The new old superpower (II)

As we said last week, China has all the ingredients to become a great power. It already is one at the regional level. But doubt remains about whether it can be constructed also as a real world superpower. The traditional definition of superpower has been usually linked to a powerful army. And regarding that, China still has a long way to go. In recent years and especially since 2011, China has prompted several major military projects. These include for example several types of aircraft under development, among which are especially relevant the J20 and J31. These two prototypes make China, along with the U.S., the only other country...

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The new old superpower (I)

The decline of the U.S. as a lone superpower looms on the horizon. China comes pushing hard. Sometime between 2015 and 2020, depending on whose analysis you rely on, the Asian giant will become the world's largest economy. In a time where soldiers have given way to traders and territorial invasions to company takeovers, that means power and control. It has been a relatively short journey for China. Its economic evolution has been exponential in the last three decades. Back in 2003, China was the world's sixth largest economy. In 2004 it overcame France. In 2006 it was the turn for the United Kingdom to bite the dust. In 2009 fell...

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Turkey and Brazil: the connections and the mismatches

Miles apart, they don’t share language, culture, religion or a common colonial past. But despite that, both Brazil and Turkey are under unrest at the moment. Citizen movements that mirror on the Occupy movement and the Arab Spring have flourished and are gaining momentum from Rio to Istanbul. But what makes them different and what do they share? Differences Where they come from and where they go to Brazil and Turkey were never in the spotlight. They always have been important regional powerhouses, but they lacked the support of an important global player like the EU. However, in the past decade both countries have gained relevance and economical...

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Old habits die hard

We live in a world radically different to the one from the Cold War era. In fact, that is a period of time that has been left behind by all of us. No more fear of a nuclear holocaust. In Hollywood, the bad guys are now Arab terrorists, not communist soldiers. Even the age of the arms race has been overcome. Not only we are reducing our nuclear arsenals –except for you, Kim. The armies in general are shifting their priorities. The United Kingdom doesn’t put its emphasis anymore on nuclear submarines. The Russians are going the same way with their subs. War has changed. You do not need large armies to fight with other nations’...

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The living hell of the displaced

Last year set a new record in terms of people internally displaced (IDP) by violence. In total 28.8 million people have had to leave their homes around the world fleeing from armed conflicts. Syria and Congo top the list. The IDP’s situation is even worse than that of refugees. For starters, the number of IDPs doubles that of refugees. Unlike the refugees who leave their country of origin, the IDPs remain in it. However, this causes many more problems for the internally displaced. For starters, their situation is more precarious. If it is a civil war, such as in Syria, they are in danger of being caught by the same horror of fleeing...

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The lost generation

The latest Eurostat data leaves us with a figure of desolation. A quarter of young Europeans are unemployed. The situation is even worse in the southern European countries where youth unemployment is above 50%. That is why the north blames the south of being unfairly supporting its load. The populations of Scandinavia and the UK, countries that until recently welcomed and even demanded foreign labor, are beginning to see Southern Europeans as a plague and xenophobic acts, although very rare, have increased. In the last British local elections, the conservative parties -especially the eurosceptic UKIP, but also the tories of Prime...

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