By Brooke Bihl The Vatican has returned 62 artifacts from its large ethnographic collection to Indigenous peoples of Canada, as a part of the Catholic Church’s reckoning with its role in helping suppress Indigenous cultures in the Americas. Pope Leo XIV formally handed over the artifacts, including an iconic Inuit kayak, masks, moccasins, etchings, and supporting documentation... Continue Reading →
By Abby Burczyk The near completion of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has raised great concern for Egypt and Sudan. With the dam building its water reservoir using water from the Blue Nile, downstream countries are increasingly worried about the restriction of water flow into their countries. Sudan utilizes the River Nile for almost... Continue Reading →
By Matthew Grace Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have begun the process of abandoning Russia’s electricity grid and switch over to the EU’s network. The process was scheduled to occur over two days, beginning on February 8th with announcements given for all citizens to charge their devices, stock up of food and water supplies, and prepare... Continue Reading →
By John W. Parks As war in Ukraine continues to damage Russia’s credibility and economic security, other Eurasian producers have been forced to utilize alternative avenues of trade. In response, China, along with Turkey, the European Union, and Central Asian states have dedicated increasingly more resources to the development and expansion of a bypass route.... Continue Reading →
By John W. Parks As of November 2024, construction has begun on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railroad (CKU) inside Kyrgyzstan. The railroad will connect the Uzbek terminal of Andijan to the Chinese terminal of Kashgar, passing through several Kyrgyz cities and the Fergana Valley along the way. Leaders of these countries have championed the construction of this... Continue Reading →
By William Crawford A United Nation’s Envoy has recently suggested a partition of the disputed territory of Western Sahara. The rightful authority in the former Spanish colony has long been in dispute since its listing by the United Nations as a “Non-Self-Governing Territory” in 1963. Since the end of Spanish rule in the territory, both... Continue Reading →
By Julian Fischer-Lhamon The Turkic peoples have long been separated politically as well as geographically by Russia, Persia, and the Caspian Sea. In spite of, or rather because of, this separation, a great sense of Turkic identity has spread and survived over the centuries between Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Central Asia. Although Turkish nationalists have dreamed... Continue Reading →
By Lexi Dean Anura Kumara Dissanayake was sworn in as president of Sri Lanka last week in a political upset against an opponent that citizens blamed for failing to alleviate economic suffering. Dissanayake’s campaign focused on support for economic growth and renegotiating a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that would help ease economic... Continue Reading →
By Sarah Holmes Early on Tuesday, September 17 an elite military police school and military base in Bamako were attacked by an armed group. The al-Qaeda linked group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) claimed responsibility for the attack. The group claimed their goals are to remove oppression and non-Muslim occupiers in Mali, referring to foreign... Continue Reading →
By Julian Fischer-Lhamon After fourteen years, a German Chancellor has finally visited Kazakhstan again. Olaf Scholz’s visit was highly anticipated, with groundwork being laid already last year with a visit by Germany’s foreign minister and president. Scholz met with not only Kazakhstan's president, Tokayev, but also leaders of the other central Asian countries. Despite other... Continue Reading →
The Patterson Journal of International Affairs 