Argentine foreign policy will have economic focus

Significance President Mauricio Macri's recent participation in the Davos World Economic Forum (WEF) represents the start of a new approach in Argentine foreign policy. Foreign relations are one of the areas in which policy shifts will be most evident, due in part to the fact that the executive has greater autonomy vis-a-vis Congress than in other areas. The unexpected appointment of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's former chief of staff, Susana Malcorra, as foreign minister has been widely welcomed. Impacts Relations with traditional partners like the United States and EU will take precedence over allies like Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador. The government will seek to conduct relations with the largest number of countries in an "intelligent and pragmatic" way. Congress is likely to prove a stumbling block in efforts to resolve outstanding defaulted debt.

Modern Italy ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raffaella A. Del Sarto ◽  
Nathalie Tocci

Focusing on Italy's Middle East policies under the second Berlusconi (2001–2006) and the second Prodi (2006–2008) governments, this article assesses the manner and extent to which the observed foreign policy shifts between the two governments can be explained in terms of the rebalancing between a ‘Europeanist’ and a transatlantic orientation. Arguing that Rome's policy towards the Middle East hinges less on Italy's specific interests and objectives in the region and more on whether the preference of the government in power is to foster closer ties to the United States or concentrate on the European Union, the analysis highlights how these swings of the pendulum along the EU–US axis are inextricably linked to a number of underlying structural weaknesses of Rome's foreign policy. In particular, the oscillations can be explained by the prevalence of short-term political (and domestic) considerations and the absence of long-term, substantive political strategies, or, in short, by the phenomenon of ‘politics without policy’ that often characterises Italy's foreign policy.


Subject Brazilian foreign policy under Aloysio Nunes. Significance Senator Aloysio Nunes, who took office as foreign minister on March 7, is an experienced politician from the centre-right Social Democrats (PSDB). He led the bloc supporting the government of President Michel Temer in the Senate, where he was also since 2015 head of the Commission of Foreign Affairs and National Defence. Nunes replaces Jose Serra at the foreign ministry and will seek overall continuity of Serra's agenda focused on the pursuit of trade opening and border security. Impacts Brazil lacks a clear strategy for its crucial relationship with China. Border security, a key issue for Serra, will remain important for Nunes. Domestic politics may divert Nunes’s attention as the 2018 elections approach.


Significance Foreign relations is one of the areas in which President Mauricio Macri promised the clearest policy shifts, prioritising pragmatism over ideology. The visits to Buenos Aires of US President Barack Obama and various European leaders, as well as the deal with holdouts, have strengthened this line. However, both international and domestic obstacles to his focus are considerable. Impacts Macri will need to avoid being identified with a return to 1990s policies. If it arrives, any economic boost from FDI will not be felt in the short term. Foreign policy orientation may become a cudgel used by the opposition if benefits are not evident.


Subject Belarus's attempts to court the EU and the United States. Significance The Belarusian government has shifted from an exclusively Russia-oriented foreign policy to a campaign to mend fences with the West. Government statements and a defence policy document speak of equal, non-adversarial relationships, while President Alexander Lukashenka has encouraged greater engagement with the EU and United States. Impacts Western governments will grant more legitimacy to the government. Opposition parties will find it harder to cite international isolation as a failed government policy. The EU's Eastern Partnership may be revitalised by its emerging role as conduit for ties with Belarus.


Significance Trump entered office deeply sceptical of the importance of wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, but his critics say his troop-withdrawal announcements are timed to distract US public opinion from the Mueller probe into his administration and 2016 election campaign. Other critics -- some of them otherwise Trump’s allies, including Republican senators -- fear the troop withdrawals will raise the terrorism threat facing the United States. Impacts A government shutdown tonight would see a further push for continuing resolutions to fund the government, pending further talks. Mattis had been a quasi-envoy to US defence partners in Asia; they will be concerned by his departure. Resurgence of terrorism in Syria or Afghanistan could undermine Trump politically, if the threat facing the United States rises. Republican Senate control should help Mattis’s replacement get confirmed more easily.


2001 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-225
Author(s):  
Roland Blaich

Nazi foreign policy was hampered from the start by a hostile foreign press that carried alarming reports, not only of atrocities and persecution of the political opposition and of Jews, but also of a persecution of Christians in Germany. Protestant Christians abroad were increasingly outraged by the so-called “German Christians” who, with the support of the government, gained control of the administration of the Evangelical state churches and set about to fashion a centralized Nazi church based on principles of race, blood, and soil. The militant attack by “German Christians” on Christian, as opposed to Germanic, traditions and values led to the birth of a Confessing Church, whose leaders fought to remain true to the Gospel, often at the risk of imprisonment. Such persecution resulted in calls from abroad for boycott and intervention, particularly in Britain and the United States, and threatened to complicate foreign relations for the Nazi regime at a time when Hitler was still highly vulnerable. In order to win the support of the German people and to consolidate the Nazi grip on German society, Hitler needed accomplishments in foreign policy and solutions to the German economic crisis. Both were possible only with the indulgence of foreign powers.


Subject Foreign policy in the Michel Temer government. Significance New Foreign Minister Jose Serra seeks to signal a radical departure from policy under the centre-left governments of suspended President Dilma Rousseff and her predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Nowhere is this more visible than in trade, where the Foreign Ministry has taken over policy responsibility from the Ministry for Development, Industry and Foreign Trade. The governing idea is that Brazil should abandon its focus on multilateral negotiations under the WTO framework and embrace regional trade deals from which it has largely abstained. Impacts As a political 'heavyweight', Serra boosts the role of the Foreign Ministry in the government. His apparent ambition to use the ministry as a launching pad for a 2018 presidential bid will not necessarily undermine his performance. However, it will force him to show significant results quickly.


Subject Spanish foreign policy. Significance Spain does not see itself replacing the United Kingdom as one of the ‘Big 3’ in driving EU policymaking and cooperation after Brexit. Instead, the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will seek to prioritise Spanish interests in the Mediterranean and on Brexit, and will become less preoccupied with EU cooperation and integration. Spain is seeking a more balanced and broader relationship with the United States, but there is tension over the political crisis in Venezuela and trade issues. Impacts Relations with the United States will become more difficult, especially if President Donald Trump is re-elected. Although Spain would like to shift its regional emphasis towards Asia, Venezuela and the coronavirus could nullify that ambition. Immigration is now a priority, as further illegal inflows would fuel support for the far-right Vox party.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Muhamad Bayu Saputra

The purpose and goal of this research is to know what the response taken by the US government to Raul Castro, the changes in the foreign relations of both countries, presence idiosyncratic factors of Raul Castro to the foreign relations of both countries. The method used is descriptive analysis techniques. Most of the data collected through literature and website searches. These results indicate that the factor of idiosyncratic Raul Castro in changes in foreign relations between Cuba and the United States. The conclusion from this study is the change that occurs in the foreign relations between the two countries, the changes occurring in the country of Cuba after Raul became president of Cuba, as well as the response taken by the US government against the government of Raul Castro well with the reopening of diplomatic relations between both countries, and issued a foreign policy that is intended to drive the Cuban economy, the type of personality that is owned by Raul Castro based on idiosyncratic theory is influential


Significance The decision followed Mexico’s hosting in June of the forty-seventh General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), during which a Mexico-led proposal to condemn the Venezuelan government of President Nicolas Maduro for anti-democratic practices failed to secure the necessary votes. Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said that despite this outcome, Mexico would maintain a critical stance towards the Maduro regime due to its human rights abuses and refusal to respect social and political liberties. His statement confirms a recent shift in Mexico’s traditional non-interventionist foreign policy posture. Impacts Washington’s hostility will add urgency to Mexico’s efforts to redefine its foreign policy stance. The mismatch between Mexico’s foreign policy positions and its domestic reality will raise awkward questions for the government. Lopez Obrador will face increasing pressure to condemn Maduro, and assertions that his leftist presidency would ruin Mexico.


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