World Review | August 2019

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ANANTA ASPEN CENTRE

ANANTA ASPEN CENTRE

G-7 Summit: Trump Almost Behaves Himself

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the guest leaders invited to the Group of Seven summit in mid-August in Biarritz, France. The leaders of India, Australia, Chile and Spain were asked to join by French President Emmanuel Macron along with a number of African countries. After two disastrous summits in Italy and Canada, France sought to revive the G-7’s image as a multilateral body capable of addressing major global problems. The problem in the past summits was US President Donald Trump’s opposition to free trade and climate change, support for Brexit and Russia, and general disdain for the G-7’s core belief in liberal democratic values. 

Macron was able to mitigate Trump’s behaviour by replacing the joint communique with a simple one-page declaration. He pulled off a minor coup by having the Iranian foreign minister drop-by, getting Trump to consider loosening sanctions against Iran and meeting Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Iranian Foreign Minister S Javid made a surprise stopover which unnerved Israel. Though the US leader and he did not meet, Trump raised no objections to his presence.
 
However, the US president acted per his own playbook by pushing hard for Russia’s re-entry, boycotting meetings on the Amazon rainforest and climate change, and urging British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to leave the European Union as quickly as possible. 

Most importantly for the world economy was zero evidence the US was letting up on its trade war with China or pulling back from its brewing trade conflict with the EU. Trump, however, did announce a preliminary free trade agreement with Japan before the summit, this could assuage US farmers hurt by the loss of the Chinese market. 

Macron announced the G-7 would provide $ 20 million to fight fires in the Amazon, an offer rejected by an irate Brazil. However, there is evidence Modi is upping India’s game when it comes to multilateral moves on the environment. Modi attended the G-7 sessions on climate, oceans and biodiversity and at the G-7 continued to promote his idea of a disaster-resilient infrastructure coalition to add to the earlier International Solar Alliance. France is co-founder of the latter. 

Modi can be pleased that Trump publicly declared Kashmir to be a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan, walking away from his earlier offers to mediate. The next G-7 summit will be in the US. Trump offered to hold the summit at one of his own resorts in Florida, leading to reminders the resort once had a bedbug infestation.
 

https://www.cfr.org/article/g-7-gathers-biarritz-dysfunctional-family-reunion?utm_medium=email&utm_source=twtw&utm_content=082319&sp_mid=60195748&sp_rid=cHJhbWl0cGNAeWFob28uY29tS0

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/25/g7-trumps-demands-for-russias-readmission-causes-row-in-biarritz

https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/08/macron-france-press-trump-iran-diplomacy-g7.html?utm_campaign=20190823&utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Daily%20Newsletter

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2019-08-22/discord-dominates-as-trump-and-other-leaders-plan-economic-sum

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/25/trump-abe-us-japan-trade-deal

https://www.axios.com/scoop-netanyahu-tried-to-reach-trump-to-block-zarif-meeting-85a6a92d-51fa-4d55-bb79-e5163b0706ce.html

 

Brexit: Johnson and Brussels Play Chicken

The new British prime minister, Boris Johnson, prorogued the UK Parliament for an unusual five weeks in the runup to the October 31st deadline for Britain to leave the European Union. Johnson seems to want to avoid a cross-party parliamentary vote to extend the deadline, reduce the scope for public debate on the possibility of a no-deal Brexit, as well as shore up his negotiating hand with the EU. 

Johnson and the EU are engaged in a high-stakes game of chicken over Brexit. Johnson has demanded the EU renegotiate the Brexit deal it worked out with his predecessor. His primary demand: the EU must drop the backstop with Ireland, a position that Brussels has refused. The British leader has taken the hard line that he is prepared to accept a no-deal Brexit when the October 31st deadline for withdrawal comes. Johnson’s team seemingly believes the EU’s fears of major economic disruption if a no-deal Brexit takes place will force them to come to the table. So far, neither side has shown any inclination to blink. 

Without the backstop, the boundary between Ireland and Northern Ireland would become a hard border. Brussels believes this could reignite sectarian violence in Ireland and is equally determined not to give up on the backstop. 

Another option would be for both sides to extend the October deadline by renegotiating Article 50 which governs Britain’s withdrawal from the EU. Johnson is opposed to the idea, one reason he has closed the parliament for so long. 

Johnson is trapped, as were his predecessors, by the mood of his own party which remains hostage to Brexit supporters who want to stick to the October 31st deadline, whatever the consequences. Polls show the Conservative Party polling 12 points ahead of Labour thanks in part to Johnson’s hard line, but also Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s unwillingness to consider a second Brexit referendum.

A leaked report indicates the British government is preparing for the possibility of a no deal Brexit and the possibility this would result in widespread economic disruption and social unrest, including shortages of fuel, medicine and food. The possibility of martial law is among the options being contemplated.

https://www.cer.eu/insights/no-deal-brexit-not-inevitable

https://www.cer.eu/in-the-press/eu-officials-dont-relish-idea-no-deal-–-they-are-prepared-play-hardball

https://www.apnews.com/419843b3f6e3493c85688e5ee96039c6

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/uk-ready-to-declare-martial-law-to-avert-no-deal-brexit-chaos-bfqgzzlrw

https://inews.co.uk/news/uk/conservatives-surge-to-12-point-poll-lead-over-labour-ahead-of-brexit-deadline/

 

US Elections: Trump May Be Vulnerable

President Trump has announced he will stick with Vice-President Mike Pence as his running mate in the 2020 elections, quelling rumours he was considering Indian-American Nikki Haley for the position. Another Republican, ex-governor Joe Walsh, has announced he will contest the nomination against Trump but his bid, as he himself admits, is largely symbolic. 

There is small, but mounting, evidence Trump’s re-election bid may be more vulnerable than was expected. A Quinnipiac University poll showed that five of the Democratic candidates would defeat Trump in terms of popular vote. Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders would do so by large margins, 16 and 14 percentage points. Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris would do so by eight points and even Pete Buttigieg, who is faring poorly in the Democratic race, would do so by nine points. The university’s polling analyst, Mary Snow, said Trump was facing a “ceiling of support” of 40 percentage points “no matter the candidate.” A slew of local polls show the US president struggling in many of the swing states that proved decisive in his victory over Clinton including Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Iowa. Even some traditional Republican states like North Carolina and Georgia are being seen as susceptible to a moderate Democrat. 

Others polls show the white working class that propelled him to victory are less concerned about racial grievances than before. Paula Ioanide, a professor of race relations at Ithaca College, says the belief white identity was under attack peaked in 2016 and is now receding. White liberals, concerned at racial polarisation, are also showing greater signs of mobilisation than their opposite numbers. 

Some polls show Trump’s disapproval ratings for domestic issues, foreign policy and, most importantly, the economy have all passed 60 per cent and even among those who give him a thumbs up on the economy are increasingly inclined to vote for a Democrat. A particularly damaging poll result in a recent NBC-Wall Street Journal poll showed 62 per cent of white women, a group who divided their vote between Trump and Hillary Clinton in 2016, say they will now vote for a Democrat. 

The US presidential election campaign saw the race among the Democrat candidates tightening. Joe Biden, the most mainstream candidate, continues to hold the lead said most polls. His strengths:  most Democratic supporters believe he is the most likely candidate to defeat President Donald Trump. He also remains the most popular candidate among black voters and uneducated whites. Elizabeth Warren has seen her support grow steadily and she is now the number two or three choice in most polls. She also has the lowest disapproval ratings indicated that when other candidates drop out, their supporters are more likely to flock to her banner. Her weakness: her core support is overwhelmingly white. Bernie Sanders continues to hold on to his numbers but shows no signs of widening his base. Kamala Harris, who rose briefly after a successful debate performance, has sunk back to single digits and is trailing Warren even in her home state of California. A key electoral group which remains uncertain who to support are Hispanics. However, as pollsters note, only 12 per cent of Democrats say they have firmly decided on a candidate.

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-democrats-poll-economy-2020-1456536

https://www.axios.com/trump-2020-election-map-swing-states-80f9aab1-e713-4c7d-a72a-24f3a87beb13.html

https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-election-race-poll/for-trump-appeals-to-white-fears-about-race-may-be-a-tougher-sell-in-2020-poll-idINKCN1V90TY

https://www.vox.com/2019/3/22/18259865/great-awokening-white-liberals-race-polling-trump-2020

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-white-women-poll-electorate-2020-1455499

https://apnews.com/1ad13f32984a4480a45738ead2b4c0d8?utm_medium=AP_Interactive&utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=SocialFlow

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/good-bad-ugly-trump-new-nbc-wsj-poll-n1043831

https://qz.com/1694785/joe-walsh-announces-gop-primary-challenge-against-trump/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=daily-brief

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/four-interesting-findings-from-the-recent-flurry-of-2020-polls/

https://www.npr.org/2019/08/28/754856480/warrens-on-the-rise-but-can-she-convince-democrats-she-can-beat-trump

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/08/25/could_california_be_warrens_golden_ticket_141090.html?utm_campaign=distroscale&utm_medium=video-player&utm_source=polls

 

Greenland: Not for Sale

Perhaps unknowingly echoing an offer by Harry Truman in 1946, President Donald Trump surprised everyone by proposing the US buy the island state of Greenland. Denmark rejected the offer, leading Trump to cancel a state visit to the country. It is now known that the US president has long mused privately about the idea of buying the island. 

Trump’s offer did renew interest in Greenland’s massive rare earth holdings – a staggering 40 million tonnes out of a global total of about 160 million tonnes. Denmark has already issued a dozen mining permits as the Greenland ice cap melts because of climate change. It also underlined the growing geopolitical competition over the Arctic since China declared itself a “near Arctic” nation and Russia placed a flag on underwater Arctic ridges that are outside of its exclusive economic zone. 

Trump did not make a direct offer to the 58,000 residents of Greenland which is an autonomous region under Denmark. Truman offered Denmark $ 100 million for the island. 

https://www.eurasiareview.com/23082019-what-america-would-gain-if-it-bought-greenland-analysis/#.XWF-DTVhB-U.mailto

https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/notion-united-states-acquiring-greenland-absurd
https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/08/16/american-imperialists-have-always-dreamed-of-greenland/?utm_source=PostUp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=14526&utm_term=Editor

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-24/trumps-greenland-offer-more-than-just-real-estate-deal/11442168

 

Nuclear Proliferation: No Tears for INF Treaty

The US formally withdrew from the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty on August 2nd when Russia declined to scrap a new cruise missile which Washington claimed violated the treaty. The INF treaty, negotiated near the end of the Cold War, banned nuclear weapons between the ranges of 500-5,500 kms. 

Critics in the US had also attacked the treaty was that, though it constrained US and Russian forces worldwide, it did not apply to China which had begun deploying ever larger numbers of missiles in the Western Pacific. Over 90 per cent of China’s ballistic and cruise missiles are in the intermediate range. President Donald Trump said he had proposed to China that it be part of a new, trilateral INF Treaty negotiations. Beijing has not shown any interest in the offer. The Pentagon chief announced the US would be deploying intermediate range missiles in Asia “sooner than later”. 

Technologically, the development and widespread use of long-range conventional cruise missiles across the world, like the Tomahawk and the Brahmos, has made intermediate range nuclear missiles increasingly irrelevant in the view of many experts. Trump’s National Security Advisor John Bolton, among the INF Treaty’s strongest critics, argued it was a “bilateral treaty in a multipolar ballistic missile world”. 

Two recent developments showcased further shifts in missile deployment. One, a nuclear explosion in Russia that killed five scientists seems to be linked to Moscow’s attempts to design a nuclear-powered missile, a propulsion system that would give a missile an extraordinary long-range. Two, the most recent missiles tested by North Korea and fired above Japan seemed to have irregular trajectories making them largely impervious to conventional missile defences. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49213892

https://warontherocks.com/2019/08/intermediate-range-missiles-are-the-wrong-weapon-for-todays-security-challenges/

https://taskandpurpose.com/mark-esper-missiles-asia

https://warontherocks.com/2018/10/under-the-missiles-shadow-what-does-the-passing-of-the-inf-treaty-mean/

https://thebulletin.org/2019/08/project-pluto-and-trouble-with-the-russian-nuclear-powered-cruise-missile/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/28/north-koreas-new-warheads-could-penetrate-missile-shield-says-japan

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