30 Jan 2012
Food crises are not inevitable. They can be predicted and much of the suffering and loss can be prevented. It is true of the famine that affected — and continues to affect — millions of people in the Horn of Africa, and it is also true of a new food crisis threatening countries across West Africa in 2012.
09 Jan 2012
In the short time-span of fifteen years, Ireland experienced a boom, a bubble and a bust. The boom which began in the first half of the 1990s was characterised by … » more
09 Jan 2012
Along with Germany, France has assumed a leadership role in dealing with the eurozone debt crisis since its inception, in the same way as it did with the global financial … » more
09 Jan 2012
'The eurozone needs to significantly step up its efforts to fight the crisis. This ultimately will require the creation of a true eurozone finance ministry with tax-raising powers'
07 Dec 2011
There were strong and clear warnings for the food security crisis in the Horn of Africa as early as November 2010 yet not nearly enough was done till after the … » more
07 Dec 2011
For decades, scores of Western pundits have described Islamist movements as irrational bogeymen, inherently violent, bent on mayhem and destruction. They have been said to glorify values that sharply contradict … » more
07 Dec 2011
With both Washington and London having no idea what to do about it ...
07 Dec 2011
The great 'Arab Spring' has gone sour. We could be seeing the start of a dangerous regional nuclear arms race. The Turkish military is openly preparing for a border clash with Syria.
07 Dec 2011
The surge is over in Afghanistan. The quest-ion now is what to do next? In November 2009, after weeks of deliberation, Barack Obama and his administration decided to commit 30,000 … » more
26 Oct 2011
In February 2012, it will be 200 years since Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, accepted the seals of the Foreign Office. He held the post for ten years, until his death … » more
07 Oct 2011
After six months of conflict, the National Transitional Council is now established in government in Tripoli. Such a juncture provides an opportunity to reflect on what will follow, and how … » more
29 Sep 2011
Cameron can take credit for intervention in Libya, but don’t expect that this means the Blair doctrine is Tory policy, for pragmatism dictates the opposite and the fact is that we don’t have the global reach to do it again in a hurry..
11 Jul 2011
On 14 January 2011, Ben Ali fled Tunisia. For nearly a month, a huge protest movement had shaken the country, led by young people in the area surrounding Sidi Bouzid … » more
11 Jul 2011
Buffeted by the politics of the Arab Spring and the realities of state fragility, civil war and the War on Terror, Yemen — now home to Osama bin Laden’s spiritual … » more
11 Jul 2011
Two separate events. On 25 April, nearly 500 Taliban prisons escaped from Saraposa prison on the western edge of Kandahar City through a tunnel dug from a compound outside the … » more
27 Apr 2011
The performance of Task Force Helmand in the first two years of the deployment to the Province have now been the subject of intense military, academic and journalistic critique, culminating … » more
27 Apr 2011
In June 1999 John Keegan declared ‘there is a new date to fix on the calendar: June 3, 1999, when the capitulation of President Milosevic proved that a war can … » more
27 Apr 2011
In the week of its release in March, the DfID Bilateral Aid Review (BAR) gathered considerable attention. A number of countries will be experiencing a doubling or more of bilateral … » more
03 Apr 2011
In March 2011 children in Mali were immunised against pneumonia through their public health services for the first time and children in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are due … » more
03 Apr 2011
The deadline for the MDGs is 2015. Then what? There will still be almost a billion poor people even if the MDGs are met. Lessons learnt from the MDGs aside, … » more
03 Apr 2011
Large parts of the Horn and East Africa region are facing a potentially severe drought, following a failure of rains late last year. The situation in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and … » more
03 Apr 2011
International donors regard the strengthening of the Afghan National Police (ANP) as a precondition for the eventual withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan. But the problems are huge. There are … » more
05 Mar 2011
On 1 February 2008, General Sir David Richards was appointed to the post of Commander-in-Chief Land Forces: he would eventually succeed General Sir Richard Dannatt as the Chief of the … » more
05 Mar 2011
John Bew asks whether today's foreign secretary should seek inspiration from Canning, Castlereagh or both
17 Jan 2011
Cameron's stance on a European Public Prosecutor in the EU Bill seems to be based on a misleading media caricature says John Spencer — and is no basis for serious policy
17 Jan 2011
Debate about the impact of the MDGs and what might follow them in 2015 has been publically muted to date. And yet much is going on behind the scenes. Such … » more
17 Jan 2011
Later this month (February 2011), UN member states will attend the third of four Preparatory Committees (PrepComs) with the aim of preparing the ground for agreement on an international legally-binding … » more
17 Jan 2011
The Coalition government has committed itself to increasing the overseas development budget by 37 per cent to meet the pledge to give 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income in … » more
30 Nov 2010
With the Lisbon summit over and a few weeks before the US completes its review of Afghan policy, it seems a good time to consider the UK’s role in Afghanistan. Our … » more
30 Nov 2010
In an exclusive interview with Parliamentary Brief, Haneef Atmar, former Afghan Interior Minister, makes plain his hopes and fears for today's Afghanistan — and the months ahead.
