The great tsar of twenty-first century Russia, Vladimir Putin has just suffered his first strategic setback. He has lost Erdogan, his friend of five years. On his southern flank, Putin had succeeded, since August 2016, in building an anti-Western partnership with his counterpart in authoritarianism, the neo-Ottoman sultan, enshrined in the delivery to the Turkish … Lire la suite de Putin’s first strategic setback
Iran, the new pawn in China’s realpolitik
In the global chess game between the United States and China, the latter has just seized an important square. On 27 March 2021, Iran's foreign minister went to Beijing to sign a 25-year strategic cooperation pact with China. The Chinese will invest the equivalent of $400 billion in Iran in the fields of road infrastructure, … Lire la suite de Iran, the new pawn in China’s realpolitik
President Biden’s migration challenge
On the border between Mexico and the United States, human traffickers have adapted, with their characteristic cynicism, to the new administrative situation prevailing in Washington. Joe Biden has retained the Title 42 health directive issued by his predecessor, which allows US border guards to immediately deport illegal border crossers. But he made an exception for … Lire la suite de President Biden’s migration challenge
The remarkable successes of the State of Israel
On Tuesday 23 March 2021, Israelis voted for the fourth time in two years in a legislative election. The only democracy in the Middle East, Israel has a parliamentary system inherited from the British model, but with proportional representation for the 120 members of the Knesset. As soon as a list crosses the 3.25% threshold … Lire la suite de The remarkable successes of the State of Israel
Erodogan and Algeria: the straw and the beam
In the wake of the Arab Spring ten years ago, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan developed a neo-Ottoman strategy aimed at regaining influence over North Africa and the Levant, which he lost a century ago. The results are mixed. This very determined Muslim Brother tried to establish himself in Egypt and Tunisia, but he failed. … Lire la suite de Erodogan and Algeria: the straw and the beam
The dramatic setbacks of christianity
Luminous was the Pope's three-day visit to Iraq, which he completed on 8 March 2021. It was the return to Mesopotamia of some of the light of Christ, which the apostles Thomas and Thaddeus had brought to the land in the first century. Six hundred years before this land was invaded by the Islam of … Lire la suite de The dramatic setbacks of christianity
The beautiful dream of the « alliance of democraties »
Speaking by videoconference on 19 February 2021 at the Munich Conference, devoted each year to security issues, Joe Biden wished to send "a clear message to the world: America is back, the transatlantic alliance is back!". The President of the United States thus wanted to signal his country's return to multilateralism in diplomacy, based on … Lire la suite de The beautiful dream of the « alliance of democraties »
How Europe lost Libya
Ten years ago, in Benghazi, the insurrection began against Gaddafi, the "Guide" who had ruled Libya with an iron fist since his 1969 military coup d'état against the monarchy. From March, the French president, anxious to hop on the the "Arab Spring" bandwagon, decided to defend the rebels politically, then militarily. He was joined by … Lire la suite de How Europe lost Libya
The humiliating absence of a french vaccine
In his Mulhouse speech of 25 March 2020, delivered from a military field hospital, the President of the Republic explained that we were at war against the Covid-19 virus. We had believed that the State, fed by the highest compulsory levies in Europe, was going to do everything in its power to win this war … Lire la suite de The humiliating absence of a french vaccine
Let’s be realistic about Russia
The Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union (EU), to be held on Monday 22 February 2021 in Brussels, will be dedicated to the relations it must build with Russia. It is here that the European High Representative for Foreign Affairs will report on the results of his visit to Moscow on Friday 5 February. … Lire la suite de Let’s be realistic about Russia