Best of the summer - 9 September 2022
This article was published on
Following a break through July and August, BISA Director, Juliet Dryden, is back with a round up of the most relevant and interesting IR news from the summer. Going forward, you can join her each fortnight as she brings you the best readings and podcasts to keep you up to date with what's happening around the world.
Russia and Ukraine
- Ukraine is waging a new kind of war. Phillips Payson O’Brien in the Atlantic
- Blast effects: In Mykolaiv. Read James Meek in the London Review of Books 18 August 2022
- Russia is using gas as a political tool to win support for the Ukraine war. Stephen Hall for The Conversation
- Gorbachev tried to unite the impossible – his failure was heroic. What does a country do with a man who changed it forever. Emily Tamkin in the New Statesman
- Gorbachev and Glasnost. How his fragile legacy of free speech has been destroyed by Putin. Jennifer Mathers in The Conversation
- Podcast: Inside the Mind of Vladimir Putin from Intelligence Squared - Journalist, author and former BBC foreign correspondent Philip Short joins Intelligence Squared to discuss his new book, Putin: His Life and Times. It follows his biographies on other world leaders and despots including Chairman Mao and Pol Pot. Joining Philip in conversation is Mark Galeotti, an authority on Russian security affairs and international organised crime. Mark is Honorary Professor at UCL's School of Slavonic and East European Studies, and author of We Need To Talk About Putin.
China and Taiwan
- The China trap: US foreign policy and the perilous logic of zero-sum competition. Jessica Chen Weiss in Foreign Affairs
- The world’s democratic recession is giving China more power to extend authoritarianism. Chris Ogden for The Conversation
- The UN report on China’s abuse of Uyghurs is stronger than expected but still missing the word ‘genocide’. Jo Smith Finlay in The Conversation
- Are the US and Taiwan destined for war over Taiwan? Katie Stallard in the New Statesman
- Podcast: The Sunday Debate: Should the West defend Taiwan? From Intelligence Squared. For many in the West, defending Taiwan means standing up for democracy and freedom, and not bending to China’s power. Others, however, fear that going to war against China would be a futile mission that would disrupt the world order. To explore these issues listen to host Professor Rana Mitter (Oxford) talk to three guests - Benedict Rogers, human-rights activist, journalist, and co-founder of Hong Kong Watch; Lieutenant Colonel Daniel L Davies, Senior Fellow for Defense Priorities and a former lieutenant colonel in the US army; and Brian Hioe, Editor of New Bloom Magazine and blogger for The Diplomat.
Myanmar
- Podcast: Myanmar: the forgotten coup. More than a year after Myanmar fell to a military coup, listen to Ali Fowle investigate the growing resistance movement. Is there hope of a different future?
Pakistan and climate change
- Pakistan floods post urgent questions over preparedness and climate reparations. Zuha Siddiqui for the New Humanitarian.
Death of the Queen
- The Queen of the World. The paradox of Elizabeth II’s reign was that in presiding over a shrinking empire she became a modern global monarch. Tom McTague for the Atlantic
- Queen Elizabeth II: a moderniser who steered the British monarchy into the 21st century Sean Lang for The Conversation
- A Republicans tribute to the Queen. Brendan O’Neill in the Spectator
- Podcast: After Elizabeth. Listen to Deep State Radio. How should we think about the legacy of one of the world's longest reigning monarchs? Is the Monarchy in the United Kingdom in danger of falling?
Other
An uneasy alliance in Jerusalem. Joshua Leifer in the New York Review of Books
Promise and disillusion in South Africa. Joshua Hammer in the New York Review of Books.
Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash