International Politics Weekly

France's President Emmanuel Macron has stated that France may sanction Israel if the Israeli government doesn't take action to prevent famine and the humanitarian crisis that has faced Gaza for over a year and a half.  There has been growing international pressure on Israel to take action to alleviate the dire conditions that people in Gaza have been enduring.  Specifically, many have been calling for a lift of the blockade Israel has placed on Gaza, which has prevented aid from entering the strip.  Not surprisingly, Israel has punched back at Macron's comments.  The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed there is no blockade on Gaza stopping aid from reaching people.  This contradicts reports from multiple international organizations, including the United Nations.  Macron also stated that the founding of a Palestinian state would be "not only a moral duty, but a political necessity."  It is not hard to see where Macron is coming from in his state...

 Within recent weeks, the Trump administration has been admitting white Afrikaners to the United States under refugee status.  The administration claims that they have been facing discrimination at the hands of the South African government on account of their race.  The South African government has denied any discrimination of white South Africans, and does not believe they should be allowed refugee status.  This comes as a jarring break with the administration's typical rhetoric about migrants and refugees.  In fact, refugee admissions to people from other areas of the world, including active war zones, have been halted.  The Afrikaners have been given a highly questionable exception.  The admissions of white South Africans as refugees disturbingly coincides with a racist conspiracy theory, white replacement, and/or white genocide theory.  What is the true story?  Are they being persecuted? The fringe idea that white people are being replace...

Since early October of 2023, Israel has been bombarding the Gaza strip with military strikes, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinian men, women, and children.  These actions have resulted in protests all over the world demanding a ceasefire, and voicing support for the Palestinian people.  A temporary ceasefire was brokered, however this has all but resulted in further military action from Israel.  Almost 100 people have been killed in the latest series of attacks on Gaza, and there seems to be no sign of this trend slowing.  Gaza has been under horrendous humanitarian crises over the course of the war, with homes being destroyed and lack of access to food and drinkable water.  Israel's blockade on aid to Gaza has been the primary culprit of these dire conditions-the United Nations and several countries have called for the blockade to be lifted.  In response, Israel claims the blockade is a tactic to implore Hamas to release Israeli hos...

The world has been watching with concern as India launched military strikes against locations in Pakistan claimed to house terrorists.  Pakistan has vowed to respond to the strikes.  India has since claimed that it had intercepted drones from Pakistan.  What develops next will remain to be seen.  There have long been hostilities between the two countries, although this is the most severe conflict to arise between them in decades.  The major concern about this particular set of hostilities is the fact that both countries have nuclear weapons.  Although using nuclear weapons does not serve the interests of either country, circumstances where two nuclear powers are involved in conflict is a cause for legitimate concern. The United States has called for both countries to de-escalate the situation, as have countries such as the United Kingdom, China, and Russia.  China has a direct interest in preventing this situation from spiraling too far out of control,...

 Hello everyone, I wanted to give an update on a change I've made to the blog.  I've changed the name of the blog to International Politics Weekly, as I will be posting pieces on a weekly basis now.  I've had a change to my personal schedule and weekly posts are more in line with it.  I will be posting every Friday, so be on the lookout for something in a couple of days.  Thank you for understanding, and I appreciate the support. Justin

 Tensions between India and Pakistan are at the highest they have been in some time.  A terrorist attack on tourists in Indian controlled Kashmir left over 20 people dead, most of whom were Hindu.  The group believed to be responsible for the attack is a Pakistani organization opposed to the settlement of Indians in Kashmir.  In response, the Indian government accused the Pakistani government of being involved with the attacks, a claim which Pakistan denies.  India implemented multiple retaliatory actions, including canceling all visas of Pakistani nationals, withdrawing diplomatic workers back to India, and withdrawing from a water treaty with Pakistan.  It is yet to be seen if any military action will be taken, although there have been light skirmishes in disputed Kashmir.  How do we understand the tension between India and Pakistan?  Where does it go from here? To fully understand modern tensions between the two countries, understanding the imp...