On Sudan, Russia's bluff, Imran Khan, and more....
Hello everyone!
Terrell Jermaine Starr, a resident of Inkstick’s and Bombshelltoe’s Creative Capsule Residency, asks if Russia is bluffing about nuking Ukraine. Starr notices that despite the media attention in the West, Russia’s rhetoric hardly registers in Ukraine. Retweet this.?
Regarding the ongoing conflict in Sudan, Mike Brand argues that to avoid the same mistakes, international actors must recognize that durable peace in Sudan
In a powerful essay, Leela McClintock writes: “My emotions always appear even when I desperately try to suppress them. If my emotions and sensitivity make me who I am, why can’t they be my strengths, too? In a fast-paced field with constant geopolitical turmoil, approaching harder security issues
And for those who celebrated, a belated Eid Mubarak!
On Inkstick these past two weeks:
“Nuclear Warriors Are On the Rise” by John Isaacs (Apr. 18)?
A new report from a group under the auspices of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which makes critical weapons parts, is just another in a series of dangerous reports that seeks to justify its own work while downplaying the consequences. Retweet this.
“The Privilege of Deterrence” by Mackenzie Knight (Apr. 18)
Humans in far away, less developed/privileged lands are deemed worth sacrificing to maintain a facade of security for those of us with nukes. Nuclear superpowers like the United States and Russia get to laud the “success” of deterrence while innocent lives in Vietnam, Korea, and Afghanistan (to name just a few) are lost in the proxy wars they started. Retweet this.?
?
“It’s Vital to Prevent Corruption in Ukraine’s Humanitarian Aid” by Frank Vogl (Apr. 18)
The hard truth is that neither foreign donors nor aid workers in Ukraine want to discuss the risks of corruption in humanitarian assistance. As a result, rumors, absent hard evidence, persist. There are fears that a focus on corruption in this area could not only diminish foreign assistance contributions but could seriously damage the credibility of Ukraine’s government. Retweet this.?
?
“In A World of Conformity, I Choose Empathy” by Leela McClintock (Apr. 19)
“In a fast-paced field with constant geopolitical turmoil, approaching harder security issues with a compassionate mindset helps us understand the individuals we are trying to serve. Acting with empathy allows us to contextualize and evolve our solutions to complex security challenges, many of which involve a variety of cultures, languages, and personalities.” Retweet this.?
?
“What the American Dream Means To Me” by Cristopher Cruz (Apr. 19)
“Democracy relies on every one of us. My parents often told me growing up that whenever a neighbor or classmate was acting up it was because it was a reflection of what was happening (or not) at home. Similarly, if the United States isn’t doing its best abroad it’s because it has yet to address its issues at home in a healthy manner. And that is why I refuse to stay dormant, basking in the privilege of having spent 20 years of my life in one place. I refuse to believe that the United States has peaked.” Retweet this.?
?
“Winning The Peace” by Emily Tamkin (Apr. 20)
Ukraine is locked in a war it did not choose with Russia to preserve its national sovereignty. But a new article makes the case that, long before that war began, Ukraine was trying to assert its independence internationally: not with war, but through peacekeeping. Retweet this.?
?
“Creating a Hypersonic Pentagon Budget” by Michael Klare (Apr. 20)
If you want to bet on anything, then here’s a surefire way to go: the Pentagon’s drive to achieve dominance in the development and deployment of advanced weaponry will lead not to supremacy but to another endless cycle of high-tech arms races that, in turn, will consume an ever-increasing share of this country’s wealth and scientific talent, while providing negligible improvements in national security.?Retweet this.?
?
“The US is Complicit in War Crimes in the Philippines” by Brandon Lee (Apr. 21)
While opposing China as an emerging superpower is one of the driving factors for US military aid to the Philippines, the US government has also been brokering deals with the Philippines to supply equipment meant to fight against their own people. In other words, US military assistance is aiding the Philippine government in war crimes against its people. Retweet this.?
?
