The “Pacific pivot” of the United States is nothing new. At the same time, it doesn’t really exist. And yet, even though it doesn’t exist, this pivot is partly responsible for the escalation of tensions in and around the Korean peninsula. How can all three of these statements be simultaneously true? Such are the paradoxes of the U.S. shift in attention toward the Pacific Rim.
The stability of the Kaesong operation is considered a bellwether for the state of affairs between North and South Korea.
From a Department of Homeland Security armed to the teeth to a dubious Nobel Peace Prize.
It’s easy to forget that Seoul lies only about thirty miles from the Demilitarized Zone.
News about North Korea falls into two categories: the comical and the frightening. Examples of the former type of story abound, but unfortunately, the news from North Korea has of late been of the frightening variety. What the North Korean leadership is hoping to achieve by its belligerence is anyone’s guess, but the aggressive U.S. response has only escalated tensions.
Nuclear weapons vastly complicate foreign policy.
Security officials stood by during the attacks without intervening.
Mining companies are jockeying for position to be the first to successfully vacuum up Pacific resources.
From the eight-lane Nairobi-Thika highway built by Chinese construction companies to the ubiquitous Chinese restaurants around town, the signs of China’s activity are everywhere in Kenya—right down to the friendly nihao called out by Kenyans as I walk down a Nairobi street. Elsewhere on the continent, however, the seams of this tight relationship are becoming stretched.
A major game changer is needed to break the silent stalemate between the United States and North Korea. And it’s going to take more than Dennis Rodman’s trip to North Korea. It will require the United States to take greater responsibility and leadership to end the Korean War, as well as a feminist, anti-militarist approach to achieve peace and justice on the Korean peninsula.