International Politics Weekly

 The United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia have all officially recognized Palestine as a state.  This is a significant turn in not only the Gaza war, but also a historical moment, given the involvement of British colonialism in the creation of the State of Israel.  However, despite the recognition granted by the three Commonwealth countries, opposition from Israel and the United States make this almost nothing more than a symbolic measure.  With other countries set to recognize Palestine in the coming days, including France and Portugal, analyzing the ramifications globally is crucial. The United Kingdom, as well as two of its former colonies, recognizing a Palestinian state is nothing short of historic.  The British Empire was given control over Palestine after the fall of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the First World War.  In 1917, the Balfour Declaration, which Britain authored, called for the establishment of a Jewish state.  It was not until th...

 Russia has recently flown drones over the airspace of Poland, in a concerning escalation of tensions between Russia and the rest of Europe.  These actions become more alarming considering the fact Poland belongs to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance.  Article 5 of the NATO charter states that an attack on one NATO party is an attack on all.  Granted, Russia did not attack Poland, however, Russia's motivations behind the incursion, although difficult to dissect entirely, may be to test the lengths which the alliance is willing to go to protect another NATO state.  The United Kingdom, for instance, has sent Royal Air Force jets to Poland as a deterrent to further Russian incursion.  Since this event, Romania claims that Russia violated its airspace during an attack on Ukraine.  What do these events mean for the future of NATO-Russia relations?  What is Russia trying to achieve? One may be wondering what Russia gains from provoki...