Expert Comment

Comment provided on the following issues:

Yossi Mekelberg
Middle East Talks: a Success for Obama but what Chance of Real Progress? by Yossi Mekelberg | 01 September 2010

A summit between national leaders has a tendency to evoke high expectations for a breakthrough or at least some...

Claire Spencer
Withdrawal of US Combat Forces from Iraq: a Landmark or a Slide? by Dr Claire Spencer | 31 August 2010

The news that over 60,000 US combat troops are leaving Iraq on the last day of August 2010, leaving...

Julian  Lindley-French
Anglo-French Defence Co-operation by Professor Julian Lindley-French | 30 August 2010

The UK Defence Secretary, Liam Fox, has called for closer Anglo-French defence cooperation. Clearly, budgetary pressures faced by the...

Ayesha Khan
Failing Pakistan by Ayesha Khan | 26 August 2010

Ayesha Khan has recently returned from Pakistan. President Asif Ali Zardari's indifference to the suffering of more than twenty million...

Alex Nice
Fire Exposes Weakness of Russia’s Political System by Alex Nice | 10 August 2010

Here in Russia, low rainfall and searing heat - in some places the highest temperatures for 130 years -...

Alex Vines, OBE
Lessons from Sierra Leone’s Blood Diamond Trade by Alex Vines, OBE | 05 August 2010

As a diamond smuggling investigator for the UN from 2001-2003 in Liberia, I saw at first hand the importance...

Nadim Shehadi
Trimming the Trees in South Lebanon by Nadim Shehadi | 04 August 2010

What seems at first like a relatively minor skirmish between the Lebanese and Israeli armies - in a border...

Farzana Shaikh
Pakistan: In the Eye of the Storm by Dr Farzana Shaikh | 03 August 2010

Only the hard-hearted will be left unmoved by the calamities that have rained down on Pakistan in recent weeks....

Gareth Price
David Cameron's India Visit by Dr Gareth Price | 23 July 2010

One of the most striking features of the new government's foreign policy has been its emphasis on reinvigorating the...

Robin Niblett
David Cameron's Washington Visit by Dr Robin Niblett | 20 July 2010

David Cameron's government has given clear expression in the past couple of months to its belief that Britain needs...

Sam Lawson
The Global Response to Illegal Logging by Sam Lawson | 15 July 2010

Over the last two years, Chatham House has carried out an in-depth study of the response to illegal logging...

Malcolm Grimston
Confusion at the Heart of Electricity Policy by Malcolm Grimston | 14 July 2010

Since the liberalisation of the early 1990s it has been unclear whether British governments regard electricity primarily as a...

Thomas Cargill
G8 and G20 Summits: African Players Changing the Rules by Thomas Cargill | 23 June 2010

World Cup fever has put a serious dent into any substantial media coverage of the G8 and G20 summits...

Paola Subacchi
G20 Summit: Where is Europe? by Dr Paola Subacchi | 23 June 2010

With the notable exception of the Franco-German support for the levy on banks, Europe's voice remains largely unheard in...

John Lough
Common US-Russian Interests in Kyrgyzstan? by John Lough | 22 June 2010

The seriousness of the current situation in Kyrgyzstan could challenge conventional thinking about US-Russian interests in the region. When Presidents...

Vanessa Rossi
The UK in the Global Economy by Vanessa Rossi | 21 June 2010

The UK's role in the world is inextricably linked to its economic strength and prosperity. Maintaining a vibrant economy...

James Nixey
Kyrgyzstan: Violence Returns by James Nixey | 18 June 2010

The renewed violence in the Osh and Jalal-Abad regions of southwest Kyrgyzstan, together with April's déjà vu revolution seals...

Antony Froggatt
Threat to Security of Energy Supply by Antony Froggatt | 08 June 2010

As the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has amply demonstrated, growing global energy demand and the anticipated restricted...

John Swenson-Wright
More Leadership Uncertainty in Japan by Dr John Swenson-Wright | 02 June 2010

Even by the merry-go round standards of succession in contemporary Japanese politics, 260 days is a remarkably short time...

