Blog - International Studies of Strategic and Geopolitics

Quebec’s Social Services Under Pressure by Influx of Asylum Seekers

4Jan

By ISSGNo Comments

Quebec’s Social Services Under Pressure by Influx of Asylum Seekers

By The Canadian Press The influx of asylum seekers to Quebec is putting pressure on the province’s social services network, with homeless shelters in Montreal bearing the brunt. France Labelle, with a youth homeless shelter in downtown Montreal, says a rising number of requests for beds is coming from asylum seekers, who she says compose about 10 percent of her clientele. Sam Watts, head of homeless shelters with the Welcome Hall Mission, says that homelessness in the asylum seeker population in Montreal is a relatively new phenomenon. The federal government says that between January and November 2022, 45,250 asylum seekers arrived in Quebec, compared to 7,290 people for all of 2021. Quebec Premier François Legault said last month that the province needed help from Ottaw...

Colombia backtracks on ceasefire announcement with ELN rebels

4Jan

By ISSGNo Comments

Americas

Colombia backtracks on ceasefire announcement with ELN rebels

Government’s about-face comes after left-wing rebels said they had not discussed a truce with Bogota. The Colombian government has backtracked on an announcement that it had reached a ceasefire with one of the country’s largest remaining armed groups, a day after National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels said they were not part of any such deal. President Gustavo Petro had declared on New Year’s Eve that a temporary truce had been agreed with the country’s five largest armed groups, including the ELN, from January 1 to June 30. But the ELN, which last month concluded a first round of peace talks with Petro’s left-wing government, said in a statement on Tuesday that it had “not discussed any proposal for a bilateral ceasefire” with Bogota and, “therefore, no such agreement exists.” Instea...

Devastating strike on Russian military base in Ukraine exposes ‘gross criminal incompetence’

4Jan

By ISSGNo Comments

Russia and Eurasia

Devastating strike on Russian military base in Ukraine exposes ‘gross criminal incompetence’

The New Year strike on a Russian military base in Makiivka has led to Moscow's biggest admission of loss of life since it invaded Ukraine in February 2022. But aside from the devastating, and still mounting, death toll, experts say the incident has exposed something even more alarming for Russia: broad incompetence and carelessness at the heart of its military command. Just minutes after Ukraine rang in the New Year, four US-made HIMARS rockets rained down on a purported school building housing Russian army recruits in the industrial town of Makiivka, in the occupied region of Donetsk. Ukraine, along with Russian military bloggers, quickly put the death toll at a staggering 400. Moscow on the other hand, first estimated it at 63, but early Wednesday revised it up to 89. In either case,...

4Jan

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Trade and International Business

Emmanuel Macron wants ‘Made in Europe’ strategy against US policies

PARIS French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that he aspires to a "Made in Europe" economic strategy to counter American policies. During a joint news conference ahead of his meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Paris, Macron said his discussion will focus on Europe’s economic situation. "My opinion, as you know, is that we need a strategy 'Made in Europe' to give our own response to the change in the world as well as the voluntarist US policy -- which is totally legitimate," he said. He urged the need to protect the “fabric” of the European industrial network -- create jobs, increase competitiveness and clean energy production. Source: Anadolu Agency

THE KARGU-2 AUTONOMOUS ATTACK DRONE: LEGAL & ETHICAL DIMENSIONS

4Jan

By ISSGNo Comments

Military Technology

THE KARGU-2 AUTONOMOUS ATTACK DRONE: LEGAL & ETHICAL DIMENSIONS

In March 2021, a UN Panel of Experts on Libya reported a possible use of lethal autonomous weapons systems—such as the STM Kargu-2—which “were programmed to attack targets without requiring data connectivity between the operator and the munition: in effect, a true ‘fire, forget and find’ capability” (para 63). The UN report refers to the deployment of this system in the context of the Government of National Accord Affiliated Forces (GNA-AF)—with Turkish military support—launching offensive campaigns against the Hafter Affiliated Forces (HAF) in what appears to be a non-international armed conflict. The report does not say for certain that human beings were killed by such systems operating without human supervision. Nevertheless, there has recently been an upsurge of media commentaries d...

