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foreign affairs in strategic context
Browsing All Posts filed under »China«
A plea for honesty in the aid debate
September 1, 2011
Many years ago, David Cameron pledged to protect the international aid budget from cuts if he became Prime Minister, and, since then, there has been a recurring debate in Conservative circles about the wisdom of this commitment. It appears on the horizon like a cloud promising rain; supporters of the pledge become very Wet; and […]
Gaddafi, ‘threat’ and the art of seeing behind hills
April 1, 2011
I have kept quiet about Libya since the intervention began, as I felt it’d be better to wait for things to go pear-shaped and then sing the ‘I told you so!’ song. Facebook has been handy for venting my frustration, however, and last night I asked if there was any proof to the claim that […]
Crispin Burke and Courtney Messerschmidt: Shi Lang!
January 19, 2011
The rise of China and its implication on security in East Asia is conspicuously missing from the blog, but this guest post by Crispin Burke and Courtney Messerschmidt begins to correct this. It puts concerns about Chinese military technology into a more critical perspective, especially its new aircraft carrier. Crispin is a US Army captain […]
Ellis and Rauscher on Europe
October 17, 2010
I shouldn’t argue with Xavier Rauscher as I’m expecting him to write something for the blog, but we all have to do what we feel is right in our hearts. Today, we have been arguing about Europe. Like most of the world, I tend to treat the European Union with contemptuous indifference; like any Frenchman, […]
Some ‘light’ Sunday reading
September 12, 2010
I tend to use my Facebook page to recommend reading, but obviously there are people who don’t ‘like’ it – maybe due to mental illness, maybe because of sexual deviancy. Who knows? But as my first post on the Conservatives and the First World War is taking longer to finish than expected, I felt I […]
Remembering September 11th with guff
September 11, 2010
I have been working on a lengthy post for the last fortnight, which is why blogging has been slow, but I wanted to write something on the anniversary of September 11th. The impact of the attacks on New York and Washington nine years ago cannot be understated either on a personal level or on the […]
Looking for the ‘grand strategy’ in an Anglo-Indian partnership
July 26, 2010
The Prime Minister is going to India this week, heading a large team that includes Cabinet ministers and leading companies. ‘[It] is likely to be the most heavyweight British delegation to the country since the Raj came to an end’, according to one report. George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, made a similar point […]
Two takes on Iran
July 23, 2010
To begin filling the unforgiveable gap on Iran, I recommend to readers these two discussions on the threat posed by it having a nuclear capability. I hadn’t heard of Tom Schelling before watching the video, so it was a wonderful introduction. Although he considers an Iranian nuclear capability an unfortunate but containable threat, he raises […]
October 23, 2012
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