By Marwan Tahtah
In the alleys of Homs in Western Syria, my camera looks for what’s left of the city and struggles to find any remnants. On the sidewalk lies a stray cat that does not let out a sound. It drags its memories of destruction and hides behind one of the buildings reduced to rubble. The smell of war and the deafening silence of its aftermath pervade.
Read MoreBy Ellen Chapin
In examining the rise of the Weimar Republic, a central question guides many historians: how did it all happen?
Read MoreBy Dira T. Fabrian
Article 35 of the ASEAN Charter, signed in 2008, states that “ASEAN shall promote its common ASEAN identity and a sense of belonging among its peoples in order to achieve its shared destiny, goals and values.” But what is a Southeast Asian identity, and how can it be promoted?
Read MoreBy Alex Defroand, Joshua Jacobs, Nelly Mecklenburg, Will Wright, Rebecca TeKolste, and Johannes Sosada
In our first ever podcast series, we talked with former presidential candidates, directors of major banks, academics, and journalists as we grappled with the implications of this year in politics and international affairs: Donald Trump’s election; Brexit; the ever-worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Syria; the refugee crisis; and the future of liberalism.
Read MoreBy Josh Jacobs
British diplomat Matthew Rycroft shares his perspectives on United Nations reform, female leadership in politics, the election of Donald Trump, and more.
Read MoreBy Marwan Tahtah
The Syrian Civil War has seen more than 4.8 million refugees flee the country, with 1.1 million now living in neighboring Lebanon.
Read MoreBy Kevjn Lim
Many intelligence agencies were caught off guard by the Arab Spring in 2011. Similarly, many agencies failed to anticipate the Islamic State taking over Mosul in 2014. Yet, the reasons behind these instances of strategic surprise weren’t new at all. They were already apparent over 25 years before prior to the Iranian Revolution, and still pervade contemporary intelligence work.
Read MoreBy Arnab Roy Chowdhury and Sreedeep Bhattacharya
The Mae-Tao-clinic in the Tak province of Thailand is located in a conflict-ridden border zone with Myanmar, where life, livelihood and cultural pursuits are liminal, chaotic and dangerous.
Read MoreBy Luis Ferreira Alvarez
Mercosur — a free trade and custom union formed in 1991 between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay (and later joined by Venezuela) — promotes the free movement of goods and people across the zone. Mercosur’s members have benefited from having integrated markets that expand their commerce. The South American bloc, like the European Union, can sign free trade agreements only as a bloc.
Read MoreBy Ariya Hagh and Peyman Majidzadeh
“Dear citizens! Attention please, attention please: Tehran is now free.” Such was the content of an anonymous message widely shared on the messaging app Telegram in the immediate aftermath of the 2016 elections in Iran.
Read MoreBy Michael Darden
On November 5, 2015, a tailing dam in the state of Minas Gerais (in the southeast of Brazil) ruptured. It released an estimated fifty million tons of iron ore waste into neighboring areas. It has quickly become the country’s worst environmental disaster. Seventeen people were killed and entire towns were submerged by the thick toxic sludge, which seeped into the Rio Doce river basin, traveled downstream, and has begun to spill into the Atlantic Ocean.
Read MoreBy Joshua Jacobs
In a wide-ranging interview with the Yale Journal of International Affairs on the one-year anniversary of her departure from office, Ashton reflects on the vicissitudes of her term. We talk of the more frustrating foreign policy challenges that she faced, the possibility of her own country voting to leave the European Union this summer, and how she felt as the only woman in a room with the European Union’s twenty-eight male foreign ministers.
Read MoreBy Sofía del Carril and Míriam Juan-Torres
May 2002 - After days of fighting between the paramilitaries and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the inhabitants of Bojayá, in the department of Chocó, sought refuge in the town’s church. The Colombian army was fully aware of what was happening, but nowhere to be seen. In the crossfire, a cylinder bomb fired by the FARC hit the church, killing seventy-nine civilians, including forty-five children, and leaving dozens injured.
Read MoreBy Allison Cordell
YJIA met with Jerry Ng, Bank BTPN’s CEO and president director, for a conversation about the bank’s mission and successful business model. Mr. Ng told us about the bank’s strategy for its microfinance portfolio, the plans for adapting BTPN’s model for other emerging markets in Asia, and the books that helped him become a more effective leader.
Read MoreIn this exclusive interview with YJIA, David Rothkopf speaks about his book, the swelling of the National Security Council and micromanagement under President Obama, and the shifting impact of the media and technology in shaping national security.
Read MoreBy Manuela Graetz, Geo Kalev, and Marjan Kloosterboer
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is a young city. Founded in 1886 by King Menelik II and Queen Taitu, in its first decades the city grew organically, without any formal planning.
Read MoreBy Liza Lin
The Yale Journal of International Affairs sat down with Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka to talk about the Sustainable Development Goals and the gender equality fight.
Read MoreBy Gita Murti
In the coming months, ASEAN watchers will witness whether the motto “One Vision, One Identity, One Community” will become a reality or remain a lofty aspiration.
Read MoreBy Sven-Eric Fikenscher
For the time being, JCPOA-related restrictions will keep Iran relatively far away from the nuclear weapons option, but Iran could undermine those restraints by cheating. U.S. policy vis-à-vis Iran should be informed by the likelihood that cheating takes place and should endeavor to decrease whatever incentive Iran might have to cheat.
Read MoreBy Faiqa Mahmood
Covert drone strikes in Pakistan target terrorists and militants belonging to al-Qaeda and its associated groups. Proponents of the current drone policy assert that the United States increasingly relies upon drones for one simple reason: they work. But do they?
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