French President Macron ended a four-nation tour of Africa earlier in March, which took him to Gabon, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Hopeful of restoring France’s influence in the continent, Macron met with African presidents amid popular protests – signs of rising anti-French sentiment in parts of Francophone Africa.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Migration, and Economic Cooperation
The diplomatic relation between China and Ivory Coast spans over more than four decades. Both sides have strengthened their relations in recent years as China looks to cement its presence in Africa.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Bilateral Relations, Investment, and Economic Cooperation
Iran executed on January 14, 2022, a British-Iranian national who once served as its deputy defence minister, defying calls from London and Washington for his release. Alireza Akbari was arrested in 2019 and accused of spying for Britain. He served as a defence minister between 2000 and 2005 under former President Mohammad Khatami, and he fought during the Iraq-Iran war. He also served in other high-ranking positions in the navy and the ministry of defence’s research centre, and was appointed as the general secretariat of the national security council.
Tensions broke out between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda in January 2023 after an exchange of accusations of non-compliance with their peace agreement signed in the Angolan capital Luanda in November 2022. The development came after Kinshasa announced that it uses private military firms to counter growing security threats. Kigali regarded this move as a declaration of war.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Conflict, Wagner Group, and Private Military Companies (PMCs)
Political Geography:
Africa, Russia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda
Italian PM Giorgia Meloni visited Libya on January 28, where she met with Abdul Hamid al-Dbeibeh, PM of the outgoing government of national unity. The two leaders signed a new gas deal which has proved controversial.
Topic:
Migration, Gas, Energy, and Government of National Unity (GNU)
The relationship between Baghdad and Erbil lately has reached a dead end. The rift between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the official executive body of the autonomous Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq, and the Federal Government of Iraq (FGI) has, for the past few months, entered a bottleneck driven by political turmoil and rotating governments.
But efforts are being made on both sides to bridge differences. On January 11, a Kurdish delegation headed by Masrour Barzani visited the central government in Baghdad to discuss a number of disputed files. The group included several senior officials: ministers for electricity and finance; chief of the cabinet office; director of the office of the region's prime minister; ministers for planning and oil; economic advisors; general counsel; director of border control; and CEO of State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO Oil).
Topic:
Oil, Treaties and Agreements, Budget, Gas, and Domestic Politics
Political Geography:
Iraq, Middle East, and Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI)
Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, has made a surprise visit to Ankara, Beirut, and Damascus, reflecting his country’s increased engagement in the region. His trip to Ankara replaced a postponed trip to Moscow, where he was set to meet with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Syrian War, Engagement, and Regional Politics
Libya’s outgoing Government of National Unity (GNU), led by Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, failed to host a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in the capital Tripoli on January 21, 2023. The chief diplomats of most of the Arab states and the organization’s secretary-general boycotted the meeting. Representatives of only seven Arab states, including Tunisia’s and Algeria’s foreign ministers, attended the gathering, which was a diplomatic blow to the al-Dbeibah government.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Arab League, and Instability
Georgian Foundation for Strategic International Studies -GFSIS
Abstract:
On March 31, 2023, the sixth Concept of the Foreign Policy of the Russian
Federation was published (The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian
Federation 2023). The document was updated for the first time in six years,
the main reason for which is the deteriorating international situation for
Moscow amid the Russo-Ukrainian war.
The text of the concept is highlighted by harsh and revanchist calls against
the West and especially the USA. The document almost entirely refers to
the Russo-Ukrainian war, at the same time, the concept shows that the
current war is only one part of Russia’s confrontation with the Western
world.
The concept contains a number of statements inconsistent with the real
policy of Russia and even lies, but despite the absurd, propagandistic
content of the new document, it is important to find out how the new
concept differs from its predecessor, and also what factors Russia relies on
in the current difficult international situation?
Based on the 2023 Concept of the Foreign Policy of Russia the impact of
Russia’s imperialist worldview on its foreign policy in the light of full-scale
military intervention in Ukraine, the changed attitude towards the West,
the prospects of Russia-West relations, Russia’s attempt to strengthen ties
with non-Western countries, and finally, threats from Russia to Georgia are
discussed in this publication.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, Regional Politics, Russia-Ukraine War, and Threat Assessment
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Ukraine, Georgia, and United States of America
Georgian Foundation for Strategic International Studies -GFSIS
Abstract:
This paper aims to analyze Germany’s approach to the Eastern Partnership
against the backdrop of the “turning point” (Zeitwende) in German foreign
policy announced by Olaf Scholz in February 2022. The deviation from the
previous policy came as a result of Russia’s war against Ukraine, which
disrupted the European collective security system and called into question
the main characteristics of German foreign policy. The outbreak of the war
on the territory of Europe showed the German leadership that the use of
non-military means in the foreign policy, as well as their policy of openness
and normalization towards the East (Ostpolitik), which largely implies
Russia, turned out to be wrong. Russia’s war in Ukraine also became the
basis for the rethinking of yet another political concept - change through
trade (Wandel durch Handel), according to which trade and economic
interdependence with Russia will facilitate its integration into Europe and
push it towards peaceful mutual cooperation. Germany’s dependence on
Russian natural resources on the one hand gave Russia a lever of political
influence, and on the other made the German economy vulnerable.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, European Union, Partnerships, Regional Integration, Regional Security, and Russia-Ukraine War