Stories about International Relations from August, 2021
Employees of Hungarian-owned TV in North Macedonia conduct partial strike over unpaid salaries
Since 2018, money funneled through Hungarian companies have bolstered media peddling populist propaganda in Slovenia and North Macedonia.
Who is glorifying terrorism: Hong Kong students or the Chinese government?
HK police arrested four university students on charges of 'advocating terrorism' because they mourned the death of a police assaulter. Meanwhile, China looks to cooperate with the Afghan Taliban.
Cambodia’s China-funded mega dam linked to rights abuses and loss of fisheries
"Today, everything the dammed-up rivers provided – food, water, an income from fishing – is gone."
Hydrogen: Savior or boondoggle for Russia?
The Kremlin takes a reactive approach to developing a hydrogen fuel industry capable of competing on European markets.
Azerbaijani experts debate causes of recent escalation
With violence between Armenia and Azerbaijan spiking, Azerbaijani experts are debating the causes behind the recent escalation, who benefits, and what happens next.
Venezuela and China: Strong bond or empty words?
Venezuelan authorities claim that the strategic partnership with China remains as strong as ever, but they have reaped little economic benefits from it since 2016.
Kanal Istanbul, Turkey's Middle Corridor, and the Belt and Road Initiative
The Middle Corridor, formally known as the Trans-Caspian East-West-Middle Corridor Initiative, reflects Turkey’s dream of building links to China via the Caucasus and Central Asia.
Chinese investments in Nigeria flourish on a Silk Road of corruption
The willingness of corrupt Chinese businesspeople to bribe equally fraudulent Nigerian government officials is rarely captured by the simplistic mutual understanding narrative pushed by Chinese diplomats.
The Chinese government drives support among ambassadors of Muslim countries for the Uyghur genocide
Ignoring data collected over the years by activists and testimonies by former inmates of Xinjiang "re-education camps," ambassadors from Muslim countries peddled the official Chinese line during a staged interview.
What’s wrong with the political analogy comparing Taiwan to Afghanistan?
Following the withdrawal of the U.S. forces from Afghanistan, Chinese commentators comparing Taiwan with Kabul have flooded social media questioning the credibility of the United States' commitment to Taiwan.
Journalists call for the release of Cheng Lei who has spent a year in detention in China
"We are concerned about the chilling affect her arrest has on the practice of journalism, which has never been more critical."
Dissecting the ‘win-win’ of Chinese investment in Greece
On the surface, Sino-Greek economic relations, largely centered around shipping, are seen as bilateral ‘win-win’. But this narrative becomes more complex if one examines Greek media and political actors.
Code Red: climate crisis is inflaming extreme weather disasters
'To me, the most important part of this week's big IPCC climate report is that science has now established a direct causal link between fossil fuel burning and extreme weather.'
China’s wavering COVID-19 vaccine diplomacy in Turkey
Turkey procured vaccines from China in December 2020, but delivery delays and negative perceptions of China-made vaccines are now making other sources more attractive.
Climate change in the Pacific: “The time is now” to avoid catastrophe
"This is a final call for action and that we do not have any more excuses, or time to lose, and that every single degree matters."
China state media erases references to fictitious Swiss biologist
Major Chinese state media outlets quoted a fake Swiss biologist to spread misinformation that the US had turned the WHO into a political tool.
Are Turkish environmental groups alone in criticizing the Beijing-Ankara economic integration?
The Hunutlu coal-fired power plant is part of China's Belt and Road Initiative in Turkey, an economic and political cooperation program that Ankara joined in November 2015.
New Zealand government apologizes for dawn raids targeting Pacific communities in the 1970s
"I stand before you as a symbol of the Crown that wronged you nearly 50 years ago."
Is anti-Chinese sentiment in Kyrgyzstan strong enough to freeze a key Belt and Road Initiative project?
A logistics project in Kyrgyzstan, part of China's BRI infrastructure program, was poised to become a commercial hub in the heart of Eurasia. Despite the hype, it now seems stalled.
Small but complex: the unexpected political ramifications of enclaves
Often a source of overlapping spatial and human conflicts, enclaves are a peculiar geographic configuration that put into question sovereignty and identity in several regions of the world.
The diplomatic struggle over Taiwan's name in the Olympics
The Taiwan team can only use a plum blossom flag in the Olympic Games because the International Olympic Committee refused to let Taiwan using its national flag.
