At the start of the year, when COVID-19 was barely on anyone's radar outside of China, the global economy was entering a fraught phase, facing a range of potentially devastating tail risks. And though the pandemic has since turned the world on its head, all of these threats remain – and some have become more salient.
NEW YORK – In February, I warned that any number of foreseeable crises – “white swans” – could trigger a massive global disturbance this year. I noted that:
“… the US and Iran have already had a military confrontation that will likely soon escalate; China is in the grip of a viral outbreak that could become a global pandemic; cyberwarfare is ongoing; major holders of US Treasuries are pursuing diversification strategies; the Democratic presidential primary is exposing rifts in the opposition to Trump and already casting doubt on vote-counting processes; rivalries between the US and four revisionist powers are escalating; and the real-world costs of climate change and other environmental trends are mounting.”
France's Strategic Shift: Recognizing Moroccan Sovereignty over Western Sahara
The decades-old dispute over Western Sahara took a significant turn on July 30th when French President Emmanuel Macron declared Morocco’s autonomy plan as the “only basis” for resolving the conflict.
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Beneath the ambitious and multi-dimensional reforms it has undertaken in recent years, Uzbekistan is rapidly becoming an important Central Asian middle power
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Antić for the South China Morning Post: "Western concerns about SCO must be allayed. Kazakhstan can help"
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) held its annual summit on July 4 in Astana, the capital of this year’s chair Kazakhstan.
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