Global Outlook

U.S. President Donald Trump is making worldwide news everyday with his “shock and awe” style of governing. Three particularly alarming actions of the Trump administration relate directly to the fields of peacebuilding and conflict resolution.

Climate change is the most pressing problem humanity will face this century. Tracking how the climate is actually changing has never been more critical.

The prudent course of action for small nations is to build strategic coalitions of the willing and like-minded to jointly confront the chaos and uncertainty flowing out of Washington.

Even before taking office, President Trump had clearly told Europeans that the US military commitment in Europe would be drastically reduced. Although this did not come as a surprise, in this new geopolitical situation, most governments, military experts, and many mainstream media in Europe switched into crisis mode.

Instead of investing in weapons of mass destruction, making EU defence more efficient should be the priority as well as integrating Russia into a larger collective security organization.

The armistice agreement that ended the Korean War in 1953 has been mentioned as a possible model for how to end the fighting in Ukraine. This makes sense. The Trump administration, however, seems to opt for a quick deal combining “ceasefires in place” with vain prospects of subsequently reaching a genuine peace agreement.