Posts in Faultlines
2022: Is China losing Central and Eastern Europe?

2021 was the year of Chinese ‘wolf warrior’ diplomacy and what observers have characterised as the ‘bullying’ of countries unwilling to toe Beijing’s many lines. While this has led to souring ties between China and others within its immediate neighbourhood, Europe too found itself on the wrong side of Beijing’s new muscular diplomacy.

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How rising majoritarianism affects India-Bangladesh relations

Written by Anuttama Banerji

Overt criticism of Bangladesh within Indian quarters has provided ammunition to ultra-right religious groups in Bangladesh who have been fanning anti-India sentiment.

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ASEAN on migrant rights: Making process, not progress

Written by Liberty Chee

As Southeast Asia, and indeed most other world regions age, without an increase in public spending on welfare, more and more migrant women will likely be called on for providing caring services.

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Countering disinformation together: First steps towards stronger EU-Taiwan ties

Written by Meghan Shoop

Future cooperation could include Taiwanese and EU think tanks working with one another to study authoritarian regimes’ current disinformation strategies and the effectiveness of various efforts to combat disinformation.

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Memory under assault: Rewriting history and banning commemoration in Hong Kong


Written by Jeppe Mulich

Too many young people have been politicised by the events of the past two years, and many of them now bear physical and mental scars, forming an embodied communal archive that will be hard to control. Commemoration, like dissent, is going underground.

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High ambitions but no teeth in China’s environmental guidelines for investing abroad

Written by Mirela Petkova

If China is to rightfully claim environmental leadership, the conduct of Chinese companies going abroad should be guided by stricter environmental domestic standards, rather than merely the one's host states provide.

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Japan’s climate policy in light of COP26

Written by Florentine Koppenborg

There is a striking disconnect between Japan’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets on the one hand and the energy strategy adopted to achieve them. An important step would be to reduce Japan’s reliance on coal, the single biggest cause of climate change.

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See you later, Zooxanthellae!

By Claudia Schildknecht

Due to a lack of political intervention, researchers currently expect the reefs to disappear worldwide by the middle of the century. If we lose coral reefs, we lose the rainforest of the sea. We would lose 25 per cent of the fish that live in this ‘underwater rainforest’, leaving large marine animals without food.

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China: The missing presence at COP26

Written by Barbara Pongratz and Nis Grünberg

Calculations have shown that China needs to peak earlier than 2030 to keep global warming below 1.5°C. At this point, a degree of climate competition might be even more useful than cooperation. The EU needs to overtake China in its commitments and lead by example.

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The continuities in Trump’s and Biden’s foreign policies

Written by Richard Johnson

As Biden preaches his commitment to being “ethical, straight, telling the truth, supporting our allies, all those good things”, observers might wish to jot in the corner “France, Afghanistan, tariffs”. The list will likely grow.

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Extreme green: How China and Germany manoeuvre through climate extremes

Written by Julia Teebken

We must understand how social routines and changed daily practices interrelate with population vulnerability, how they can foster resilience and be supported by state institutions (e.g., flexible adjustment of working hours and clothes during periods of extreme heat).

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Militaries need to get their act together on the climate crisis

Written by Dhanasree Jayaram and Radhika Ajayan

It is high time that militaries, especially major ones, are brought under the ambit of the Paris Agreement. Without making these massive institutions accountable, the window for preventing the worst effects of climate change will likely close.

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Nobel Peace Prize: How Dmitry Muratov built Russia’s ‘bravest’ newspaper, Novaya Gazeta

Written by Ilya Yablokov

This portrait of Muratov does not fully capture the scope of his important role in Russian media. Muratov uses his influence and connections not to enrich himself, but to sustain the powerhouse last shelter of investigative journalism inside Russia.

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Breaking the deadlock: The Japan-South Korea ‘comfort women’ dispute

Written by Wichuta Teeratanabodee

Events, such as the ROK reversing its decision to end the military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan due to threats from the North, have shown that the two countries can put aside their bitter relations to focus on regional threats.

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India and the BRICS: Confused signalling on China

Written by Jabin T Jacob

Under the circumstances, third countries with no skin in the game but possessing a crucial vote in the UN General Assembly or asked to make a choice might be forgiven for not taking India seriously when it complains about China.

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Russia, India and the S-400 deal: Complicated geopolitics

Written by Divyanshu Jindal

While the delivery of the first batch of S-400 systems is still a few months away, in future, new dynamics in Afghanistan and increasing cooperation between India and the US in the Indo-Pacific through the Quad will surely be important factors affecting the decision to impose or waive CAATSA sanctions against India.

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Clouds on the horizon: Sino-German relations and the Bundestag election

Written by Christiane Heidbrink

The CDU/CSU, the SPD, the Greens and the FDP warn against digital competition with China. As these are the four parties with the largest predicted vote shares, their ideas for reinforcing the digital economy, critical infrastructure, and network security will shape Germany's relations with China as well as the US.

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Navigating cybersecurity amid tech rivalry

Written by Farlina Said

Southeast Asian states aim to uphold the principle of ‘technological neutrality’ which ensures the right to choose technology most appropriate for a specific need. Thus, when oversight initiatives such as the Blue Dot Network or Trump’s Clean Network Initiative are pushed, ASEAN member states can avoid choosing sides or technology.

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