U.S.-Japan relations and American military realignment in the region

DiploWeek 4
The U.S. and Japan met once again this week to discuss the 2006 Roadmap to Realignment and the 2009 Guam International Agreement. The 2006 Roadmap would relocate Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, now in the center of Okinawa’s Ginowan City, to a more remote area of the island. The Guam agreement would move 8,000 Marines and their 9,000 dependents from Okinawa to Guam. Both agreements work to lessen the costs Okinawa has to bear as a result of the...

Unpacking Russia's stabilizing
role in the Asian Pacific

DiploWeek 3
In an interview published in the Izvestia newspaper on January 27, 2012, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov directly addressed a perceived Chinese-American struggle for influence in the Asia Pacific region and how Russia plans to maintain its influence. The premiss of the statement is based on a recent shift in policy by the U.S., part of which is inspired by a potential shift in power in the region as a result of China’s military buildup. According to Lavrov, Russia...

Afghanistan collects long-term strategic partnership agreements

DiploWeek 2
The future of long-term international commitment to development in Afghanistan became slightly clearer this week as Afghanistan signed strategic partnership and friendship agreements with numerous countries. Stopping first in Rome on a four day trip around Europe, Afghan President Hamid Karzai met with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti to sign a strategic partnership and friendship agreements with numerous countries. Stopping first in Rome on a four day trip...

Arab League issues a roadmap for Syria, no international consensus

DiploWeek 1
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported this week that while world food prices declined in December, 2011 food prices were the highest on record. At the peak in February 2011, the Food Price Index level was at 238 points, where as the December level was 27 points lower. The average through the year was 228 points, which is the highest since the Food Price Index began tracking prices in 1990. The next highest year, 2008, hardly touches...

US at a turning point for military personnel, operations, and budget

Pakistan expands its international partnerships

Maldives transitions quickly, protests continue

UN applauds progress in Darfur, calls for an influx of political will and financing

Mixed reviews from UN and NATO on Afghan security

Romanian PM Boc resigns, encourages political competition

WTO requires China's export restrictions on raw materials removed

Moldova and Transnistria stable after Transnistria's elections

Norway and Russia plan path towards Arctic energy exploration

Diplomatic preparations for NATO's Chicago summit underway

Iran supports Syria's response to internal violence, the West

U.S. pursues international space diplomacy

China and India's border issue gets a formal working group

By reducing demand, Ukraine hopes to reduce the price of Russian gas

Burma's progress warms relations

Once again, PNA-Hamas agree on unity

Tunisia looks to Community of Democracies for technical assistance

Amid budget cuts, U.S. challenges Europe to match NATO contributions

IAEA consultations with Tehran to continue

Croatia ratification of EU accession treaty sets an important example for Balkans

EU levies additional sanctions on Iran

IMF: The longer we wait, the worse it will get

Mexico joins the Wassenaar Arrangement

China claims transparency, urges U.S. to reverse progress-damaging policies

Europe and India to continue working on Free Trade Agreement

The state of Cyberwar in the United States

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