The Global Eye’s daily briefs – Editor, The Global Eye
All that is taken up here, in the complexity of open sources, does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Global Eye
TOPICS
- (Climate Change & Sustainability) September 30, 2022. David G. Victor, Marcel Lumkowsky, Astrid Dannenberg, and Emily Carlton, Brookings. Is the Paris Agreement working? That’s hard to tell, because it’s hard to measure. Under the terms of the agreement, each country pledges its own commitments to control emissions, which are not binding under international law. The beauty of the non-binding approach is that countries are free to take risks in how they set their commitments. If commitments were fully binding, as they were in previous approaches — notably the Kyoto Protocol — then diplomats might simply water down the content of agreements to make sure that countries can comfortably comply, or they might refuse to sign on or withdraw altogether. Success of the Paris Agreement hinges on the credibility of national climate goals
- (Cybersecurity) September 30, 2022. Beth Maundrill, Infosecurity. The European Commission has publicized new liability rules on digital products and artificial intelligence (AI) in order to protect consumers from harm, including in cases where cybersecurity vulnerabilities fail to be addressed. Manufacturers Failing to Address Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities Liable Under New European Rules
- (Defense – Military – Security) September 30, 2022. Patrick Tucker, Defense One. As Russia scrambles to prepare new draftees for its Ukrainian war, the governments of NATO’s Baltic states worry about the growing masses of Russian troops in training sites near their borders. Baltic Worries Mount as Russian Draftees Flood into Regional Training Sites
- (Defense – Military – Security) September 30, 2022.
- (Defense – Military – Security) September 30, 2022. Sebastian Sprenger, Defense News. With Sweden and Finland poised to join NATO, countries in the region are debating ways of more effectively defending the alliance’s northern flank, putting new divisions of labor on the table for connecting forces from the Baltic Sea to the North Sea. Nordic countries draft new playbook for defending NATO’s north
- (Defense – Military – Security) September 30, 2022. Colin Demarest, Defense News. Artificial intelligence and cloud-analytics company BigBear.ai won a $14.8 million, nine-month Army contract to roll out the service’s Global Force Information Management system. BigBear.ai delivering US Army digital info system with Palantir’s help
- (Defense – Military – Security) September 30, 2022. Leo Shane III, Defense News. Senate lawmakers confirmed the next leaders of U.S. Space Force and U.S. Strategic Command on Thursday during wrap-up work ahead of the October recess. Here are the new leaders of the Space Force and US Strategic Command
- (Digital & Health) September 30, 2022. Shania Kennedy, Health IT Analytics. Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a machine-learning (ML) tool capable of identifying new patterns of health decline in neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease. Machine Learning Finds New Patterns of Decline in ALS, Alzheimer’s
- (Digital & Health) September 30, 2022. Shania Kennedy, Health IT Analytics. The National Cancer Institute Community Oncology Research Program (NCI NCORP)-designated Louisiana State University (LSU) Health New Orleans is collaborating with artificial intelligence (AI) and real-world data solutions company ConcertAI to improve diversity in clinical trials and ensure broader access for cancer patients. Real-World Data Collab Aims to Improve Diversity in Cancer Clinical Trials
- (Global Development) September 30, 2022. Salvatore Capasso, Franziska Ohnsorge, and Shu Yu, Brookings. Informal economic activity is widespread around the world. On average, such activity accounts for about one-third of output, and informal employment captures almost one-third of total employment (Figure 1). It undermines revenue collections, stunts productivity, hinders investment, and traps some of the most vulnerable workers in low-paying, unproductive employment. For policymakers in countries with widespread informality, it is a formidable challenge. Financial development to formalize economies
- (Global Governance) September 29, 2022. Graham Scott, International Republican Institute. Last winter, the Biden administration released the United States Strategy on Countering Corruption, which outlines five strategic pillars for how the U.S. intends to combat corruption at home and around the world. Connecting Environmental Protection and Anticorruption in Southeastern Europe
- (Transatlantic Trends) September 29, 2022. GMF. The geopolitical turmoil of 2022 presents a multitude of challenges for the transatlantic community. Transatlantic Trends 2022
WORLDS
- (Afghanistan) September 30, 2022. Brookings. On August 27, 2021, the Congressional Study Group on Foreign Relations and National Security convened over Zoom to discuss the international law of government recognition and its implications for the recent Taliban takeover in Afghanistan. The suddenness of Taliban military conquest in the country and President Ghani’s decision to flee created an immediate question of whether the United States should recognize the new Taliban government. Recognition and the Taliban