Drone advances amid war in Ukraine could bring fighting robots to front lines

4Jan

By ISSGNo Comments

Military Technology

Drone advances amid war in Ukraine could bring fighting robots to front lines

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Drone advances in Ukraine have accelerated a long-anticipated technology trend that could soon bring the world’s first fully autonomous fighting robots to the battlefield, inaugurating a new age of warfare. The longer the war lasts, the more likely it becomes that drones will be used to identify, select and attack targets without help from humans, according to military analysts, combatants and artificial intelligence researchers. That would mark a revolution in military technology as profound as the introduction of the machine gun. Ukraine already has semi-autonomous attack drones and counter-drone weapons endowed with AI. Russia also claims to possess AI weaponry, though the claims are unproven. But there are no confirmed instances of a nation putting into combat ...

Economics key to Japan’s new security strategy

3Jan

By ISSGNo Comments

Asia

Economics key to Japan’s new security strategy

Russian reduction of energy exports and Western sanctions show importance of ‘weaponization of interdependence’ Economic security, or keizai anpo, continues to loom large in the Japanese strategic debate. Since 2019, the Japanese government has rapidly put in place new positions, organizations and bills related to economic security. According to Takayuki Kobayashi, former minister for economic security, the term refers to securing “the Japanese state and national interest through economic measures.” To achieve this objective, the Japanese parliament passed the Economic Security Promotion Act in 2022 to strengthen supply chain resilience, protect critical infrastructure, develop emerging technologies and prevent technology outflow. There’s a history to this It is not the first time...

3Jan

By ISSGNo Comments

Asia

Can the world trust China again?

Flip-flop on ‘zero-Covid’ shows a willingness to take huge and risky bets at a time Beijing needs to open its markets and politics For almost 20 years, the US bet on China first offering to be a responsible stakeholder and then being a member of the G2. Yet, according to the US, China turned down both suggestions, and now the bilateral trust is gone. Once trust is gone, it’s gone forever, or at least for a long time. How can China recover the confidence of America, which props up general trust from the world? The US apparently feels right or wrong; it doesn’t need to have China’s faith since it has that of the world. But what about China: Can China do without trust? When there is no trust, there’s some kind of conflict and attrition that can slip into war. This, in a tiny nutshell, is...

Geopolitics of Border Dispute in South Asia: A Case Study of Nepal-India Border Dispute

3Jan

By ISSGNo Comments

Asia

Geopolitics of Border Dispute in South Asia: A Case Study of Nepal-India Border Dispute

By Saroj Kumar Aryal This article aims to analyze Nepal-India border disputes row of 2020 from a perspective of changing geopolitics of South Asia. The sphere of ‘geopolitics’ as a subject of study has evolved extensively in the 21st century. The classical definition of geopolitics can be coined as it is the study of how the political and geographical environment in which a force is projected — whether ideological, cultural, economic, or military — affects and is influenced by it. However, now each activity in the world system that involves great powers is connected with geopolitics. For instance, geopolitics of space and the sea, which does not necessarily have to be connected with geography. The existing border disputes in South Asia have always been subjected to a geopolitical s...

Understanding the U.S.-Africa strategy under President Biden

3Jan

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Africa, Americas

Understanding the U.S.-Africa strategy under President Biden

The last time a U.S. president met with African leaders at the White House was in 2014 By JOEL MATHIS The U.S. wants better relations with Africa. As a step toward that goal, President Biden is hosting a summit with nearly 50 African leaders this week, a meeting designed to show America's "renewed commitment" to the continent, the Los Angeles Times reports. The United States wants to counter China's influence over Africa, while African leaders want to see more business and trade with the United States. What is Biden's strategy for Africa? Here's everything you need to know: Why is Biden hosting an Africa summit now? America's rivalry with China requires it. The meeting comes at a moment when "Africa's ties with China, and increasingly Russia, have attracted scrutiny," NP...