Sally Healy OBE
Ethiopia's Election: A Bad Result for Democracy by Sally Healy OBE | 27 May 2010

Ethiopia's ruling party has already staged a victory rally in Addis Ababa to mark their satisfaction with the elections...

Kerry Brown
North Korea: The Plot Thickens by Dr Kerry Brown | 25 May 2010

After a period of relative quietness, North Korea is back in the headlines. As ever, it is for all...

Rosheen Kabraji
Violence in Thailand by Rosheen Kabraji | 14 May 2010

The ongoing stand-off between the Thai government and red-shirt protesters (supporters of the exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra)...

Sola Tayo
The Mixed Legacy of Yar'Adua by Sola Tayo | 06 May 2010

The announcement of the death of Nigeria's President, Umaru Yar'Adua, should not have come as a surprise. His poor...

Vanessa Rossi
Volcano Traps Europe in L-shaped Recovery by Vanessa Rossi | 22 April 2010

Against an already fragile background for the European economy, volcanic ash has cast doubts over predictions for strengthened growth...

Robin Niblett
Leaders' Debate: More in Agreement than they would like to Admit by Dr Robin Niblett | 22 April 2010

From an interesting start, this ended up being a very disappointing, even bewildering 45-minute half debate on 'foreign affairs'....

Felix Preston
Election 2010: Party Promises on the Energy and Environment by Felix Preston | 16 April 2010

This article was originally published in The New Statesman >> The parties' key messages on energy and the environment echo...

Paul Cornish
Election 2010: Party Promises on Defence by Dr Paul Cornish | 16 April 2010

This article was originally published in The New Statesman >> Defence policy has not often been influential in British general...

James Sherr
The New Start Treaty by James Sherr | 09 April 2010

The new Start treaty signed by Presidents Obama and Medvedev in Prague is possibly the last rite of passage...

James Nixey
Revolution in Kyrgyzstan…Again: The International Dimension by James Nixey | 08 April 2010

Kyrgyzstan, often the forgotten country of Central Asia, has once again come to the world's fickle attention. Of the...

James Sherr
Moscow Metro Bombings by James Sherr | 30 March 2010

Perspective can be the greatest casualty of a grotesque and barbarous terrorist attack, and terrorists invariably hope that will...

Paola Subacchi
Beyond the Dollar by Dr Paola Subacchi | 19 March 2010

The following article is from the forthcoming April 2010 issue of The World Today. Chatham House has just released...

Elizabeth Donnelly
Violence in Jos, Nigeria: Bloody Agendas and Hidden Hands by Elizabeth Donnelly | 10 March 2010

Violent conflict in the city of Jos - and in much of Nigeria - is about rights, access to...

Thomas Cargill
Britain and South Africa: The Old Guard Moves On by Thomas Cargill | 03 March 2010

South African President Jacob Zuma's state visit to Britain comes at a time when both countries are grappling with...

Paola Subacchi
Setting the Scene for the G20 by Dr Paola Subacchi | 26 February 2010

The 2008 financial crisis brought the G20 into the limelight and promoted it to firefighter-in-chief. In 2009 the G20...

Kerry Brown
China, Iran and the United States by Dr Kerry Brown | 20 February 2010

The following article is from the forthcoming March 2010 issue of The World Today. Where does China stand on Iran...

Vanessa Rossi
There is No Painless Solution to Greece's Debt Crisis and Euro Exit is No Panacea by Vanessa Rossi | 10 February 2010

The centre of the current debt storm is Europe, with Greece in the spotlight. Debt crises are always brutal,...

Farzana Shaikh
What Next for Pakistan? by Dr Farzana Shaikh | 08 February 2010

President Asif Ali Zardari and his entourage are said to be ritually killing one black goat a day to...

Paul Cornish
The Defence Review: Affordability Must be the Cart, Strategy the Horse by Dr Paul Cornish | 28 January 2010

These are certainly hard times for defence. British armed forces have a demanding operational role in Afghanistan, and are...

Vanessa Rossi
UK GDP Growth Figures Fail to Please by Vanessa Rossi | 26 January 2010

The results just out for the UK's economy follow hard on the heels of those for China and the...

Vanessa Rossi
Too Hot - Can China Ever Get the Economy’s Temperature Right? by Vanessa Rossi | 22 January 2010

In the midst of a massive once-in-a-century global recession, and with its exports down by 16% (about 0 billion,...

Ginny Hill
Yemen: Test for the West by Ginny Hill | 21 January 2010

The following article is from the forthcoming February 2010 issue of The World Today. The botched plot to bomb Northwest...

Alex Vines, OBE
Angolan Complacency Hands Separatists Publicity by Alex Vines, OBE | 11 January 2010

Most of Angola is peaceful and safe but northern Cabinda province has for many years been unsafe because of...

Robert Falkner
Nanotechnologies in Food: Opportunities and Risks by Dr Robert Falkner | 08 January 2010

Today, the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee published a major report on nanotechnologies in the food sector...

Vanessa Rossi
Economic Outlook: a Sombre Start to 2010 by Vanessa Rossi | 05 January 2010

Although Europe and the US are out of recession and look set for at least a modest pick-up in...

Cleo Paskal
Climate Challenges Beyond Copenhagen by Cleo Paskal | 09 December 2009

We don't need a crystal ball to know that even the 'best case' at Copenhagen would not be enough...

Ayesha Khan
Obama Troop Surge 'Anti-Climax' by Ayesha Khan | 02 December 2009

President Obama has called for 30,000 more US troops to be deployed to Afghanistan to 'finish the job' and...

Vanessa Rossi
The Return of Inflation: Risking Risk or Overreaction? by Vanessa Rossi | 01 December 2009

November consumer price data for the US and Europe finally showed an end to months of deflation, as year-on-year...

Antony Froggatt
China Sets New 'Carbon Intensity' Target by Antony Froggatt | 27 November 2009

China has announced that it will set a 'carbon intensity' (the level of CO2 emissions per unit of economic...

Richard G Whitman
Europe's Newest President and its First 'Foreign Minister' by Professor Richard G Whitman | 20 November 2009

So after almost a decade of discussing reforms to increase the effectiveness and profile of the European Union, last...

Markus Weimer
China Offers Mugabe a Lifeline by Markus Weimer | 20 November 2009

China is giving a US$ 8 billion lifeline to cash-strapped Zimbabwe in a move that will raise further questions...

Markus Weimer
Everybody Wins in the Mozambican Elections by Markus Weimer | 28 October 2009

Votes have been cast this week in Mozambique's general election. These are the fourth presidential and legislative elections since...

Walt Patterson
OFGEM Project Discovery by Walt Patterson | 09 October 2009

The UK Office of Gas and Electricity Markets OFGEM has published what it calls 'a comprehensive review of Britain's...

Paola Subacchi
Global Economic Governance: Europe's Hard Choice by Dr Paola Subacchi | 28 September 2009

It was feared to signal a loss of momentum, but the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh started with a bang...

Paul Cornish
Defence in the Firing Line: 'My Cut's Bigger than Yours' by Dr Paul Cornish | 23 September 2009

While the government has begun preparations for next year's strategic defence review the party conference season serves as a...

Vanessa Rossi
G20 Must Focus on Last Push to Support Economic Recovery by Vanessa Rossi | 21 September 2009

In a series of Chatham House briefings over the past year, experts have argued firstly, that the recession would...

Robin Niblett
Barack Obama's Decision on Missile Shield Shows He is Sticking to the Diplomatic Path by Dr Robin Niblett | 19 September 2009

Preisdent Barack Obama is under growing pressure at home on his signature health care programme, in the eye of...

Farzana Shaikh
Zardari's First Year by Dr Farzana Shaikh | 09 September 2009

In a newspaper column published in Pakistan to mark the first anniversary of President Asif Ali Zardari's term in...

