Monthly Archives: November 2022

On November 14, 2022, Premier Xi and President Joe Biden attended a meeting–held in Bali, Indonesia–to discuss conflicting issues concerning both countries’ foreign policy. This interaction between China and the United States was an exceptional opportunity to mend the relationship between the two global powerhouses. Political scientists foresee China rising in financial and global influence over the next three decades, surpassing the United States as the hegemon and sponsor of pax americana around the world.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a political minefield and the United States has placed itself right in the middle of it. U.S. diplomatic ties and historical sympathies for Israel have repeatedly antagonized Palestine, and by extension the entirety of the Arab world. The Palestinian question is one of many issues that drive a stake between the U.S. and its Arab allies, although the issue of Palestine has potent nationalistic implications for Arab countries. This in combination with other points of conflict with the Middle East threaten U.S. access to important resources like oil with larger implications for greater global security.

Currency is central to international relations. Exchange rates determine how economies are stacked against each other and allow international public and private business. In the post-pandemic world and world economy, many are struggling to recover from lockdowns and slow business. In addition, the war against Ukraine has limited gas and energy access. All of this contributes to a new trend, where the US Dollar is once again leading the world while the Euro and British Pound have fallen behind. While strength abroad ensures American relevance and economic stability, it comes with consequences for ordinary domestic consumers.

The United States attends National Dialogues, often referred to as just simply dialogues, with foreign nations to discuss the terms of foreign relations between the two countries. Normally, these dialogues happen annually as a one-on-one between the United States and the other country, however, the most recent dialogues have been postponed one year due to COVID-19. The overarching purpose of these dialogues are to assess the past of the countries’ relationship, and evaluate and organize the future of the relationship and how they can improve moving forward. On September 12th, 2022, the Vietnam-United States Defense Policy Dialogue was held in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The effects of Putin’s use of strategic conservatism are already widespread. The consequences surmounted precedent as he won the support of Patriarch Kirill. When a specific religion is attached to a national identity, the leaders of the nation take on leadership of said religion. This has led figures such as Pope Francis to condemn the association by warning Kirill against being Putin’s, “altar boy”. However, as a leader of hundreds of thousands, such reprimands and sanctions against Kirill must be approached carefully. As it was during the Cold War in the fight against communism, America seems to have found itself in a battle against ideology.