Best of the fortnight - 27 May

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 Politics and  the Ukraine War

• Podcast: War in Ukraine: the reshaping of the NATO alliance. A Chatham House podcast
• Podcast: Is the United Nations fit for purpose? The war in Ukraine has put the organisation’s founding principles and its authority on the line. Anne McElvoy asks Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the United States ambassador to the UN, how the Security Council can function in a time of division. From the Economist asks
• Podcast: How will the war in Ukraine change the world economy? An Economist podcast hosted by Anne McElvoy, with Patrick Foulis, Rachana Shanbhogue, Adena Friedman and Adam Tooze.
• The diminishing power of heavy and expensive military power. Lessons from Russia’s botched invasion. Phillips Payson O’Brien in The Atlantic
• Putin against history. How his war erased Russia’s past and endangered its future. Andrei Kolesnikov for Foreign Affairs.
• Rising food prices are not the only economic fallout.  Stefan Wolff and Tatyana Malyarenko in the Conversation
• Ukraine on the move: a century of migration. The current refugee crisis is the latest chapter in a history of displacement in the region that embraces two world wars and their aftermath. Peter Gatrell in Engelsberg Ideas.

European Ripples

• Crisis between the West and Russia gives Turkey a chance to strengthen its hand at home and abroad.  Ali Bilgic in the Conversation.
• Behind Turkey’s opposition to Finland and Sweden joining NATO and why it matters. Ronald Suny for the Conversation
• Jan-Werner Muller argues that the German model of politics faces a fundamental reckoning as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine. London Review of Books.
• Sweden: A history of neutrality ends after 200 years. Owen Greene in the Conversation

United States

• The persistence of American Power: just as Vladimir Putin’s assault is uniting Europe against him so too in Asia is an aggressive Beijing entrenching US power. Michael Schuman in The Atlantic.
• A warning to America. How civil wars start and how to stop them. James Meek reviews Barbara E. Walter’s book for the London Review of Books.
• Podcast: What next for Biden’s Asia policy following his successful trip? Deep State radio with David Rothkopf, Rosa Brooks, Ed Luce and Sheila Smith. 

China

• Hong Kong: John Lee’s election victory reflects the trust and paranoia that have flourished in Beijing and amongst the political elites in Hong Kong. Timothy McLaughlin writing in The Atlantic.
• Podcast How powerful is the People’s Liberation Army? The poor performance of the Russian Army in Ukraine is a likely cause for concern amongst Beijing’s military leaders. Cindy Yu talks to Timothy Heath and Li Xiaobing. Chinese Whispers podcast

Asia and the Middle East

• India’s assault on religious liberty. Yasmeen Serhan in the Atlantic.
• Lessons from Sri Lanka: how the world needs to focus on more than one crisis at a time to solve a global economic unwinding. Mark Malloch-Brown writing in Foreign Affairs
• How media reports of “clashes” mislead Americans about Israeli – Palestinian violence. Maha Nassar for The Conversation
• Why Israel is afraid of Palestinian funerals. Anchal Vohra writing in Foreign Policy on Israel’s treatment of Shireen Abu Akleh’s funeral.
• Analysing the outcome of Lebanon’s recent parliamentary elections. Sami Atallah writing for Jadaliyya.

Australia

• The elections have shown Australia’s huge appetite for strong climate action. What levers can the new government pull? John Quiggin for the Conversation.

Latin America

• Is Colombia ready for a leftist President? Former Marxist guerrilla Gustavo Petro’s rise to the top. Maria Ximena Aragon in Foreign Policy.

Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash