One of my favourite cartoons shows an elderly, professorial-looking man talking to a much younger fellow, possibly a student. “Those who don’t study history,” says the old guy, “are doomed to repeat it.” He then adds, “Yet those who do study history are doomed to stand by helplessly while everyone else repeats it.” Like many jokes, this one works because it contains a kernel of truth.

Tensions between Ukraine and Russia, which has massed troops along their border, has drawn Washington and Moscow into a Cold War-style stand-off.Here is a timeline of the spiralling situation.Troop Movements On 10 November, 2021 NATO warns Moscow about taking "aggressive action" after Washington reports unusual troops movements near the Ukrainian border.Russian President Vladimir Putin accuses the West of "supplying modern weapons to Kyiv" and staging provocative

The protests that erupted across Kazakhstan on 2 January quickly turned into riots in all of the country’s major cities. What do the protesters want, and what will be the outcome of the country’s most severe civil unrest since independence in 1991? Although the initial trigger was a doubling of fuel prices, the protesters soon demanded the dissolution of parliament and new elections.

My book, A World in Disarray, was published five years ago this month. The book’s thesis was that the Cold War’s end did not usher in an era of greater stability, security, and peace, as many expected. Instead, what emerged was a world in which conflict was much more prevalent than cooperation. Some criticised the book at the time as being unduly negative and pessimistic. In retrospect, the book could have been criticised for its relative optimism.

During the Cold War, Europe was America’s strategic priority. East Asia was largely a sideshow, even though the United States (US) fought bloody wars in Korea and Vietnam, and also provided security for Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. But in the unfolding new cold war between the US and China, America’s strategic priorities have flipped.

Five global nuclear powers pledged Monday to prevent atomic weapons spreading and to avoid nuclear conflict, in a rare joint statement setting aside rising West-East tensions to reaffirm a goal of a nuke-free world."We believe strongly that the further spread of such weapons must be prevented," said permanent UN Security Council members China, France, Russia, the UK and the United States, adding: "A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought."The statement was issu

United States (US) President Joe Biden will host a virtual democracy summit for leaders from government, civil society, and the private sector on 9-10 December 2021 with the themes defending against authoritarianism; addressing and fighting corruption, and promoting respect for human rights as per the statement released on the website of the US State Department. The invitations for the US Democracy Summit are out and more than half of the world was invited while the rest were left ou

Over the past year, tensions between Russia on one side and Ukraine and the West on the other, have flared, fuelling fears of another armed conflict. The two sides have exchanged accusations of provoking a military escalation and there has even been an ostentatious movement of troops towards the frozen theatre of war in eastern Ukraine.Despite the hostile posturing on both sides, for now, it seems the game of brinkmanship has ended in a stalemate.

Russian sabre-rattling against Ukraine and an assertive China were top of the agenda as G7 foreign ministers met in Britain on Saturday, with calls for a united front against authoritarianism.The two-day gathering of top diplomats from the world's richest nations in Liverpool, northwest England, is the last in-person gathering of Britain's year-long G7 presidency, before it hands over the baton to Germany.Discussions were focused on Russia's build-up of troops on Ukraine's

United States (US) President Joe Biden will host a virtual democracy summit for leaders from government, civil society, and the private sector on 9-10 December 2021 with the themes defending against authoritarianism; addressing and fighting corruption, and promoting respect for human rights as per the statement released on the website of the US State Department. The invitations for the US Democracy Summit are out and more than half of the world was invited while the rest were left ou