Best of the fortnight - 24 February 2023
Guest Editor Louis Newstead has scoured the internet for IR-related content that might interest you. Here he brings you the past fortnight's best readings and podcasts to keep you up to date with what's happening around the world.
Global Issues
Could survivors help ‘fix’ anti-trafficking? Alex Balch, Allen Kiconco, and Wendy Asquith for openDemocracy
Grave reality of global violence against queer women and non-binary people. Lucy Martirosyan for openDemocracy
UK and Europe
The Nagorno-Karabakh blockade hurts families – even leaders’ families. Siranush Sargsyan for openDemocracy
UK slams ‘protectionist’ Biden. Matt Honeycombe-Foster and Jack Blanchard for Politico
How Qatar used a secret deal to bind itself to the EU Parliament. Eddy Wax and Ana Fota for Politico
The climate refugee crisis is landing on Europe’s shores — and we are far from ready. Ibrahim Özdemir for Politico
Finland’s Turn to the West. Gordon F. Sander for The New York Review of Books
Russia and Ukraine
Russia pulls out of New Start nuclear treaty – we’ve already seen how such agreements have limited aggression against Ukraine. Dan Plesch for The Conversation
Ukraine war: a year on, here’s what life has been like for refugees in the UK. Sara Jones and Natalia Kogut for The Conversation
Ukraine war 12 months on: the role of the Russian media in reporting – and justifying – the conflict. James Rodgers for The Conversation
Ukraine war: what the last 12 months has meant for the ordinary Russian soldier. Jennifer Mathers for The Conversation
How Putin has shrugged off unprecedented economic sanctions over Russia’s war in Ukraine – for now. Peter Rutland for The Conversation
‘The war is a plot’ - Conspiracies, detachment and confusion in Russia. Anna Matveeva for The Conversation
The environmental scars of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Louise Guillot, Antonia Zimmermann, and Giovanna Coi for Politico
Western sanctions didn’t stop the war. Were they worth it? Barbara Moens and Leonie Kijewski for Politico
Seven ways Russia’s war on Ukraine has changed the world. Chatham House experts
USA
Months of secret planning and the president’s persistence: How Biden finally got to Kyiv. Eli Stokols and Alexander Ward for Politico
The Persistence of Great-Power Politics: What the War in Ukraine Has Revealed About Geopolitical Rivalry. Emma Ashford for Foreign Affairs
Biden’s Military-First Posture in the East Is a Problem. Timothy McLaughlin for The Atlantic
Latin America
Elected politicians have failed in Peru – here’s what must come next. Rafael Barrio de Mendoza for openDemocracy
Women and LGBTQ people caught up in El Salvador’s state of emergency. Dánae Vílchez for openDemocracy
Podcast: Why ‘Made in China’ is becoming ‘Made in Mexico’. The Daily by The New York Times
China
Xi the Survivor: How Washington Overestimates Chinese Weakness. Christopher Johnson for Foreign Affairs
What China Has Learned From the Ukraine War. Evan A. Feigenbaum and Adam Szubin for Foreign Affairs
When the balloon goes up: Can history teach us anything about growing Sino-American tension? Mark Almond for The Critic
Asia
The Taliban are digging an enormous canal. The Economist
The Philippines’ proximity to Taiwan makes it central to Western strategy. The Economist
Podcast: The air of their ways: South Asia’s crippling pollution. The Intelligence from The Economist
Middle East
Turkey-Syria earthquake: Assad blames west as agencies struggle to get aid to his desperate people. Scott Lucas for The Conversation
Turkey-Syria earthquake: the risk of aftershocks and what can be done to protect rescuers. Femke Mulder for The Conversation
West must move faster to prevent a catastrophe in northern Syria. Jamie Dettmer for Politico
Syrian rescue efforts slowed by bureaucracy and regime. Haid Haid for Chatham House
Axis of Convenience: Why Iran’s Partnership With Russia Endures. Dina Esfandiary for Foreign Affairs
The Liberal Israeli Bubble. Tareq Baconi for the London Review of Books
Humanitarian disaster in Syria and Turkey. Independent Thinking by Chatham House
Africa
How grassroots democracy has become a xenophobic weapon in South Africa. Luke Sinwell, Terri Maggott, and Trevor Ngwane for openDemocracy
Why aren't child soldiers treated as human trafficking 'survivors'? Benedetta Wasonga for openDemocracy
Podcast: What Climate Change Means for the Horn of Africa, With Michelle Gavin. Michelle Gavin and James M. Lindsay for Council on Foreign Relations
Why South Africa is drifting into the Sino-Russian orbit. The Economist
The Long Shadow of German Colonialism. Thomas Rogers for The New York Review of Books
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