Month: April 2020

Five Questions on Gender Equality in Foreign Policy: Joanna Roper

Image courtesy of UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office/Flickr. (CC BY 2.0) 

This article was originally published by the Council on Foreign Relations on 27 March 2020.

This blog post is part of the Women and Foreign Policy program’s interview series on Gender Equality in Foreign Policy, featuring global and U.S. officials leading initiatives to promote gender equality in the defense, development, and diplomatic sectors. This interview is with Joanna Roper, the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s first Special Envoy for Gender Equality.

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After Nine Years, Syria’s Conflict Has Only Become More Complicated

Image courtesy of Jodi Eastham/DVIDS.

This article was originally published by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) on 12 March 2020.

The engagement of external actors has protracted the conflict and Syrians civilians continue to bear the brunt.

In March 2011, as the Arab world was roiled by demonstrations, protests broke out in Syria to demand political reform after four decades of Assad rule. Nine years later, the Assad regime is on the offensive against the last rebel stronghold of Idlib, with Russia, Turkey and Iran all heavily invested in the conflict. The humanitarian consequences for Syrians cannot be overstated and a political solution to the conflict seems as distant as ever. USIP’s Mona Yacoubian discusses the dreadful toll on the Syrian population and what the battle for Idlib means for the trajectory of the conflict.

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CSS Blog

Air Passengers, Switzerland 2009-2018

This week’s featured graphic provides an overview of the number of air passengers flying to Switzerland, 2009-2018.

Last week, the Schengen Agreement’s 25th anniversary was marked by closing rather than open borders due to the coronavirus crisis. But when the crisis finally subsides, increasing mobility will again pose challenges for Swiss and European border agencies. For an analysis of what new technologies mean for border controls in Europe, read Julian Kamasa’s CSS Analyses in Security Policy here.