- (China) September 30, 2022. Cheng Li, China US Focus, Brookings. It is an irony of history that China and the United States have been moving toward a confrontational course in recent years while the Chinese political leadership has been comprised of many influential American-educated policy makers. During his first two terms, Xi Jinping has worked closely with leaders who have substantial overseas experience, especially in the United States and other Western countries. The strong representation of these returnees at various levels of leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) apparently has not changed as a result of the ongoing rapid deterioration of U.S.-China relations. An analysis of the leadership lineup on the eve of the 20th Party Congress shows that this trend will likely continue in Xi’s third term. The Reshuffling Report
- (Hungary) September 30, 2022. Tibor Dessewffy, ECFR. Viktor Orban has had 12 years to learn how to circumvent democratic reforms. The European Commission should bide its time in assessing whether to suspend funding to Hungary. Orban’s integrity office: Everything is legal but nothing is democratic
- (India) September 30, 2022. Harsh V. Pant, ORF. Last week, external affairs minister S Jaishankar forcefully put India’s outlook on the global stage at the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Though it was aptly titled A Watershed Moment: Transformative Solutions to Interlocking Challenges, it was clear that transformative solutions are nowhere in the offing. India is at the heart of global governance shifts
- (India) September 30, 2022. Malancha Chakrabarty, ORF. The Russia-Ukraine war has dealt a massive blow to a world already battered by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) appear farther from reach. The current global scenario demands greater international cooperation for development. Yet, development aid is increasingly getting more securitised, and the imperative is for the international community to leverage cooperation during the current Decade of Action for the SDGs. This paper argues that India’s model of development cooperation can serve as an example of sustainable development cooperation for its many advantages over the approaches of other donors. It recommends that India assume greater global leadership for sustainable development. Development Cooperation Towards the SDGs: The India Model
- (Iran) September 30, 2022. Reuel Marc Gerecht, Ray Takeyh, FDD. Since 1989, Ali Khamenei has been the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The modern Middle East’s most accomplished dictator
- (Iran) September 30, 2022. Ellie Geranmayeh, ECFR. Young people in Iran have led mass protests after the death of a woman in police custody. The West should stand in solidarity with the protesters while keeping the diplomatic route open to constrain Iran’s nuclear programme. Generation no: The Iranian uprising and how the West should respond
- (Iran) September 30, 2022. Sina Azodi, Atlantic Council. The brutal killing of Mahsa (Jina) Amini, a young Iranian woman, at the hands of the “morality police” of the Islamic Republic, has sparked widespread protests, with Iranians chanting anti-regime slogans for more than two weeks. Unlike previous protests, the ongoing demonstrations are seemingly much more widespread, with all thirty-one provinces experiencing protests, including the bastions of Shia clergy, Mashhad, and Qom. The Islamic Republic, as usual, has responded by severely limiting access to Internet, arresting hundreds of students and political activists, and killing more than fifty people, according to some reports. Iran is having nationwide protests. Is it a ‘revolution’?
- (Iran) September 30, 2022. Nicholas Carl, Kitaneh Fitzpatrick, Zachary Coles, and Frederick W. Kagan, ISW. Anti-regime protests are continuing in at least 10 major cities in eight provinces and escalated violently in southeastern Sistan and Baluchistan Province on September 30. Iran Crisis Update, September 30
- (Japan) October 1, 2022. Willem Thorbecke, East Asia Forum. Japan has used monetary policy to stoke inflation since Shinzo Abe became prime minister in 2012. But as inflation exceeds 8 per cent in the United States and Europe and 10 per cent in the United Kingdom, Japanese inflation averaged less than 2 per cent between January and July 2022. The question is why the Bank of Japan (BOJ) has failed to hit its inflation target despite purchasing 400 trillion yen (US$2.8 trillion) worth of government bonds over the last ten years. Japan’s deflated record on monetary policy
- (Japan) September 30, 2022. Ernils Larsson, East Asia Forum. The assassination of Japanese former prime minister Shinzo Abe on 8 July 2022 brought to light the role that religious organisations play in Japanese politics. While the Unification Church was not directly involved in the incident, Abe’s shooter is outspoken about being motivated by the ties between Abe and the church. Abe’s death reignites religion and state debate
- (Poland) September 29, 2022. Andrzej Bobinski, GMF. Thirty percent could be the magic number in Polish opinion polls as next year’s elections approach. Is an Infighting PiS Ready to Reinvent Itself to Boost its Electoral Chances?
- (Russia – Ukraine) September 30, 2022. Chad P. Bown, PIIE. Russia’s war on Ukraine: A sanctions timeline
- (Russia – Ukraine) September 30, 2022. Patrick Tucker, Defense One. As Russia moved to illegally annex a huge portion of Ukraine, the head of NATO said that the world can not waver in its support of Kyiv even as Russia’s leader threatens to use nuclear weapons to “defend” stolen land. NATO Chief Slams Russia’s ‘Nuclear Blackmail,’ Remains Cool to Ukraine’s Membership Bid
- (Russia – Ukraine) September 30, 2022.
