Best of the fortnight - 13 January 2023

Each fortnight BISA Director, Juliet Dryden, scours the internet for IR-related content that might interest you. Here she brings you this week's best readings and podcasts to keep you up to date with what's happening around the world.

Global issues

• Will the weather eventually provoke radical action on climate? Paul Rogers for openDemocracy
• What killer robots mean for the future of war. Jonathan Erskine and Miranda Mowbray for The Conversation
• Terrorist recruitment now happens mainly online – which makes offenders easier to catch. Jens Binder and Chris Baker-Beall for The Conversation
• The Weaponization of Humanitarian Aid: How to Stop China and Russia From Manipulating Relief Money. Natasha Hall and Hardin Lang for Foreign Affairs
• Conflicts to Watch in 2023. Center for Preventative Action.

UK and Europe

• Why Fortress Europe won’t solve the migration crisis – and what will. Klaus F. Zimmermann and Victoria Vernon for openDemocracy
• Hungary and the EU are in an endless dispute that challenges the very foundations of the union. Simona Guerra for The Conversation
• Free flights, a secret deal and a corruption storm: Inside the EU’s ‘Qatargate’ committee. Eddy Wax for Politico
• The Irreversible Change in Belarus. Anna Nemtsova for The Atlantic 
• Podcast: What has Brexit done for Britain? Today in Focus by The Guardian
• Podcast: European diplomacy in the 21st Century with Catherine Ashton. World Review from the New Statesman.

Russia and Ukraine

• Ukraine war: despite Russian setbacks, an end to the conflict is not yet in sight. Stefan Wolff for The Conversation
• Putin’s plan to stop Ukraine turning to the west has failed – our survey shows support for Nato is at an all-time high. Kristin M Bakke, Gerard Toal, John O’Loughlin and Kit Rickard for The Conversation
• Ukraine war: Russia only hurts itself with its inflammatory discourse on Kazakhstan. Anna Matveeva for The Conversation
• Ukraine war: Putin has been weaponising energy for years, here’s what to look out for next. Thomas Froehlich for The Conversation
• Reconstructing Ukraine. Tim Judah for the New York Review of Books.

USA

• In the US, 2022 was a year of right-wing attacks. What lies ahead? Chrissy Stroop for openDemocracy
• What America’s protectionist turn means for the world. The Economist 
• Vietnam war: how US involvement has influenced foreign policy decisions over 50 years. Mara Oliva for The Conversation
• January 6 US Capitol attack: deep state conspiracies haven’t gone away. Robert M. Dover for The Conversation
• Dress Rehearsal. Trump’s attempt to undermine the 2020 election now reads like a blueprint drawn for a future autocrat.  Fintan O’Toole for the New York Review of Books
• ‘America is back’: how Joe Biden repaired US relationships with the rest of the world in 2022. Dafydd Townley for The Conversation
• The Roots of Washington’s Addiction to Military Force. Monica Duffy Toft and Sidita Kushi for Foreign Affairs
• The Missing Minerals: To Shift to Clean Energy, America Must Rethink Supply Chain. Morgan D Bazilian and Gregory Brew for Foreign Affairs
• Policy Prescriptions for US-China Relations. Robert D. Blackwill for Council on Foreign Relations.

Latin America

• Brazil: swift and robust response to the insurrection highlights the strength of democracy. Felipe Tirado for The Conversation
• America the Exporter: Far-Right Violent Extremism in Brazil and Beyond. Jacob Ware for Council on Foreign Relations
• A Chance for a Reset on Venezuela. William Neuman for The Atlantic 
• Death Toll in Peru Rises to 47 Amid Extraordinary Violence. Mitra Taj, Julie Turkewitz and Genevieve Glatsky for the New York Times
• Podcast: A Jan. 6 Moment for Brazil. The Daily by the New York Times
• Podcast: The future of democracy for Israel and Brazil. World Review from the New Statesman.

China/Asia

• Too little has changed in Kazakhstan in the year since ‘Bloody January’. Dmitriy Mazorenko and Paolo Sorbello for openDemocracy
• Covid will complicate China’s efforts to re-engage with the world. The Economist  
• The mirage of peace and prosperity in Kashmir. The Economist 
• North Korea: record number of missile tests in 2022 has raised fears of nuclear confrontation with the South. Christopher Bluth for The Conversation
• How Xi’s COVID-19 U-Turn Will Make the Country Harder to Govern. Lynette H Ong for Foreign Affairs.

Middle East

• Will life get better for Qatar’s migrant workers now the World Cup is over? Pramod Acharya for openDemocracy
• Iran: dissent by public figures has amplified the protest across the country – and the world. Roja Fazaeli for The Conversation
• The Israeli Government Goes Extreme Right. Yair Rosenberg for The Atlantic 
• Podcast: Bibi’s got backup: Israel’s right-wing government. The Intelligence by The Economist.

Africa

• What African feminist movements are up against in 2023. Joy Asasira for openDemocracy
• Ramaphosa’s Last Chance: Can the ANC Root Out Corruption and Save South Africa—and Itself? John Rapley for Foreign Affairs
• Fear and oil in Uganda. Sophie Neiman for the New York Review of Books.

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