| | | | The West Has a Great Big Blind Spot in the Middle East | | The disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is just the latest reminder of a blind spot the West has long had in the Middle East, writes Roula Khalaf in The Financial Times. Young leaders don't always mark a break from the past. And even when they do, the results can be even worse.
"What drives the myth of the young Arab reformer? Partly it is a belief that in an undemocratic Middle East, continuity is valued, and change is too risky (a Western attitude that has been reinforced by the chaos that followed the Arab spring). It is also the appeal of new rulers who talk about economic reforms, even as they perpetuate systems that lack transparency and accountability," Khalaf writes.
"There is usually no basis for Western wishful thinking. True, youth brings more energy. But inexperience can channel that energy in the wrong direction. Inexperience is compounded by insecurity: the sons' need to consolidate their power leads them to sideline old advisers. They rule with narrower power bases and fall back on paranoid instincts."
| | It's Time for Europe to Go It Alone. That's a Good Thing | | | President Donald Trump may have dropped some of the diplomatic niceties, but his administration can't be blamed for turning away from Europe, write Benjamin Haddad and Alina Polyakova for Foreign Affairs. "The end of the Cold War made Europe less central to US national security interests." It's time for Europe to go it alone – and America should encourage that.
"Americans are frustrated at Europe's lack of defense investments and do not see the continent as a reliable ally; Europeans resent American unilateralism and disregard for their policy concerns. This isn't new. With the Soviet Union's collapse, the United States became the sole superpower and was no longer hindered by concerns of provoking its old enemy," they write.
"A more autonomous Europe will cause some headaches for future US policymakers, but European strategic autonomy will benefit Washington as well. First, politically: the lopsided defense relationship has fueled resentment among US policymakers and voters who wonder why rich European countries have to rely on the United States to fight wars closer to European shores than American ones. More important, as the United States shifts resources toward competition with Russia and China, a more autonomous Europe could contribute to global security and economic balancing, from the fight against terrorism to containing the rise of China." | | It's Not Just the Corruption (Or the Crime), Stupid | | | Worries over violent crime rates and corruption are generally seen as the big things motivating voters in Brazil ahead of the second round of its presidential election. But first round winner Jair Bolsonaro has also weighed in on an issue with global implications, notes Somini Sengupta in The New York Times.
"Brazil is the world's sixth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, though its emissions are much smaller than the two big industrial countries of the world, China and the United States," Sengupta writes. "The recent rollback of conservation measures reflects the growing influence of a powerful conservative wing within Brazil's legislature that calls itself the Beef, Bible and Bullet Coalition. A Bolsonaro victory would amplify its influence, analysts said."
Bolsonaro "has dangled the possibility of pulling out of the Paris climate agreement. But even if he doesn't, his campaign promises could have dire consequences for the Amazon, and therefore for the rest of the planet. Stretching across two million square miles, most of it in Brazil, the Amazon acts as a giant sink for the carbon dioxide emissions that the world as a whole produces." | | Why Russia Is Getting Cozy With Africa | | Attention on foreign powers' growing strategic interests in Africa typically focuses on China. But Russia has been busy consolidating its position on the continent, too, suggests Aaron Ross for Reuters. The Central African Republic is just the latest example.
"When Central African Republic pleaded for help last year to fight marauding militias, former colonial ruler France offered guns it had seized off Somalia. But Russia objected and donated its own weapons instead," Ross notes.
"Since Western nations sanctioned Russia for annexing Crimea in 2014, Moscow has signed 19 military cooperation deals in sub-Saharan Africa, including with Ethiopia, Nigeria and Zimbabwe, according to its foreign and defense ministries and state media.
"The continent's 54 member states at the United Nations – three of which sit on the Security Council at any given time – form the organization's largest voting bloc and one of its most coherent, making them attractive allies for Russia."
| | This Country's Citizens Will Live Longer Than Anywhere Else | | Spain is expected to have the longest life expectancy of any nation in the world by 2040, a new study suggests, with the average lifespan there expected to rise to 85.8 years.
The study, published by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, produces best and worst-case scenarios based on current trends for a range of factors impacting health, from education levels to smoking rates to access to clean water.
Rounding out the top five are Japan, which is projected to have a life expectancy of 85.7 years, Singapore (85.4), Switzerland (85.2) and Portugal (84.5). The United States, meanwhile, is expected to drop the most for a high-income country, from 43rd in 2016 to 64th in 2040, with a lifespan of 79.8 years.
"The top five health drivers that explain most of the future trajectory for premature mortality are high blood pressure, high body mass index, high blood sugar, tobacco use, and alcohol use," according to the study's lead author. | | | | | | |
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