- (Russia – Ukraine) September 30, 2022. Peter Dickinson, Atlantic Council. Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered one of his most unhinged performances on September 30 in a speech announcing the annexation of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions. Addressing hundreds of Russian officials during a ceremony in the Kremlin, Putin had relatively little to say about the war in Ukraine. Instead, his address was dominated by some of the fiercest anti-Western rhetoric of his 22-year reign. Putin denounces imperialism while annexing large swathes of Ukraine
- (Russia – Ukraine) September 30, 2022. Daniel Malloy, Atlantic Council. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s move to annex four regions of Ukraine on Friday prompted international outrage. The message from Ottawa to its Western allies: Stay the course. “We will never recognize these sham referendums… these are Ukrainian territories,” Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said at an Atlantic Council Front Page event on Friday. “We have been clear about that, and therefore our strategy won’t change. And that’s important for the world to know.”. Canadian foreign minister: After Putin’s annexation ‘our strategy won’t change’ on Ukraine
- (Russia – Ukraine) September 30, 2022. Kateryna Stepanenko, Katherine Lawlor, Grace Mappes, Riley Bailey, George Barros, and Frederick W. Kagan, ISW. Russian President Vladimir Putin did not threaten an immediate nuclear attack to halt the Ukrainian counteroffensives into Russian-occupied Ukraine during his speech announcing Russia’s illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory. Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, September 30
- (Russia – Ukraine) September 30, 2022. Mason Clark, Katherine Lawlor, and Kateryna Stepanenko, ISW. Russian President Vladimir Putin did not threaten an immediate nuclear attack to halt the Ukrainian counteroffensives into Russian-occupied Ukraine during his speech announcing Russia’s illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory. Special Report: Assessing Putin’s Implicit Nuclear Threats After Annexation
- (UK) September 30, 2022. Robin Niblett, CSIS. Six years after its shock referendum decision to leave the European Union, the United Kingdom has lurched into a new crisis. Following the new chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s presentation of the Growth Plan 2022 to Parliament on September 23, three things have happened: yields on UK five-year bonds shot above those paid by heavily indebted Greece and Italy; the pound hit the lowest-ever level against the dollar, spurring already high levels of inflation and undermining the Bank of England’s planned monetary response; and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued an unexpected and harsh warning that the package will likely fuel the cost-of-living crisis in the United Kingdom. Shock and Incredulity: Why Markets Don’t Buy the New British Government’s Growth Plan
- (Ukraine – NATO) September 30, 2022. Atlantic Council. Shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s pomp-filled ceremony in a gilded Kremlin hall to mark the illegal annexation of occupied Ukrainian territory, his counterpart in Kyiv responded with his own bold gamble: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that his country would apply for fast-track membership to NATO. Zelenskyy is pushing for fast-track NATO membership. Does Ukraine have a fighting chance to join the club?
- (USA – China) September 20, 2022. Bryant Harris, Defense News. A bipartisan group of 15 senators is seeking to create a commission tasked with formulating a “grand strategy” on China that avoids conflict with the world’s most populous nation while allowing the U.S. to pursue its interests. Senators propose ‘China Grand Strategy’ commission to guide US policy
- (USA – China) September 2022. Jessica Brandt, Sarah Kreps, Chris Meserole, Pavneet Singh, and Melanie W. Sisson, Brookings. Technology is at the center of the emerging competition between the United States and China, with far-reaching consequences for democratic societies. At stake in this competition are the prestige and reach of liberal values, as well as the economic competitiveness and national security of the United States and its allies and partners. Fortunately, there are steps that the United States government, working with the private sector and other democratic governments, can take to sharpen America’s edge across four dimensions of the technology competition: talent; norms and standards; research and development; and trade, investment, and industrial policy. Succeeding in the AI competition with China: A strategy for action
- (USA – Israel) September 30, 2022. FDD. The naval forces of the United States and Israel conducted a four-day bilateral training exercise, dubbed Digital Shield, this month in the Red Sea’s Gulf of Aqaba. U.S., Israeli Navies Conduct Exercise as Iran Steps up Maritime Aggression
- (US – Pacific Island Country Summit) September 30, 2022. Charles Edel, Christopher B. Johnstone, Gregory B. Poling, CSIS. The Biden administration hosted the first-ever U.S.-Pacific Island Country Summit in Washington, D.C. on September 28–29, bringing together more than a dozen Pacific Island leaders and other key observers to discuss areas of shared interest, including climate change, maritime security, and economic development. The summit came in tandem with the White House’s release of its first-ever Pacific Partnership Strategy, laying out a framework for the future of U.S. engagement with the region. In this Critical Questions, CSIS experts explore the implications of the summit and provide insight into Washington’s renewed focus on the region and what it might mean for U.S.-Pacific Islands relations moving forward. White House Unveils Pacific Islands Strategy at Historic Summit
