Best of the week - 21 May 2021
Each week 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 and ideas
- The age of impunity and how to fight it. David Miliband in Foreign Affairs
- Equality. What is it good for? Modern society is history's most equal. But progress has not been linear – or easy to calculate. Ian Mortimer for Englesberg Ideas
- Is paranoia the key to pandemic preparedness? Hypervigilance beats preparation for unpredictable crisis. Niall Ferguson in Foreign Affairs
- What should we do when terrorists go quiet? Susanne Reine for Engelsberg Ideas
- Abuse scandals still rock the humanitarian world. Why is progress so slow? Tanya Wood in Prospect Magazine
- The long arm of the strongman. How China and Russia use sharp power to threaten democracies. Christopher Walker and Jessica Ludwig in Foreign Affairs
- Podcast: Listen to Niall Ferguson on the politics of catastrophe, from pandemics and famines to world wars and climate change. Have we been worrying about the right things?
Getting ready for COP26
- Podcast: Building a trustworthy market for carbon offsets. How do we build a market for carbon offsets that is both trustworthy and effective? Part 1 and Part 2 from Exponential View.
Middle East
A Jewish case for Palestinian refugee return. Peter Beinart in the Guardian
All we need is some more courage from the world. Omar Bargouti in the Nation
A Palestinian reckoning. Time for a new beginning. Hussein Agha and Ahmad Samih Khalidi in Foreign Affairs
In the firing line: The Arabs – or the Palestinians – of Israel. An interview with H A Hellyer
No matter how powerful Israeli’s military becomes it still can’t win. Paul Rogers in The Conversation
Joe Biden’s unwavering support for Israel’s Gaza onslaught could come back to haunt him. Don McIntyre for Prospect Magazine
Israel-Palestine conflict. The role of Hamas and Fatah rivalry in the latest violence. Julie M. Norman in The Conversation
No one is coming to help the Palestinians. The competition for influence between Iran and Saudi Arabia has for decades affected the prospects for peace. Kim Ghattas in the Atlantic
Israel, Gaza and the pursuit of the victory image. Yoav Galani in The Conversation
Middle Eastern monarchies. How do Arab ruling families hold on to power? David B Roberts in The Conversation
Podcast: How Britain Supports Israel’s War on Palestine. In March this year the UK’s new military strategy declared that Israel remains a ‘key strategic partner’. But what does that mean, and where does it sit in relation to Israel and its war on Palestine? Listen to Novara Media.
Conflict in the rest of the world
As a second wave devastates India, Narendra Modi vanishes. Read more in the Economist
How Modi has prioritised politics over public health. Navtej K Purewel in The Conversation
King Mohammed of Morocco weaponises migration. The Economist
Columbian protests: Poverty and the pandemic collide with conflict and migration. Genevieve Glatsky in the New Humanitarian
Podcast: What’s driving Sudan and Ethiopia apart? Deteriorating relations, the risk of a regional crisis and EU policy in the Horn of Africa. Listen to the Horn Podcast from International Crisis Group.
Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash
