Aid and development links: superheroes and the resource curse, poverty in Nigeria, and more
Links and stories from the aid and development sector.
American trade policy returns to “aggressive unilateralism”
The US deployed similar trade tactics in the 1980s to pursue its grievances with a rising Japan.
Amal Clooney no match for Trump and China in Southeast Asia press clampdown
Authoritarian governments are quick to claim “fake news” in a neighbourhood crackdown on press freedom.
Weekend catch-up: Sergei Skripal, Korean summit, and women’s rugby in Tonga
The week that was on The Interpreter.
Bangladesh: breaking with dynasty
Forthcoming elections in Bangladesh will expose the semblance of democracy in the country.
Chinese belts and roads stir mixed reactions in Europe
Europeans are growing more wary of China, but still welcome many of its contributions.
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan: a welcome but fragile thaw
The signs of warming relations between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are built on the friendship between two authoritarian rulers.
Watching on: Australia and the Korean Peninsula talks
Australia has put its trust in Donald Trump and his transactional, “deal-making” style of diplomacy.
Migration and border policy links: Israel’s UNHCR backflip, Pacific seasonal workers, more
Links and updates from across the migration and border policy field.
Skripal: the weight of evidence
The alternatives to Russian culpability in the nerve agent attack strain credulity.
Facebook’s May day
Upcoming EU regulations will have a huge effect on how data-fuelled tech giants do business.
An agenda for the Moon–Kim summit
Moon Jae-in surely sees himself as Nixon going to China, rather than Chamberlain going to Munich.
The world according to Mohammed bin Salman
The Saudi Crown Prince is on a PR drive yet still displays all the kingdom’s weakness.
The rationale for Egypt’s military spending spree
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi looks to balance Cario’s economic weakness with military prowess.
Indonesia’s fishy furore
A policy of catching and destroying poachers’ boats has made a celebrity of the Fisheries Minister.
Aid and development links: cut or not, gender and water, trade in Central America, and more
Links and stories from the aid and development sector.
Small dots, large strategic areas: US interests in the South Pacific
The US would be wise to further invest in ensuring that the Pacific nations retain their independence, freedom, and sovereignty.
Words that count: New Caledonia’s referendum question
The continued divide in Caledonian society is shown by the very formulation of the question that will help decide the territory’s future.
China: the party, the state, and the new anti-graft body
Xi Jinping has taken a significant risk with reforms of the anti-corruption system.
Leslie – 15 years on
Leslie Cheung was known as the “Elvis of Hong Kong” and his legacy shows LGBT+ issues remain very much taboo in Chinese culture.
Weekend catch-up: Xi meets Kim, taxing the tech giants, and Australia’s cricketing shame
The week that was on The Interpreter.
Deterrence under the dragon’s shadow: Vietnam’s military modernisation
Vietnam has long sought to calibrate its defence posture in the shadows of great power competition.
Economic diplomacy brief: TPP trade reform, remaking aid, and Indonesian relations
Talk of new aid cuts raise new questions about what sort of serious alternative can be fashioned to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Indonesia: millennials’ party
A party for the youth of Indonesia has won over social media, but still faces plenty of obstacles to success.
Timor Trough: the rumpled carpet on the sea floor
A Timor Sea maritime boundary beyond the median line was never reasonable.
Trump, Kim, and the deal of the century
Trump ought to offer Kim a grand bargain: give up your ICBM program, and we will withdraw our troops from South Korea.
The exciting prospects of a strong defence industry
Australia will never be able to compete globally making T-shirts. But we can compete with high-end, world-beating defence equipment.
Hot take: what does Kim Jong-un’s trip to China mean?
Events are moving fast now and the Beijing trip means a Trump–Kim summit is increasingly likely.
Pacific Islands links: PNG earthquake recovery, rubbish and recycling, and more
Links and stories from around the Pacific by The Interpreter team.
US–North Korea summit: can Trump deliver?
Trump’s propensity to walk away from promises will hang over the talks with Kim Jong-un.
Indonesia: countering a message of hate
Efforts to tackle radicalisation are being held back by a lack of knowledge and problems of official coordination.
Skripal: the West escalates, but where is the proof?
Governments should not rely on assertion and bombast, which is what has happened in the Skripal case.
South China Sea: the Philippine fissure
Rodrigo Duterte is still to resolve tensions between accommodating China and maintaining strong US ties.
Aid and development links: vanilla fever in Madagascar, textbooks in Kenya, and more
Links and stories from the aid and development sector.
Profit shifting: digital fat cats in national tax gaps
Companies should make a fair contribution to running the countries in which they create value and earn profits.
Why are some Indian movies made tax-free?
Tax exemption allows Indian states to exercise moral authority over cinema, and to promote select actors and producers.
The sky is falling again: should we worry?
The risk from large satellites hitting Earth are low, but not zero, and the world needs to do more to ensure the safe disposal of space infrastructure.
The cost to Australia’s reputation from cricket’s scandal
Sneaky and inept is how Australia is presented to the world by the actions of the national team.
Myanmar: no country for young men
The resignation of the ageing president last week shows the National League for Democracy needs leadership renewal.
Getting aid governance right after the Oxfam scandal
Five steps for aid organisations to build and sustain the trust crucial to their work.
Weekend catch-up: the Taiwan Strait, trade wars, and ASEAN’s aftermath
The week that was on The Interpreter.
What to expect from John Bolton at the White House
It’s unclear whether Bolton’s hawkish views will transfer into reality in office.
Happiness and the “China Dream”
The Chinese Communist Party has embraced happiness as an aspiration and a mission – not for the first time.
Zucker punched
Facebook is unlikely to have been as surprised by the Cambridge Analytica revelations as Zuckerberg has claimed.
Cross-strait tensions rising, but Chinese aircraft carrier poses no threat
Sending the Liaoning through the Taiwan Strait may signal China’s displeasure, but in military terms is an irrelevance.
The challenges to women on Bougainville
Even if independence is a spur for economic development, social and political difficulties still lie ahead.
Migration and border policy links: “chain migration” discourse, labour mobility, and more
Links and updates from across the migration and border policy field.