Palestine within? Jamal Kanj, Author of ‘Children of Catastrophe: Journey from a Palestinian Refugee Camp to America’

‘A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths are a statistic.’ While the provenance of this aphorism is still disputed, it does reflect the desensitizing effect that mass violence has on the human psyche. … Read More >Palestine within? Jamal Kanj, Author of ‘Children of Catastrophe: Journey from a Palestinian Refugee Camp to America’

Contest of grandiosity? Mohammed Ihsan, Visiting Senior Research Fellow at King’s College London

With the war in Ukraine still dominating the international headlines, the 20th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq has come and gone barely noticed, although the consequences of that decision still have a major influence on both the country and the region. Two decades on, what’s the state of Iraqi Freedom? … Read More >Contest of grandiosity? Mohammed Ihsan, Visiting Senior Research Fellow at King’s College London

Neutral but engaged? Yu Bin, Senior Fellow at the Russian Studies Center of the East China Normal University

Being able to see and accept that others may have a worldview fundamentally different from your own, without trying to remake them in your image, has long been held as the benchmark of psychological maturity, which is evidently lacking in contemporary foreign policy. … Read More >Neutral but engaged? Yu Bin, Senior Fellow at the Russian Studies Center of the East China Normal University

Dragon rising? Zhang Xin, Associate Professor, School of Politics and International Relations, ECNU

Despite its allegiance to communism, China’s foreign policy has never been particularly revolutionary. It was more in line with the Dao principle of non-action — doing nothing was seen as more conducive to restoring order than doing a potentially detrimental something. … Read More >Dragon rising? Zhang Xin, Associate Professor, School of Politics and International Relations, ECNU

Deterred deterrence? Pravin Sawhney, former Indian Army officer and editor of FORCE Magazine

The idea of creating a clone of NATO around the Pacific Ocean has been tantalizing the minds of Western strategists ever since Washington announced its intention to pivot to Asia, but it never quite came to fruition because of India’s hesitance. Is it going to be more likely after the conflict in Ukraine? … Read More >Deterred deterrence? Pravin Sawhney, former Indian Army officer and editor of FORCE Magazine

High moral pit? Richard Sakwa, professor of Russian and European politics, University of Kent

Competing interests and power politics have existed ever since nation states came into being, spurring the development of diplomacy on the one hand, and fueling arms races on the other. But every now and then, especially in European politics, diplomats and generals get sidelined by demagogues who bank on portraying adversaries as not just geopolitical competitors, but moral degenerates or civilizational inferiors. … Read More >High moral pit? Richard Sakwa, professor of Russian and European politics, University of Kent

Freedom of hypocrisy? Greg Barns, Lawyer & adviser to the Australian Assange campaign

After almost a decade in confinement, Julian Assange is a shadow of the man he used to be. Fighting against extradition requests to the United States took a toll on his physical and mental health, while also compromising WikiLeaks’ ability to continue its operations. … Read More >Freedom of hypocrisy? Greg Barns, Lawyer & adviser to the Australian Assange campaign

All bark, no bite? Anatol Lieven, senior fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft

They were never on friendly terms but there were times when Russia and NATO managed to accommodate each other’s security concerns and even do something together, most notably during the early stages of the US presence in Afghanistan. … Read More >All bark, no bite? Anatol Lieven, senior fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft