Over the past few years, Russia has overtaken terrorism as the greatest adversary of the United States. Even though the Cold War ended over 20 years ago, relations between the two superpowers are tense once again. Russia’s provocative actions in Georgia, Ukraine, Syria, and US elections have only made the situation worse. Given Moscow’s renewed importance on the world stage, I was glad to learn more about Russia and Vladimir Putin during the LA World Affairs Council event with Michael McFaul, former US Ambassador to Russia.
I thought Ambassador McFaul was a great speaker. While he included a lot of self promotion for his book, he clearly knew the issues well and had insightful answers. One interesting topic he discussed was Russia’s role in the Middle Eastern world. He said that while Russia is mostly allied with Shia Muslims, the country is trying to be a mediator and a player for the entire region. Interestingly enough, most of Russia’s Muslims are Sunni. Many of them travel to the Middle East to fight the Shia Muslims the Kremlin backs. According to McFaul, it’s important to note that Russia is not trying to take a side in the Sunni-Shia conflict. Instead, Russia is trying to replace the US as the main foreign power in the region, as failed American interventions put it in a prime place to do so. Given Russia’s actions in Syria and its close ties to Iran, I would expect Russia to do a lot more in the Middle East over the coming years. One of McFaul’s recurring ideas was that Putin was the one source of America’s problems with Russia. To him, removing Putin from power would be the only way to improve Russia as a country and as a member of the international community. He also cited the Medvedev presidency as an example of progress when Putin is not president. While its true that Russia improved its relations with America during said presidency, it’s hard to say whether his removal would be a silver bullet. Putin and his brand of nationalism is very popular, and I doubt the Russian people would change their views overnight. Additionally, state propaganda has been very effective in ensuring Putin’s actions stay popular. In order to enact lasting change in Russia, both Putin and propaganda need to be addressed. Overall, I am glad that I went to the LAWAC event. While there was some self promotion, I learned a lot about Russia’s strategy and Putin’s mindset during McFaul’s talk.
0 Comments
Southeast Asia is rarely featured in the news cycle nor is often studied in school, so I was excited to hear that my school’s next GIP Event would be focused on the region. Despite consisting mostly of developing economies, the region has so much potential. While I knew that I would learn something from this event, it was not in the way I expected.
The first panel discussed the political situation in Southeast Asia and featured Tanee Sangrat, the Thai Consul-General of Los Angeles, Endang Wirawan, the Indonesian Consul of Information and Culture, and Thomas Malayil, a business executive from Indonesia. At first, I was really excited to hear about the region’s politics from government representatives. However, it soon became clear that the consular officials were going to stick to trite phrases and predictable statements. While I understand the necessity of maintaining an image, both the Thai and Indonesian officials seemed restrained in their answers. A good example of this was when they were asked about the territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Both of them were quick to state that their countries were not parties to the issue and that they wished for a diplomatic solution. This wasn’t exactly an enlightening answer. I talked to some of my friends who attended the event, and we concurred that while it was exciting to host government officials at our school, they were not the highlight of the evening. I asked the panel what Southeast Asian nations were doing to fight terrorism. Predictably, both representatives stressed the importance of the issue to the region and that all nations were working together to fight extremists. However, it was interesting to hear the Thai Consul-General discuss the strong cooperation between the United States and Thailand in regional security. He specifically mentioned the apprehensions of Viktor Bout and Hambali as examples of this partnership. Thailand isn’t the first place that comes to mind when thinking about the War on Terror, but the Consul-General made it a point to show that his country was committed to combating terrorism with the US. The second panel discussed religious issues in the region and the Rohingya Crisis with Reza Aslan, author and expert on world faiths, and George Dutton, UCLA professor of Southeast Asian Studies. This panel was a lot more informative, and unlike the previous speakers, the two experts worked well together onstage. Both of them bounced ideas off each other and talked among themselves along with the audience. The two of them lambasted Aung San Suu Kyi’s inability to help the Rohingya and contrasted the Indonesian and Saudi forms of Islam. I appreciate that the panelists connected the rise of religious nationalism in Southeast Asia with similar movements throughout the world. Like it or not, religious nationalism is growing all over the world in response to increased