The War in Yemen Part 1: Background and Main Actors

The Republic of Yemen, a small country of 29 million on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, has been torn apart by war since 2014. Separate but overlapping violent conflicts, exacerbated by a Saudi-led military intervention, have generated political fragmentation and the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Of the estimated quarter of a million people […]

Russia-Ukraine invasion and Southeast Asian Responses

Russia-Ukraine invasion explained The Russia-Ukraine conflict began in early 2014, and tensions have slowly escalated ever since. Last year, the Russian government started sending troops and placing resources in proximity to Ukraine’s border. In December 2021, Russia issued a set of demands calling on NATO to cease expansion to Eastern and Central Europe and reject […]

U.S’s withdrawal in Afghanistan and its effects on ASEAN relations

U.S’s withdrawal in Afghanistan in 2021 In 2021, after twenty years of military occupation, the United States and international forces departed Afghanistan. President Biden remarked: “It’s time to end America’s longest war”. After the withdrawal event, the local Afghan government disbanded, and the Taliban, an Islamic extremist group that formerly took control of the nation, […]

Introduction to Russia-West Africa Relations

The “New Scramble for Africa” is a phrase newly adopted by many in the field of foreign policy, defining the latest form of colonialism where global powers seek control of strategic resources on the African continent. The phrase derived from the 1884-5 Berlin Conference, in which thirteen European countries and the United States met in […]

The Persecution of Human Rights Defenders in Latin America

What Are Human Rights Defenders? According to the United Nations, human rights defenders “individually or with others, act to promote or protect human rights in a peaceful manner.” This often takes the form of monitoring governments and businesses to bring attention to human rights violations and crimes, defending vulnerable populations, and advocating for environmental protection. […]

US Response to the EU Energy Crisis

Over the course of the past six months, the United States committed to several EU-U.S. trade agreements to support the European economy in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The US aims to reduce the European Union economy’s dependence on Russian gas and oil. The EU and the US have restricted energy imports […]

US Military in South Korea

The presence of the American military in South Korea began at the end of WWII, when American and Soviet forces entered the peninsula to facilitate the removal of Japanese forces. The American military was positioned south of the 38th parallel whereas Soviet forces moved north. When North Korean forces invaded South Korea in 1950, triggering […]

What the Colombian Presidential Election Means for US Relations

Introduction On June 19, 2022, Colombia elected Gustavo Petro, the 62-year old, left-wing senator, former mayor of Bogotá, and former member of the M-19 guerilla, as president with 50.8% of the vote, defeating Rodolfo Hernandez, a 77-year-old real estate tycoon and former mayor of Bucaramanga. Petro’s win is historic, as he becomes the country’s first-ever […]