Taiwan heads to the polls. On Saturday 13 January, the de facto independent island, which China wants to ‘reunify’, will elect a new president and parliament. An estimated 19.3 million voters have been called to the polls. The election, which is being closely watched by the international community, could reshape relations between Taipei and Beijing, […]
Short or long term, states or universal order
There is undoubtedly a personal element to this, so it is only fair to start here: I do not believe that international political issues between states can be reduced to a zero-sum game in which, as realists say, only national interests are eternal. All the rest is subject to the convenience of the moment. For […]
US: Common Ground Lost
United States’ fabric is reaching a point of no return that resembles what happened less than 200 years ago with the Civil War. The reason for contention has changed, but its structure didn’t. The other side of the Nation is no longer a partner with whom political understandings may be negotiated but an enemy to […]
US and China: Difficult Coups and Institutions
American newspapers are voicing growing concern that Donald Trump, who is running for president, is sounding more like Mussolini and Hitler.[1] Also, following the 2020 January 6 attack on Capitol Hill, something like a preview of an attempted coup, some fear Trump may be tempted to repeat the game, only this time better organized. However, […]
China long term advantages
USA-China Mirrors What will work better between USA and China, short-term economic cycles or long-term systemic assets or baggage? The picture may look not so clear if seen from Beijing. Beijing has just launched a whole array of measures aimed at compensating for lackluster growth at the beginning of the year, and its main thrust […]
DeTrumping America?
Former U.S. president Donald Trump’s call on his supporters to rise in protest against his reportedly impending indictment breaks the first principle in a democratic state: trust in its institutions. A trial can be right or wrong in thousands of ways, but it’s a different ballgame if you don’t accept it. In this way, he says […]
US strategy and Qin Gang’s loss
The United States, after World War II, rebuilt Europe, Japan and South Korea, creating new vibrant states that were not American “colonies”. They had a dialectic relationship with America that was not devoid of friction. A similar attempt to rebuild the Middle East and Central Asia starting in 2004 after the War on Terror failed […]