globalization. The panelists mentioned the rise of Erdogan and Modi as examples of the movement’s momentum and its continued growth. I know that religious nationalism will come up in future discussions on global trends, and I am glad that this panel bettered my understanding in this current issue. While I did not expect this panel to be my favorite, it exceeded my expectations and was the focal point of the evening. Overall, I enjoyed the Future of Southeast Asia event. While the second panel was more informative than the first, I learned about Southeast Asian issues throughout the event. The organizers from my school and the Los Angeles World Affairs Council did a great job, and I hope to go to more enlightening events in the future. My insight and long term fascination with international relations peaked my interest in the Global Scholars program, a unique opportunity I hope to participate in. As a high school student, I have always looked for ways to develop my interest in global affairs. For my Latin America World Cultures class, I wrote about Cuba’s foreign policy in Cold War Africa. Cuba’s ability to intervene in conflicts outside of its regional sphere of influence fascinated me, especially because of its Third World status. I argued that Fidel Castro’s ideology of spreading revolution and his ties to the Third World were the primary motivation to fight in conflicts such as the Angolan Civil War, not because of Soviet influence. Nelson Mandela himself credited Cuba’s intervention as one of the reasons for apartheid’s defeat. The fact that this island country could change another continent’s history motivated me to visit Cuba on a school trip in 2016. Currently, Cuba’s foreign policy is focused more on economic relationships than spreading revolutions. However, the fusion of new reforms with remnants of Communism keep Cuba in transition. Besides learning about Cuba’s politics, I was able to speak with ordinary Cubans. While they recognize the economic hardship the country faces, some people would rather keep the healthcare and education along with the overall “tranquilidad” than try to replace the current system. I also learned that Cubans are well educated and are excited to open their country to the world. With their enthusiasm and intellect, I have hope that Cuba will become a full-fledged member of the international community once again.
I am fascinated by how nations interact with each other and the potential for one country’s actions to affect the entire world. One recent example is Russia’s intervention in Syria. When I first heard about the country’s actions, Russia’s goals seemed clear: defeat ISIS and secure the country from terrorists. However, I soon realized that their motives were not so simple after all. As the war raged on, rebel forces opposing the Syrian government were targeted by Russian airstrikes more frequently than ISIS. The Russians claim they are bombing Al Qaeda linked militants, but in reality they hit rebels of all kinds. As a result, the Syrian government has become the dominant faction in the country by regaining control over territory previously held by these opposition forces. To me, it’s clear that Russia is doing a lot more than bombing terrorists, as these actions are really meant to strengthen Moscow’s regional influence by empowering the Assad regime. By keeping Assad in power, Russia can keep a loyal ally while maintaining a strong foothold in the Middle East. Furthermore, these actions successfully pushed away the US and its coalition from becoming the dominant power in the conflict. As someone who is used to the US being a leader in the Middle East, it was surprising to see Russia direct the region’s future. As modern society becomes more globalized, this interaction between nations will become increasingly important. I want to be someone who sees upcoming trends and decides how to react to them. With an accurate understanding, we can act more efficiently in order to save time, money, and lives. I learned about the importance of informed decision making last summer at Georgetown’s National Security and Counterintelligence Institute. There, I learned about security issues from academics and people working for intelligence agencies. One key takeaway from the program was that accurate information can empower policy makers to focus the power of the US on the world’s greatest problems, but when intelligence misses something, the consequences are catastrophic. This program gave me many insights in understanding the complex modern world, and I want to continue to develop my ability to grasp international issues with the Global Scholars program. Not only will I benefit from the program’s opportunities and seminars, but I will also grow with the help of my peers. I am also looking forward to group discussions and collaboration on interesting topics, as I believe that we can all help each other. The Global Scholars program is a forum that combines understanding a globalized world with productive partnerships, and I hope that I will be able to take advantage of this opportunity. |
AuthorHi, my name is Ian and I am a high school student exploring international issues through my school's Global Scholars Program. I hope you enjoy my writing and learn something about global trends through this blog. ArchivesCategories |