Best of the fortnight - 18 November 2022

18 November 2022

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

Tensions likely to occur as nations gather for Bali summit. Tristen Naylor for the Conversation
World Cup Misgivings. David Goldblatt in the London Review of Books
Displaced, poisoned, jailed: Climate change survivors confront world leaders. Amelia Womack for openDemocracy
The world has to adapt to the climate change it will not avoid. Edward McBride for The Economist
Why everything in tech seems to be collapsing at once. Derek Thompson in the Atlantic
Just Stop Oil: research shows how activists and politicians talk differently about climate change. Clare Cunningham for The Conversation
Podcast: Money Talks: The cryptocalypse. The Economist Podcast
Podcast: Cop27: the future is solar, but it won’t be simple. Today in Focus by The Guardian.

UK and Europe

Sunak and Macron: A bankers’ bromance. Christina Gallardo and Clea Caulcutt for Politico.
Europe’s Energy Risks Go Beyond Gas. Mira Rojanasakul for The New York Times
Greece’s Watergate explained. Georgios Samaras for the Conversation
Academic benefits. Paul Taylor in the London Review of Books.

Russia and Ukraine

Deaths in Poland are a warning to everyone. How wars can easily escalate accidently. Stephan M. Walt
Russia’s missing peacemakers. Why the country’s elite are struggling to break with Putin. Tatiana Stanovaya in Foreign Affairs
The painful traces of Russian propaganda remain in eastern Ukraine. Pavlo Bakhura and Caleb Larson for openDemocracy
What politicians get wrong about the war. From Kosovo to Ukraine, Lawrence Freedman’s book Command explores the catastrophes that occur when state and military strategy collide. David Reynolds for the New Statesman
What the US midterm results mean for the Ukraine war. Dafydd Townley for the Conversation
Anton Filatov’s Top 10 Films for Surviving a War. The New York Times
Podcast: Russia in retreat. World Review from the New Statesman. Emily Tamkin, Katie Stallard, Ido Vock discuss the missile that hit Poland and how the incident highlights the risk of the war in Ukraine escalating.

United States

The Unwinnable War: America’s Blind Spots in Afghanistan. Laurel Miller for Foreign Affairs
What the Biden-Xi Meeting Means for U.S.-China Relations. David Sacks for Council on Foreign Relations
Donald Trump declares that he will make America great again, again. The Economist
US midterms. Five reasons why the midterms matter. Thomas Gift and Julie M. Norman in the Conversation
American seems to have passed peak Trump. David Hastings Dunn for the Conversation
Podcast: US midterms: what red wave? World Review from The New Statesman
Podcast: US mid-term surprise Independent thinking from Chatham House
Podcast: The Sunday Debate: Is America a force for good in the world? Part 1 and Part 2 from Intelligence Squared.

China

The return of red China. Xi Jingping brings back Marxism. Kevin Rudd in Foreign Affairs
How to negotiate with China. Micheal Sheridan for Engelsberg ideas
Taiwan prepares to be invaded. Ben Rhodes in the Atlantic
US-China talks. Ukraine and Taiwan loom large. Stefan Woolf in the Conversation
Podcast: Reflections on the 20th Party Congress: how Xi took complete control Chinese Whispers
Podcast: Is Taiwan Indefensible? Listen to the debate from Intelligence Squared.

Latin America

Bolsonaro is leaving office, but his far-right movement is here to stay. Sonia Correa and Juan Elman for openDemocracy
Lula vows to undo environmental degradation and halt deforestation. Patrick Greenfield and Fiona Harvey for The Guardian.

Middle East

Iran’s protests fuel ethnic tensions. Najmeh Bozorgmehr for the Financial Times
Is a stable government possible under Netanyahu? James Sunderland in the Conversation
The Revolutionary decade. Tunisia since the Coup. Tom Stevenson in the London Review of Books
Podcast: Iran protests, Iraq legacy. Independent Thinking from Chatham House
Podcast: The Far Right Rises in Israel. The Daily by The New York Times
Podcast: What does Binyamin Netanyahu’s comeback mean for Israel and the world? From The Economist Asks
Podcast: Fathers and Sons in Palestine. Writer and human rights lawyer Raja Shehadeh talks to Adam Shatz about his recent memoir, We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I about his father’s murder in 1985.