30 Nov 2010
There is a paradox in Sudan's 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). Both the National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) came to the peace negotiations publicly … » more
30 Nov 2010
The air bridge between the UK and Afghanistan is fundamentally compromised, believes Anthony King, but this vital piece of infrastructure looks likely to remain ignored and underfunded
28 Oct 2010
One of President Barack Obama's first major initiatives on entering office in early 2009 was to place American-Russian relations on a new footing. His policy was opposed by the liberals … » more
28 Oct 2010
The withdrawal from Sangin could not be described as an ideal outcome for UK armed forces. As in Basra, they could not complete a mission and had to be assisted … » more
28 Oct 2010
The recent volatility of agricultural commodity prices has caused some observers to wonder if another food crisis, similar to the one that occurred in 2007–08, is likely. Three years ago, … » more
12 Oct 2010
William Hague's visit to Moscow later this month should bring a marked improvement in our relations with Russia. At the very least there is likely to be a warming in … » more
30 Sep 2010
The western press has already decried the upcoming Burmese elections as largely a farce — unlikely to be free or fair and moreover unlikely to bring change to the long-suffering … » more
30 Sep 2010
Parliamentary Brief has been following in recent months the crisis in the Sahel region of West Africa. These pages reported the tragedy of ten million people suffering through lack of … » more
30 Sep 2010
Popular understandings of global poverty are based on the false premise that poor people all live in poor countries. In fact, new estimates by the Institute of Development Studies place … » more
30 Sep 2010
The new foreign secretary William Hague announced a comprehensive set of new directions for British foreign policy in a speech at the Foreign Office on 1 July 2010. A key … » more
31 Aug 2010
Government fiscal positions in all the advanced economies suffered severe deteriorations during the financial crisis. Between 2007 and 2009 (on a calendar year basis) the UK’s general government budget balance … » more
31 Aug 2010
India has changed, and continues to change rapidly. The world is starting to recognise that India’s economic and political influence in the world is growing. At Davos in 2006, India … » more
31 Aug 2010
David Cameron spoke of ‘enhancing’ Britain’s relationship with India during his recent visit to that country. He could have used the word ‘resurrecting’ in reference to Indo-UK relations.
31 Aug 2010
The common wisdom held today among foreign experts working on the justice sector in Afghanistan is that there has never been a functioning formal justice system in the country. In … » more
31 Aug 2010
Pakistan is facing the greatest natural disaster in its history. Britain should be leading the aid and recovery efforts for three reasons. First of all Britain’s immediate geostrategic need is … » more
31 Aug 2010
It's hard to believe but things have got worse in Niger. Last month on these pages my colleague warned that unless the world put its hand in its pocket and … » more
22 Jul 2010
The acute food crisis currently hitting the Sahel belt of West Africa is set to worsen still further in the next three months. Across several countries including Niger, Mali, Chad, … » more
22 Jul 2010
Exactly fifty years after Cyprus became independent, the chances of reuniting that island look slim. Failure cannot mean a return to the status quo, says Professor Clement Dodd, in which case ...
22 Jul 2010
On 19 June 2006, British troops from 16 Air Assault Brigade’s 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, deployed into Sangin. It was and remains a defining moment of the Helmand campaign. The … » more
22 Jul 2010
In July’s Kabul conference, a repackaged Afghan National Development Strategy (ANDS) was presented to the donor community as part of the ‘Kabul Process’.
22 Jul 2010
Even with the situation in Afghanistan deteriorating rapidly, causing a swelling in the ranks of the war’s opponents in NATO member states and beyond, there remains little doubt over what … » more
22 Jul 2010
The international community’s approach to reconstructing Afghanistan’s justice sector after 2001 has failed to create a legal system capable of serving the needs and protecting the rights of the Afghan people.
22 Jul 2010
Counter-insurgency is about the population. In fact, it might be more accurate to say, it is all about the regime. Counter-insurgency campaigns are successful insofar as a coherent polity is … » more
02 Mar 2010
The UN-brokered talks intended to bring about a reunification of Cyprus, and which began in September 2008, have made little real progress, and command little popular support on either side. Handshakes with the UN’s Ban Ki-moon, who flew in in February in the hope of giving the talks a boost, served only to underline the problems which confront any meaningful settlement on an island bitterly divided for the past 47 years. Failure of these talks will mean the end of any hope of future reunification. If so, the next British government will need a new approach, argues Michael Stephen
02 Mar 2010
Professor Anthony King argues that the political strategy in Afghanistan still continues to ignore the political-lords who dominate the country outside Kabul
02 Mar 2010
In April 2006, British forces deployed to Helmand province in southern Afghanistan as part of NATO’s widening mission in the country. The fighting in Helmand has been the most intense … » more
02 Mar 2010
Anthony King: : Founded by Alexander in 330 BC on the junction of trade routes between the Indus and Oxus valleys, Kandahar City has been the sacred and symbolic homeland for the Pashtuns since at least 1748 when Ahmed Shah Durrani made it the capital of the Durrani empire. The city houses over 2,000 mosques including the Shrine of the Cloak of Mohammed …
27 Jan 2010
Repackaged (but essentially stale) stabilisation policies will not prevail in Afghanistan. In nine years, coalition efforts to build sustainable peace have been all but cyclical. January’s London conference provides … » more
24 Mar 2009
Gordon Brown’s speech in Boston last year appealed for a more positive US attitude towards multilateral approaches to world problems. The new president seems prepared to oblige. Is it … » more