Foreign Policy Blogs

International

Personal Battles Against Corruption

Personal Battles Against Corruption

Corruption sours healthy economies, always places freedoms at risk and awards the worst of the worst for doing the most damage they can possibly imagine. Much of the slide from corruption into a full totalitarian regime comes from purging those who may limit the powers of elites who wish to dominate their fiefdom. In many […]

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When you Just Want to Fly

When you Just Want to Fly

The effects of Covid will likely been seen in the economic collapse of many businesses in the autumn. While most societies have organised themselves to some degree to handle any future waves of the virus, the commercial effect will likely start to show signs of a deteriorating economy over the fall and winter months. Smaller […]

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The Benefits of Policy Diversity

The Benefits of Policy Diversity

There are few regions that share the same mix of familiar cultures, language, food and media like Spain and Latin America and separately so, the Middle East. While regions that share their heritage in the Anglo-sphere often dominate world culture and politics, the combined efforts and collective policy approaches of Spain and Latin America as […]

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Losses, Pandemics and Stolen Taxes

Losses, Pandemics and Stolen Taxes

  The Covid-19 pandemic affected the world in a negative fashion and almost all countries incurred losses in their communities, often their beloved elderly parents and grandparents, neighbours, family and friends. Along with the loss of some in our communities, we also lost employment and security, and have been stapled to a generation of debt […]

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International Application of the GDPR During the Pandemic

International Application of the GDPR During the Pandemic

  My country, like many others, are starting to produce apps for people’s phones to help provide data on any Covid outbreaks and specify to individuals if they are at increased risk. While such strategies had already been applied in some countries that were able to sufficiently manage their own outbreaks over the last year, […]

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Our Lost Generation

Our Lost Generation

There has been some discussion comparing modern times to that of the pre-First World War period. While that era was characterized by the social and economic effects of industrialization with little labour protections and the struggle of people living under colonial rule, the comparisons could likely be made to any era that suffered from conflict. […]

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Trump and the Pandemic: WHO’s to Blame?

Trump and the Pandemic: WHO’s to Blame?

President Trump has clearly decided to deflect blame for the disastrous impact of the COVID-19* pandemic in the United States by attacking China and the World Health Organization (WHO). Of the two, the one that is likely to suffer more, with more consequences for the United States and the rest of the world, is WHO. […]

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Issues Ignored

Issues Ignored

Years ago when writing on the plight of the Haitian people, it was evident that the quick global reaction to the 2010 Haiti earthquake may only help Haitians in the immediate term. Other issues like the kidnapping of the Nigerian school girls and the death of Neda at the hands of the Iranian regime received […]

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Insuring a Systemic Collapse

Insuring a Systemic Collapse

The present and future effects of a Covid shutdown on international society will have significant consequences on our employment, economy, taxes, and even those mechanisms that protect and insure us. New laws and regulations that would be considered a violation of consumer rights and protections, labour codes, and to some degree human compassion, are taking […]

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The Plagues of Debt and Deficits

The Plagues of Debt and Deficits

With the sudden shock of Covid-19, almost all economic activity locally and globally had ceased after February 2020. Only now towards the end of May 2020 have some countries decided to carefully open up businesses, economies and society in returning to normalcy. Much of the idea of a return to normal is linked to the […]

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The Grand Disengagement

The Grand Disengagement

There has been a great deal of discussion in Western and other countries surrounding an economic and political disengagement from China’s economy. Since the acceptance of China into the WTO in 2001 and the great re-introduction of China into the world economy after 2008, the Chinese economy has flourished, mainly based upon supplying consumer goods […]

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Local Business and your Democracy

Local Business and your Democracy

The loss of local businesses will likely have a greater long term effect on your community and country past losing your favourite pub or preferred place to eat. Besides making communities interesting, innovative and increasingly energetic, smaller and medium sized companies are a significant contributor to a healthy democracy. While the Corporatist model of policy […]

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Coronavirus proves what Ukrainians already knew – the UN doesn’t work

Coronavirus proves what Ukrainians already knew – the UN doesn’t work

  The coronavirus crisis is still in full swing, but attention is already turning towards the international environment we are likely to encounter in the post-pandemic world. With entire countries currently in lockdown and comparisons with major wars becoming commonplace, many expect the impact from the crisis to be genuinely historic. One popular subject of […]

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The Significance of the Have-Nots

The Significance of the Have-Nots

It is no surprise to those that live on the Mediterranean that often policy that is made in Brussels, Berlin, and Paris foresee little impact on the borders of the EU. When many decision are made in the centre of Western Europe, often it is Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal that have to manage the […]

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Emergency Powers Not Becoming a Permanent Destiny

Emergency Powers Not Becoming a Permanent Destiny

With the necessity of applying emergence powers to governments in this and other times or economic, political or heath crises, there needs to still be a culture where the governments are consistently held to account for their use of powers and their actions in relation to the operation of a healthy democracy. No one in […]

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