Russia started the year with political uncertainty, then cemented Putin’s future, and ended the year by poisoning the main opposition figure—and future relations with the Biden administration. Read Here | Foreign Policy
Brexit was never fundamentally an economic project. It was always more about what it said on the ballot paper in 2016. Brexit was about ceasing to be a member of the European Union. Leavers understood that. Remainers, in contrast, still struggle with it. Read Here |The Guardian
After four years as a “senior adviser” in her father’s presidential administration, Ivanka Trump seems to be preparing for a political career of her own. If she wins national office, she will use her power just as her father has: for the Trumps. Read Here | Project Syndicate
Britain clinched a Brexit trade deal with the European Union on Thursday, just seven days before it exits one of the world’s biggest trading blocs in its most significant global shift since the loss of empire. “Deal is done,” a Downing Street source said. “We have taken back control of our money, borders, laws, trade […]
Mr. Xi’s swift reversal of more than three decades of apparent movement toward collective leadership and a less intrusive party has surprised both U.S. officials and much of the Chinese elite. In hindsight, though, the roots of his approach are visible in key episodes of his life. Read Here | The Wall Street Journal
Deng, when he was in charge, warmed to USSR again. In fact, he brought Gorbachev to Beijing in 1989. We don’t know if Xi will follow Deng and eventually change China’s international position, but certainly the global situation for Beijing is far more complicated than 40 years ago. Read Here | Asia Times
Many Pakistanis see the army as the real power behind Khan and the cause of the country’s political and economic woes. Their anger has occasioned a remarkable shift as major political figures speak out for the first time against the military’s dominance of Pakistan—a shift that could eventually threaten the military’s chokehold on political power. […]
China’s experience of the coronavirus pandemic has reaffirmed this assessment of faltering American global leadership, the failing capacities of the West to address the challenges of the new century, and the resilience of China’s socialist economy in comparison to capitalism; most importantly, they think it has also validated the superiority of their political system. Read […]
For all Biden’s promises to restore American leadership—a decorous word for predominance—the era of liberal interventionism is likely over. Trump tried to bury it; Biden may sign the death certificate. Read Here | The National Interest
Nearly eight years into his tenure as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Xi Jinping continues to defy easy categorisation. Often likened to the unpredictable and volatile Mao Zedong, Xi sees iron-clad domestic stability and political discipline as paramount. Read Here | East Asia Forum
looking beyond borders 