“Americans Believe in Accountability in How We Use Force” by Rosie Berman (Apr. 21)
The majority of Americans recognize security accountability as key to advancing US foreign policy goals
领英推荐
?
“The Tea House Serves the Bomb” by Robert Andersen (Apr. 21)
Bohr and Oppenheimer were out to save humankind from the abyss, with one building the bomb and the other banning it. Retweet this.?
?
“Cameroon’s Civil War Continues to Rage On” by Obiora Ikoku (Apr. 24)
The Canadian peace process is not the first mediation effort that has stalled since the war began. A series of peace talks have been initiated since 2019, which have met with little or no success. Curiously, some of these talk overtures have come from the Cameroonian government itself despite the initial rejection of any mediation by Biya.?Retweet this.?
?
“Is India the Balancer in the Indo-Pacific?” by Aditi Malhotra (Apr. 24)
Overall, India partners with many countries at odds with each other and wishes to be a friend to many and not an (overt) enemy to any. However, it remains wary of the “all in” security approach followed by the United States, leading to challenges in their bilateral or multilateral relations.?Retweet this.?
?
“Private Military and Security Companies Are A Homegrown Threat” by Michard Picard (Apr. 25)
Contractor corruption has come home to roost. The opacity of the industry conceals dubious relationships from public view. The size of defense contracts makes it easy to conceal bribes or undue benefits. Without urgent reform in how PMSCs are regulated and overseen by the US government, the US faces a risk of political capture by a dangerous and opaque industry. Retweet this.?
?
“India’s Laborers Are Fighting To Get Paid” by Arbab Ali and Nadeem Sarwar (Apr. 26)
A buggy app, sparse internet, and biometric linking are robbing India’s 144 million workers of their meager wages. Furthermore, labor rights advocates and critics of the government allege that the government is bringing in the app and new payment system with the sole purpose of scrapping the MNREGA program altogether. Retweet this.?
?
“Imran Khan’s Foreign Policy Was Full of Contradictions” by Anmol Irfan (Apr. 26)
While Imran Khan’s rhetoric continues to increase his popularity in the country, experts are skeptical about how revolutionary his impact has been on the country’s actual foreign policy in relation to the countries he is so quick to call out. Retweet this.?
?
“States At Dawn: Part II” by Kelsey D. Atherton (Apr. 27)
People are creatures of geography. From the moment we are born into the world, the shape of the land that surrounds us guides, to greater and lesser degrees, who we meet, what resources we have available, and what our baseline relation is to people nearby who we have yet to meet. This, also, is true for states. Retweet this.?
?
“Preventing Money Laundering in the Age of Big Data” by Wilson Trawick (Apr. 27)
Many would like more privacy protections than the data-driven financial system currently provides. For example, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, one-third of unbanked households who want a bank account chose to remain unbanked due to privacy concerns. As technological capabilities mature, it’s time to reevaluate and reassert consumers’ privacy rights. Retweet this.?
?
“The US Needs to Chill Out About Lula” by Christopher McCallion (Apr. 27)
The United States should refrain from armed interventions, coups, covert subversion, or domestic meddling in Latin American states and instead seek to forge reciprocal partnerships regardless of those countries’ chosen form of government or model of economic development — an approach that has made China an attractive partner in recent decades.?Retweet this.?
?
“Is Russia Bluffing About Nuking Ukraine?” by Terrell Jermaine Starr (Apr. 28)
Putin’s failure to defeat Ukraine outright via conventional means has caused several domestic and international issues for Putin. For one, he has been bombing Ukraine from afar, but his ground forces aren’t faring well at all. His recent summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping did not leave him with the support he had hoped for. So Putin did the best thing a KGB dinosaur knows how to do: deploy tactical nukes to Belarus. Retweet this.?
?
“Sudan Needs An Inclusive Peace Agreement” by Mike Brand (Apr. 28)
The international community should learn from its mistakes in South Sudan and realize that negotiated agreements focused solely on giving power to the two main belligerents are doomed to fail. We have already seen Burhan and Hemedti break multiple agreements. Retweet this.?