Features

Global trade continued to recover strongly from the COVID-19 pandemic in the third quarter of 2021 – though recovery was uneven across nations and industries. The robust overall performance of trade, however, hides the fact that recovery has been unequal among nations and industries.

In September 2021, gas prices in Europe began to surge, leading to fears of gas shortages for energy supply for the winter. The Gazette’s Ryan Toh has dug deeper into the issue to shed light on what led to Europe’s energy crisis and how they plan to approach future energy policies.

The United States of America has pulled out of Afghanistan after almost two decades – this would be the longest international conflict America has ever fought, surpassing the Vietnam War. Apart from the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan, Ryan from the IAS Gazette looks back at two other instances of foreign interventions in the domestic affairs of other states and questions: should states ever intervene in the domestic affairs of other states?

Living in the digital age, it is vital to understand the media’s progression and the current information landscape. Awareness of the challenges that an increasingly interconnected world brings considering the way we consume and create content is equally important. However, when considering the future, what is truly critical is not figuring out how to grapple with these new developments. The focus should instead be on discovering a renewed purpose in using media and information literacy to benefit from the media’s strengths — making it a useful servant, not master of content.

The Asia 2021 Public Diplomacy Conference provided a detailed review of China’s emerging digital public diplomacy tactics. Using positive and constructive media to further their “waixuan” (external propaganda) goals; waixuan allows China to remake itself to a whole new audience. In this article, Aneesha from the IAS Gazette examines China’s public diplomacy operations on two social media platforms, Weibo and Twitter, to demonstrate this.

In the face of nebulous politics, wavering reliability of central governments and an ever-growing need for collective action in crises, cities may present themselves as the rising stars of global politics. What is city diplomacy, and what value might it bring to a city’s inhabitants, and nations as a whole? The IAS Gazette explores the growing role of micro-powers in the international relations landscape.

The nearly two-year long pandemic has taught the world a myriad of things. From a global health perspective, one critical fact has been highlighted: the virus transcends national borders. With the world becoming increasingly globalised and interconnected, experts predict that it is only a matter of time before the next global health crisis emerges. How then, can world leaders and international stakeholders step up to the rising challenges surrounding global health to secure the health of nations?

What is soft power? Is soft power by and large an extension of hard power? Could states build and project soft power? If so, how? Ultimately, are hard power and soft power different sides of the same coin? Renée and Ryan from The IAS Gazette explore the duality of hard and soft power in this article.

Diplomacy is not isolated from the changes that come along with the COVID-19 pandemic. The new world order and geopolitical scene possess new threats and demand new developments, ultimately calling to question whether the world can still rely on the usual practices of diplomacy. The IAS Gazette investigates how cultural diplomacy may rise to the forefront of diplomacy and its potential to mediate the problems of today.

COVID-19 has exposed how interconnected our world has become. Even though the virus first appeared in China, it has eventually become a global pandemic. While leadership and cooperation are most needed during this time, the pandemic has further pushed them towards adopting protectionist policies. Though we have emerged out of many crises in the past, will we be able to do so again?