By Elizabeth Baughn Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and its consequential shocks to the entire European energy infrastructure, countries across the continent have sought to recover their industries and innovate ways of moving forward in the new, volatile environment. In many ways, Europe has made progress along this front, just beginning to benefit... Continue Reading →
Costa Rica Agrees to Take 25 Deportees A Week From the U.S.
Priscilla Corrales/Presidencia de la República de Costa Rica, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Brooke Bihl Costa Rica announces it will accept 25 migrants deported from the United States per week as part of an agreement to assist with the Trump administration's policy of deporting immigrants to “third countries.” The country is now among several... Continue Reading →
Chile’s Kast Seeks to Tighten Northern Borders
U.S. Department of State, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Jack Kolesar In the wake of his 2026 inauguration, Chile’s new head of state, President José Antonio Kast, has moved forward on a central pledge of his presidential campaign. Kast’s “Border Shield,” a network of border security infrastructure, is now under construction. This initiative seeks... Continue Reading →
Mexican Ships Arrive in Cuba with Humanitarian Aid After U.S. Blockade
Mexican Navy Ship Arm BravoU.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brien Aho, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Brooke Bihl Two Mexican Navy ships carrying humanitarian aid have docked in Cuba after a U.S. blockade cut the island off from receiving fuel supplies. The ships reached a local port in Havana two... Continue Reading →
Uruguay and China Strengthen Ties Amid Washington’s “Donroe Doctrine”
President Yamandu Orsi Intendencia de Montevideo, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Jack Kolesar In January 2026, Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi embarked on one of Montevideo's most ambitious diplomatic missions in decades. Orsi led a delegation of 150 to the Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai with aims of expanding trade, investment, and... Continue Reading →
Trump, Xi, and Managing Competition
By Sam Dantzler Last week’s Trump-Xi meeting in South Koreas was one of those diplomatic moments where the vibes and the substance didn’t totally match, but both administrations pretended they did. Both sides seemed to have a positive response and agreed that relations were headed in a more “stable” direction. Compared to the icy standoff... Continue Reading →
U.S.-South Korea Relationship Under Strain After Immigration Raid
By Sam Dantzler The Trump administration says it wants more foreign investment in America’s industrial revival. Yet when South Korea delivered, with billions flowing into a Hyundai–LG battery plant in Georgia, federal agents showed up in armored vehicles, shackled hundreds of Korean technicians, and shipped them home. The September 4th raid, the largest single-site immigration action in... Continue Reading →
Tariffs, Taiwan, and Trump: The Future of the Beijing-Washington Relationship
Sam Dantzler Following Election Day 2024 in the United States, China has braced for the impact of Trump 2.0. In the months between November 5th and Inauguration Day, Beijing’s leadership has been evaluating the outcome of Trump’s election and its implications on broader Chinese grand strategy. Trump’s first term was defined by aggressive diplomatic posturing... Continue Reading →
South Africa’s Land Expropriation Law: Reform or Risk
By Madelyn Williams Last month the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, signed the Land Expropriation Law. This has caused a firestorm of controversy in South Africa and abroad as some expect that it will be used to remove white farmers from their land. The law provides guidelines about how land expropriation may be implemented and... Continue Reading →