Gareth Price
Is it Time to Negotiate with the Taliban? by Dr Gareth Price | 08 September 2009

The Taliban represents a broad constituency from hard-core militants to local warlords who feel aggrieved by losing political power...

David Livingstone MBE DSC
Afghanistan by David Livingstone MBE DSC | 29 August 2009

Afghanistan is in a fully developed condition of insurgency, with Taleban influence reaching many parts of the country and...

Markus Weimer
Zuma visits Angola by Markus Weimer | 19 August 2009

Jacob Zuma's visit to Angola this week is the first state visit since he took power. It is highly...

Joel Kibazo
Africa: Facing the Force of the International Economic Crisis by Joel Kibazo | 10 August 2009

There is now little doubt that the international economic downturn of the last two years is likely to have...

Gareth Price
More Troops, Same Strategy, Same Afghan Government by Dr Gareth Price | 21 July 2009

With the death of another British soldier announced today, the ongoing political row about helicopters in the UK masks...

Vanessa Rossi
G8 End of Term Report: Europe Needs to Improve Quality of Forecasts and Risk Assessments by Vanessa Rossi | 08 July 2009

L'Aquila G8 is the first summit to take place since the Eurozone economic outlook was radically downgraded to reveal...

DeAnne Julius
A Better Way to Promote Financial Stability by Dr DeAnne Julius | 24 June 2009

An unseemly turf battle broke out at the Mansion House last week over who should be in charge of...

Claire Spencer
Iran: New Divisions by Dr Claire Spencer | 16 June 2009

A week is a long time in politics and never more so than in the Middle East. Barely two...

Richard Dalton
Iran: Election or Coup? by Sir Richard Dalton | 15 June 2009

Iran's election was most likely a power grab coordinated by Supreme Leader Khamenei, Ahmadinejad's close colleagues, and IRGC leaders...

Hussain Abdul-Hussain
A 'New Page' Between the US and Muslim World? by Hussain Abdul-Hussain | 04 June 2009

America's best hope of transforming from a superpower to a 'smart power' comes from its president and inspiring orator...

Vanessa Rossi
The AAA Threat to UK Credit Rating by Vanessa Rossi | 22 May 2009

Why the UK Needs to Pay More Attention to how its Economy is Viewed at Home and Abroad For the...

Charu Lata Hogg
Sri Lanka: Winning the War, But Not the Peace by Charu Lata Hogg | 21 May 2009

By pursuing an unrelenting and bloody military campaign against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the Sri Lankan...

Vanessa Rossi
Guarded Optimism: Latin American Economies by Vanessa Rossi | 19 May 2009

Be under no illusion, a real upturn in the world economy is not yet in view. However, signs that...

Markus Weimer
Political Tensions High as Malawians go to the Polls by Markus Weimer | 18 May 2009

With Madonna's latest adoption plea rejected by the courts, the small land-locked country of Malawi has disappeared from the...

Gareth Price
Pakistan - Dealing with the Taliban by Dr Gareth Price | 27 April 2009

Before he took office the US president, Barack Obama, had stressed that he would put Afghanistan at the top...

Paola Subacchi
The Missing Piece: The London Summit and the Exchange Rate Regime by Dr Paola Subacchi | 03 April 2009

The international monetary system - and therefore the dollar - is once again in the spotlight. China's central bank...

Paul Cornish
National Security and Northern Ireland: Now What? by Dr Paul Cornish | 17 March 2009

The murders in Northern Ireland of two British soldiers and one British police officer make it clear enough that...

Gareth Price
Attack on Sri Lanka's Cricketers by Dr Gareth Price | 03 March 2009

The attack on Sri Lanka's cricketers in Lahore is the latest in a line of high-profile incidents in Pakistan,...

Vanessa Rossi
Forecasting the Recession: The Need for Further Scrutiny by Vanessa Rossi | 19 February 2009

Getting to grips with the full implications of this extraordinary recession has been extraordinarily difficult. Forecasts have been steadily...

