foreign policy

Just What They Needed

It has been a difficult month for the Tories across the pond in Britain – talk of internal divisions and doubts over their economic policy make question time fun to watch again.  Now is the time for a positive PR campaign, some votes for the blue boys. The Guardian gets proper credit for reporting this one [...]

From France with Love: Businessmen Sentenced for Arms Trade

A Paris court handed down prison sentences to two businessmen convicted of arms trade with Angola, concluding a case yesterday that tried over forty defendants, including senior politicians and civil servants.
The court sentenced French businessmen Pierre Falcone and Arcadi Gaydamak to six years each for arranging the shipment of weapons valued at $790 million to [...]

Obama’s Five Pillars of Foreign Policy

TIME Magazine’s Michael Scherer has comprised a list that in his eyes reflects U.S. President Barack Obama’s strategy towards foreign policy, which Scherer describes as a  ’hodgepodge of classic realpolitik, diplomatic determination, community-organizer idealism and charismatic leadership’. Although some question how a world tour is translated domestically (Ann Coulter seems to believe bad news is dished [...]

Corporate Foreign Policy Speech in Helsinki

Robert Amsterdam’s speech on corporate foreign policy in Helsinki, Finland.

China’s Success Outstrips Democracy For Now

Financial Times columnist David Pilling has written a truly insightful piece, a report card on Chinese democracy and its progress in lieu of their recent hailing as a global superpower. Today, the Communist party of China’s “knife is sharper and the hemp less knotty: it rules largely through the consent of a population grateful for its [...]

Insightful Innovation = Softest Recession

In an era of geopolitical tumultuousness and a future deemed uncertain with regard to investor confidence in political and economic risks, Norway has much to crow about. With international investors looking to re-enter the global market, the corporate foreign policies of Norway promote autonomous free enterprise and the security of low political risk for [...]

Aid to Zimbabwe - A Matter of If not When

Zimbabwe has been a nation undone by the initiatives of its leadership. This depiction is accurate and won’t be changing anytime soon. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) today said that more than 70 per cent of Zimbabweans were in need of food aid as the country’s economic outlook remains “uncertain.” The report when on to state [...]

World Cup 2010 - South Africa and Political Risk

In the days following Jacob Zuma’s rise to political power, one might forget an upcoming event that will change the way the world views South Africa henceforth - Fifa World Cup 2010. The event is one of the largest sporting spectaculars in the world, and the sport has perhaps the most incensed fan-base out of [...]

That was my idea! Intellectual Property Rights in China

Growth in infrastructure at a devastating pace will no doubt be met with malpractice. Areas of substantial profit aren’t covered as meticulously as overall strategic implementation of expansion and growth, especially from newly-acclaimed superpower, China.
Although intellectual property rights (IPRs) have been acknowledged and protected in the People’s Republic of China since 1979, abuse of IPRs has benefited the [...]

A United Africa Needed in Conquering Conflict, Corruption

Rule of law in Africa has always been a controversial issue to foreign investors looking to take steps in to emerging markets. The recent acts of piracy coordinated on the ground between Nigeria and Somalia are examples not only of a lack of domestic security but of the power of African inter-connectedness, even if it [...]