International

A groundbreaking German peace proposal for Ukraine that could save us all from an all-out war

Michael von der Schulenburg,* Deutschland

(4 October 2023) At the end of August this year, four highly respected German personalities1 presented a peace proposal2 for ending the war in Ukraine through a ceasefire and subsequent peace negotiations. It is arguably the most comprehensive and groundbreaking peace proposal made by any government, international organization or, as in this case, any private party since the war began 18 months ago.

G20 is in need of genuine reform

by M. K. Bhadrakumar,* India

(26 September 2023) India being the host country, the triumphalist tom-toming that G20 summit on September 9-10 was a “success” is both understandable and probably justifiable. Certainly, Indian diplomacy was in full cry. The negotiation of the G20 Declaration1 is no mean achievement in a highly polarised environment.

Energy, the vital lifeline of humanity (Part 2)

by Guy Mettan,* Geneva

(26 September 2023) In my last article, I showed how the enlarged BRICS constituted the largest integrated coalition of primary energy producers, mainly of fossil origin, and end consumers with the gigantic Chinese and Indian markets. So what? you say. Why would this vision of the past matter to us, since we, the Westerners, are banking on the energies of the future, electricity, renewable solar and wind power, hydrogen, and once the transition is over, a bright energy future, environmentally friendly, resource-saving and climate-neutral, will available to us.

No respite for France as a ‘New Africa’ rises

by Pepe Escobar*

(19 September 2023) Like dominos, African states are one by one falling outside the shackles of neocolonialism. Chad, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and now Gabon are saying 'non' to France's longtime domination of African financial, political, economic, and security affairs.
XV BRICS Summit

Energy, the vital lifeline of humanity

by Guy Mettan,* Geneva

(19 September 2023) We heard all kinds of contradictory statements over the last BRICS summit in Johannesburg. China is winning or loosing, Russia is isolated or successful, it is an accomplished enlargement alongside thwarted financial ambitions, a mix of oil with vinegar, an opposition front against Western hegemony, etc. Some hoped for a revolutionary break from the established order and others hoped for the beginning of the end of the dollar, while many in the North hoped it would fail.

Russia, China have a shared vision for North Korea

by M. K. Bhadrakumar,* India

(12 September 2023) The three-day state visit on July 25-27 by Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu, accompanied by a military delegation, to Pyongyang is the first-ever such high-level visit from Moscow in the post-Soviet era.