operations in Gaza raises questions about the future of Turkish-Israeli relations. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had refused to talk to Israeli leaders before a ceasefire... MORE
Erdogan’s Middle East Diplomacy: A New Nasser in the Making?
Since Israel’s Gaza offensive began, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has used harsh rhetoric about Israeli operations in Gaza. Erdogan’s sharp criticism of Israel has motivated the Turkish public to take to the streets to protest against the Gaza offensive (see EDM, January 7).... MORE
A Restart of U.S.-Russian Relations
During a confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, President-elect Barack Obama's choice for secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton, criticized the outgoing Bush administration for having downgraded the role of arms control and announced the new administration’s intention to engage Russia in more... MORE
Can Egemen Bagis Revive Turkey’s Stalled EU Accession Process?
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan selected Istanbul parliamentary deputy Egemen Bagis as the new chief negotiator for Turkey’s membership negotiations with the European Union. Erdogan also moved the Secretariat General for EU Affairs (ABGS) from the Foreign Ministry to the Prime Minister’s office under Bagis,... MORE
U.S. and Georgia Sign Strategic Partnership Charter
On January 9 in Washington, barely a week before the change of administrations there, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Minister of Foreign Affairs Grigol Vashadze signed the U.S.-Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership. The document and the overall guiding concept primarily involve issues of hard... MORE
Chinese Inroads in DR Congo: A Chinese “Marshall Plan” or Business?
Since achieving independence five decades ago The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been ravaged by a dictatorship, war and political strife. Although large in territory and rich in mineral and other precious raw materials, the DRC is a failed state that has been seemingly... MORE
China’s Gulf of Aden Expedition and Maritime Cooperation in East Asia
The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has deployed two warships and a supply ship to the Gulf of Aden and the waters off the coast of Somalia on an "anti-piracy mission." To many observers of Chinese foreign policy, this decision appears to break from Beijing’s... MORE
China Flaunts Growing Naval Capabilities
The year 2009 is set to become a watershed in the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) development into a force capable of long-distance, multi-pronged power projection. This is despite the perception that owing to the global recession, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership under President Hu... MORE
Hu Jintao’s ‘Six-Points’ Proposition to Taiwan
On the eve of 2009, the President of the People’s Republic of China and General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee, Hu Jintao, delivered a capstone speech commemorating the 30th anniversary of the "Message to Compatriots in Taiwan" (Xinhua News Agency, December... MORE