Markus Weimer
Old Alliances for a New World by Markus Weimer | 09 February 2009

The recent visit of Cuban President Raul Castro to Angola marks a turning point in the long-standing relationship between...

Robin Niblett
President Obama Inauguration by Dr Robin Niblett | 22 January 2009

As he embarks on his Presidency in the teeth of one of the most brutal economic recessions in America's...

Andrew Wood
Russia and the EU by Sir Andrew Wood | 22 January 2009

Russia and the European Union are compelled by a web of mutual interests to work together, but find it...

Robert Lowe
Conflict in Gaza by Robert Lowe | 05 January 2009

The bombardment and invasion of Gaza is Israel's heaviest attack on the small strip of land since the 1967...

Vanessa Rossi
Heading into the Trough of the Recession by Vanessa Rossi | 22 December 2008

2008 was a disastrous year for the world economy and the financial system, with risks multiplying up and breaking...

Alex Vines, OBE
Ghana: Leading Africa Once More by Alex Vines, OBE | 22 December 2008

This time last year Kenya's presidential and parliamentary elections ended in a major crisis, resulting in ethnic violence, killings...

Paul Cornish
Is this the Age of Celebrity Terrorism? by Dr Paul Cornish | 28 November 2008

Quite apart from the scores murdered and the hundreds injured, what the Mumbai terrorists really wanted was an exaggerated...

Robin Niblett
US Elections by Dr Robin Niblett | 05 November 2008

5 November 2008 Chatham House experts offer their perspectives on the key foreign policy and economic challenges facing the new...

Daniel Litvin (currently on sabbatical)
Good Business Has a Bad Crunch by Daniel Litvin (currently on sabbatical) | 24 October 2008

This era's greatest episode of financial irresponsibility almost brought capitalism to its knees. So where on earth was the...

Vanessa Rossi
Dive into Recession by Vanessa Rossi | 10 October 2008

The global financial system has suffered a once-in-a-century meltdown. Confidence is shattered and panic has taken hold. Even before...

Vanessa Rossi
Down They Fall - Recessions Break Out as Banks Lurch into New Era by Vanessa Rossi | 16 September 2008

The end of the summer break has seen the order of priorities for policymakers change markedly - gone are...

Paola Subacchi
Another Wall Street Collapse: Are We Surprised? by Dr Paola Subacchi | 16 September 2008

Like a recurrent nightmare the collapse of yet another Wall Street institution is a reminder that the worst may...

Farzana Shaikh
Pakistan's New President by Dr Farzana Shaikh | 08 September 2008

Two events have dominated recent headlines on Pakistan: the election on 6 September of Asif Ali Zardari as the...

James Nixey
Intellectual Dishonesty and the Culpability of All by James Nixey | 14 August 2008

At the time of writing, as they say, the ceasefire between Russia and Georgia is precarious at best and...

Fadi Hakura
Opportunity for Reform in Turkey by Fadi Hakura | 01 August 2008

On 30 July, the Constitutional Court allowed the ruling Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) to escape a ban...

Paul Cornish
UK Security and Defence: More 'Muddling Through' or Time for a Requirements-Led Strategic Defence Review? by Dr Paul Cornish | 27 May 2008

With Britain's Armed Forces stretched to breaking point in Afghanistan and Iraq, calls for a review of defence strategy...

Gareth Price
Burma Cyclone by Dr Gareth Price | 07 May 2008

The decision by the ruling military junta in Burma to accept foreign assistance appears less a break from the...

Paul Cornish
Time for a Two-Tier Nato? by Dr Paul Cornish | 01 April 2008

The agenda for NATO's summit meeting this week in Bucharest is sure to be long, and rather daunting. In...

Paul Cornish
The National Security Strategy of the United Kingdom by Dr Paul Cornish | 26 March 2008

How Radical Can Britain Be? The publication before Easter of the long-awaited National Security Strategy of the United Kingdom (NSS)...

Sonya Sceats
European Court Torture Ruling by Sonya Sceats | 28 February 2008

The 'absolute' nature of the torture ban was affirmed today by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg,...

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